Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products (57 page)

HOW TO

1.
Combine all the ingredients in a measuring cup and pour into the bottle.

2.
Store in a cool, dark cupboard.

3.
Flea comb: Always use a regular flea comb (available from most stores). If your dog has long hair, you may want to brush him/her first with your regular grooming brushes/combs and then, as the final step, comb through sections of his/her hair with the flea comb. As I have a little Maltese, I just use the flea comb.

4.
Natural flea collar: Buy a cotton-covered or hemp collar. Place 5 drops of peppermint essential oil and 5 drops of cedarwood essential oil into the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together and then all over the collar. Reapply every 14 days.

Grub

Now that I know what is in most regular cans of dog food, I refuse to serve it to my dog. Without horrifying you with the details—think diseased animals unfit for human consumption, all ground up, and you’re on the right track—
I make my own and Phoebe
loves
it. It also doesn’t stink up my kitchen the way the cans do.

Yummy Dog Dinner

Yields:
approximately 2½ lbs.

1.
Put the ground meat in a large cooking pot with 1 tbsp. water and cook over medium heat until the meat is brown all the way through.

2.
Add the veggies to the pot. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3.
Stir in the rice or oatmeal and the oil.

4.
If you have a big dog whom you know will consume this amount of food within 3 days, store in a covered container in the fridge. If you have a smaller dog, you may want to freeze dinner-size portions of the food in plastic snack bags. When you are ready to use, empty the bag into the dog’s bowl (only glass or ceramic) and microwave for 50 to 60 seconds. Always wash and reuse the bags.

Dog Biscuits/Treats

When Phoebe is very well behaved, she gets one of her beloved treats. Be very careful with the doggie treats that you buy. My friend Sally bought her pooch some expensive snacks from a well-known health food store and her doggie got severe food poisoning. Upon investigation, she discovered that, despite being labled as “organic and natural,” the treats had come from China, and it was therefore nearly impossible for her to trace the source. It’s safer and less expensive to make your own.

Yields:
approximately 2 dozen small treats

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
In a medium bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients.

3.
Stir in the meat grease and egg.

4.
Add the water, a little at a time, until the dough is sticky enough to bind together.

5.
Flour a surface and roll out the dough to a ½-inch thickness.

6.
Use a knife or cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Keep in mind that a regular cookie cutter will cut cookie shapes that are too big for dog treats. I use an
eggcup to press out small circles, or I cut out little squares and triangles with a paring knife.

7.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until firm and lightly browned.

8.
When cool, either store in an airtight container, where the biscuits will stay good for up to 10 days, or freeze half of them in a resealable bag.

Kitty Treats

These are moist and deluxe little treats for your cat.

Yields:
approximately 24–36 small balls

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

3.
Using your hands, roll the dough into tiny balls and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

4.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the treats are hard and slightly browned.

5.
Cool completely before storing in an airtight container in your fridge or freezing them.

Kitty Litter

This kitty litter will cost you pennies to make and will help you recycle your newspapers (ask your friends for their newspapers if you have a lot of cats!). Some cats just will not accept unfamiliar litter or litter with an unusual texture. To maximize the chances of kitty accepting it, change the litter gradually, mixing the old with the new. But if your cat stops using her litter box, you’ll have to go back to the old litter.

HOW TO

1.
Shred the paper (ideally, use a paper shredder).

2.
Put the paper into a large bucket and cover with warm water and a squirt of dish soap (I like liquid castile soap).

3.
Drain the paper in a large colander and repeat step 2, minus the soap.

4.
Wearing a pair of rubber gloves, squeeze as much moisture as you can from the paper.

5.
Lay it out over a screen or parchment-covered baking sheets and sprinkle liberally with baking soda. Leave in a warm place to dry. If it’s hot outside, you can leave it in the sun, but cover with a dishcloth to keep it from blowing away.

6.
Fill your kitty’s litter box with 2 inches of your litter. Scoop the poop out every day and change the litter once a week.

Toys

Kitty Bonding Stock

This is a great toy for a kitten who is over 3 months of age.

HOW TO

1.
Wear your old sock around the house for an hour or so to get your smell into it.

2.
Stuff the sock with the catnip and tie a knot just above the herbs.

3.
Toss the sock on the floor and watch your kitty go crazy!

Crackle and Crunch Big Dog Toy

There’s no need to buy expensive plastic dog toys when you can make toys your dog will love out of things you probably already have. This is best suited for a big dog. My little Maltese can’t get her chops around it.