The past several weeks when we picked up our CSA veggies, two curious kittens have wanted to know what's in the big green bag. So today, we made an extra stop at the market - to visit Piggyback Treats, a company that works to "treat sustainably" by making treats and toys from rescued material. They work with farms to use human-grade meat from things we don't eat - liver and heart and fish skin, among other bits - and prepare things safe for pets.
After learning about the company and chatting with the vendor, we thought we might give it a try - or, rather, that Freddie and Xander, our two feline family members, might like to give it a try. So we bought an ounce of tongue jerky and put it to the test.
I should note first that everyone was very curious about this bag. Very, very curious.
After extracting Xander's head from the goodie bag, we were able to get it out and open up the package. If you thought everyone was excited before, you should have seen those eager little faces!! Xander has very little self-control around treats at the best of times, but today was an exception even for him. He wanted those treats, and we were going to provide, darn it. Moms get treats at the market. It's his turn!
The ever-cautious Freddie took a minute to figure out that it was, in fact, a treat for her. Once she did, though, there was no holding back. It was snack time, and the thing in the bag was lick-your-furry-chops awesome.
What we, the people, love about Piggyback Treats's concept is that it's using up bits and scraps of meat that don't sell and thus could go to waste. It's also 100% meat, meaning it's safe for the kids. Piggyback is working with local farms, which means now the pets are *also* contributing to the local food economy! (More importantly, it means our pets are eating better quality snacks than many people have access to - which is part of a much larger problem with accessibility of food... I'll resist the urge to hop on my soap box for now.)
If the idea of buying heart or liver or tongue sort of grosses you out... well, get your wife to do it. But you can also get dehydrated fish skins *or* toys made out of rescued denim (which you can stuff with whatever you'd like - crinkly paper or a bell or some catnip, for example). And Piggyback will ship anywhere, so you don't need to hunt down my local market to get some goodies for your furry loved ones!
And hey, it lets the cats participate in the Farmers' Market goodness - since they, unlike the many puppies we meet weekly, don't get to come along for the trip!
Here are two more pics of Xander eager to have some snacks... and his demure sister Freddie waiting at the table for hers.
After learning about the company and chatting with the vendor, we thought we might give it a try - or, rather, that Freddie and Xander, our two feline family members, might like to give it a try. So we bought an ounce of tongue jerky and put it to the test.
I should note first that everyone was very curious about this bag. Very, very curious.
The ever-cautious Freddie took a minute to figure out that it was, in fact, a treat for her. Once she did, though, there was no holding back. It was snack time, and the thing in the bag was lick-your-furry-chops awesome.
What we, the people, love about Piggyback Treats's concept is that it's using up bits and scraps of meat that don't sell and thus could go to waste. It's also 100% meat, meaning it's safe for the kids. Piggyback is working with local farms, which means now the pets are *also* contributing to the local food economy! (More importantly, it means our pets are eating better quality snacks than many people have access to - which is part of a much larger problem with accessibility of food... I'll resist the urge to hop on my soap box for now.)
If the idea of buying heart or liver or tongue sort of grosses you out... well, get your wife to do it. But you can also get dehydrated fish skins *or* toys made out of rescued denim (which you can stuff with whatever you'd like - crinkly paper or a bell or some catnip, for example). And Piggyback will ship anywhere, so you don't need to hunt down my local market to get some goodies for your furry loved ones!
And hey, it lets the cats participate in the Farmers' Market goodness - since they, unlike the many puppies we meet weekly, don't get to come along for the trip!
Here are two more pics of Xander eager to have some snacks... and his demure sister Freddie waiting at the table for hers.
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