Inventions make pets’ life better

Pets are living longer, happier and more enriched lives than ever before. At the same time, caring for our four-footed friends has never been easier.

Taking a look back through history, it’s pretty clear that America’s pets didn’t move from the doghouse to the penthouse overnight. They got plenty of help along the way from human friends whose hard work and dogged determination led to innovations that improved the lives of all pets. You won’t find these inventions in most history books, but without them, things probably wouldn’t be the same for your fur-coated friends.

1. Dog biscuits – The Milk Bone biscuit was accidentally created in a London butcher’s shop in the late 19th century. Legend has it that the shop’s owner was experimenting with a meat-based biscuit for his human customers when he came up with a batch that he thought tasted just awful. So, he gave some to his dog, who had a very different opinion. The pooch loved the biscuits so much that the butcher began selling them to his pet-owning customers. Eventually, this recipe was marketed as “Milk Bone,” and its success inspired a slew of competitors. Today, millions of biscuits are given to deserving dogs both as a treat and an aid in maintaining healthy teeth and gums.

2. Extruded dog food – Half a century after the London butcher’s invention, most dogs were still living mainly on table scraps, until the Purina Company launched dried, or extruded, dog food in 1957. This new manufacturing process made high-quality, tasty food available to dogs everywhere, at affordable prices. Not only was this new type of dog food convenient for owners, but the balanced formula and added vitamins and minerals greatly improved dogs’ health and longevity.

3. Kitty litter – Ed Lowe, a salesman of industrial absorbent products such as sawdust and clay, was asked by his neighbor to suggest a cleaner alternative to the ashes she was using in her cat box. He gave her some of his absorbent clay, and she loved it. In 1947, he tried to sell his “Kitty Litter” through a local pet store. Soon, cat owners were clamoring for more Kitty Litter, and Lowe’s brand name became the generic term we use today, as well as a multimillion dollar industry. Litter boxes gave owners the option to keep their pets indoors at night, which in more recent years led to the advent of the indoor cat – a development which has increased the feline lifespan more than anything else.

4. The Kong toy – The world’s first interactive dog toy has probably saved thousands of dogs from the pound by giving inveterate chewers a better outlet for their habit than the furniture or their owners’ slippers. When Fritz the dog refused to stop chewing rocks, his owner Joe Markham tried distracting him with a rubber suspension bushing from the VW van he was repairing. Fritz enjoyed chewing on it for hours. This gave Markham the idea of manufacturing a “Michelin Man” shaped rubber dog toy that would bounce unpredictably, with interior space for some food or a treat hidden inside to sustain interest. Thus the Kong Toy was born, and owners everywhere found that their destructive chewers could become happy, well-adjusted pets.

5. Habitrail habitats – This plastic tube maze was the first small-animal housing to recognize the psychological and behavioral needs of many furry minimammals. First developed in the 1970s, the Habitrail line has evolved into a whole Biosphere-like ecosystem of optional add-ons and accessories, including playgrounds, exercise components, sleeping quarters, and even a hamster potty.

6. Premium dog and cat foods – In 1939, Dr. Mark Morris, a Kansas veterinarian, was asked to help a guide dog suffering from kidney failure. Believing there must be a link between diet and health and that certain diseases in pets could perhaps be managed through carefully formulated nutrition, Morris developed a line of premium foods that would become known as Hill’s Science Diet. When veterinarians observed the health benefits of Morris’ food, Hills introduced veterinary Prescription Diet, which led to vet-prescribed therapy foods from Iams, Waltham, Purina and others. Usually developed by veterinarians, premium and prescription foods have consistent, unvarying formulas that use only the highest quality ingredients.

7. Flea and tick medications – Before easy topical treatments like Frontline and Advantage became available from veterinarians in 1996, millions of dogs and cats (and often their owners, too) would experience the torment of infestations, not to mention the diseases these pesky parasites bring along with them. With bombs, foggers, dips, sprays and powders, it was like chemical warfare. With today’s veterinary-only brands and new over-the-counter preventive measures – like Hartz UltraGuardplus drops for cats – most common parasites can be controlled simply, effectively and economically, making for happier, healthier pets.