Healthy Pet® is very pleased to announce the appointment of August F. DeLuca in the position of CEO. “Since last fall we diligently sought out the best candidate to lead Healthy Pet into its next era of success.”, said retiring CEO Ted Mischaikov. “It took many months and a nationwide search which was more than worth the effort considering Augie’s experience, talent and excellent character.” In this role, Mr. DeLuca will be responsible for North American growth of all Healthy Pet products, and in collaboration with its parent company, J. Rettenmaier & Söhne, manufacturing for many markets overseas. Mr. Deluca will commence his new role as Chief Executive Officer for Healthy Pet in May 2020. Mr. Deluca comes to Healthy Pet with vast experience in driving growth through leadership, collaboration and innovation. Most recently, he held the position of President for Rock Ridge Stone of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he managed the vertically integrated manufacture through numerous growth and improvement initiatives over the last five years. He has held past roles of President, General Manager, Chief Marketing Officer and Director of Sales & Marketing within the CPG category, as well as several board and advisement positions. Deluca said, “I am very excited to join Healthy Pet. The company has strong brands, on trend products and a passionate team. I look forward to working with them to deliver the next phase of growth and development.”

FERNDALE, WA. (April 7, 2020) – Nationally-renown veterinarian and media correspondent, Dr. Ruth MacPete, aka Dr. Ruth “the Pet Vet,” is joining the Healthy Pet family to help promote its natural “Best in Home” brands. For more than 30 years Healthy Pet has been a leader in the pet category with small animal bedding and litter product offerings made from sustainably sourced, responsibly rescued natural plant fiber.  “We’re so excited to be partnering with Dr. Ruth to share our combined passions of providing earth-friendly choices that also provide the very best home for pets and entire family,” said Jane Wasley, Head of Marketing at Healthy Pet. “Her passion for pets and professional knowledge, are a welcome addition to the Healthy Pet family.” Dr. MacPete is a practicing veterinarian of 20+ years and an experienced media personality, speaker, consultant, author and blogger. She will specifically support Healthy Pet’s cat and small animal brands, ökocat® and carefresh®. “As a veterinarian, pet parent, mother, and consumer, I want pet products that work, are safe for my family, and environmentally-friendly,” said Dr. MacPete. “I am passionate about pet care and educating pet parents about making Earth-friendly choices, and I admire Healthy Pet for making products that are good not only for your pets, but also your family and the environment.” To schedule an interview with Dr. Ruth or Healthy Pet, please contact: Kerry Branon,kbranon@fwv-us.com; (919) 277-1161. For more information please visit, healthy-pet.com and www.DrRuthPetVet.com. ###  About Dr. Ruth Dr. Ruth MacPete, aka  Dr. Ruth, “the Pet Vet,” has appeared as a veterinary correspondent on numerous radio and television shows around the country, including frequent appearances on the Emmy Award-winning hit show The Doctors, Good Morning America, Hallmark’s Home & Family, Fox & Friends and the Weather Channel’s America’s Morning Headquarters. In addition to her television appearances, she has written about cats and cat health for various magazines such as Cat Fancy, Kittens USA, Fetch!, Pet Business and recently published her first children’s book Lisette the Vet. She is a featured blogger for Pet Health Network and can often be seen lecturing at national veterinary conferences and cat conventions. She has worked in private practice and in shelter medicine for over 20 years and also volunteers her time with several local animal rescue groups. Dr. MacPete believes that through education and awareness of pet health-care, we can improve the lives of animals everywhere. She lives in California with her human family, three cats and one big dog who thinks he is a cat. To learn more about Dr. MacPete go to: www.DrRuthPetVet.com    About Healthy Pet®                                                                        Healthy Pet®, a leader in the pet category, offers Best in Home™ pet bedding and litter made from sustainably sourced, responsibly rescued natural plant fiber. As a premier member of the Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC), Healthy Pet utilizes materials such as cellulose fiber and natural wood from sustainable sources, free from harmful chemicals and other pollutants and have been doing it for over 30 years. Healthy Pet brands include the number one brand of small animal bedding, carefresh®, as well as CritterCare®, natural cat litters ökocat® and Simply Pine™ and Puppy Go Potty™ natural dog litter. For more information, please visit healthy-pet.com.  

Featuring new brand packaging and new litter offerings for discerning cat parents Cat parents looking to leave old school clay and chemicals in the dust will now be able to find an expanded offering of ökocat®. Beginning this month, ökocat, the next generation of plant-based cat litter will be available in more PetSmart® and Petco® locations across the U.S. and Canada. ökocat announced today that the brand is growing its PetSmart distribution to nearly 1,300 stores in the U.S. and over 140 stores in Canada. In addition to continuing to sell both ökocat Original and Super Soft litter, PetSmart will now also be adding Less Mess, low tracking mini-pellet litter. “Our Less Mess clumping litter consists of dense mini-pellets that are soft on paws, but less likely to track. It stays in the litter box, so it’s great for the over-zealous digger or long hair cats,” said Leslie Ellis, Communications Manager at ökocat. “Over the past year, we’ve had great success with both the original and super soft in PetSmart stores, so we’re looking forward providing cat owners with even more options.” Along with product expansion at PetSmart, ökocat is also introducing two new exclusive litters to nearly 1,200 Petco stores across the U.S. This expansion includes the introduction of a new litter, Low Tracking mini-pellets, and the addition of a new size, large Featherweight litter, previously only sold in medium. This expansion comes after ökocat revealed a packaging refresh earlier in 2020 focusing on their commitment to helping cat parents achieve a healthier clean™. Unlike traditional clay litter, ökocat has no toxic additives, synthetic chemicals, fragrance, dyes or GMOs and is made from sustainably sourced, responsibly rescued natural fiber that’s completely biodegradable and flushable. “ökocat litter is better for our cats, our homes and our planet,” said Ellis. “We’re excited about this expansion because it gives us the opportunity to help even more cat parents make cleaner, healthier choices for their cat, family and home.” For more information about ökocat, to purchase online, or find a PetSmart or Petco retail location that sells ökocat near you, please visit healthy-pet.com/okocat.

Next generation 100% plant-based litter is a healthier clean Whether it’s buying organic foods, non-toxic, plant-based cleaning solutions or paraben free beauty products, more and more consumers are looking for products that help them live a cleaner, healthier lifestyle, even when it comes to their pets. That’s why ökocat®, a next generation brand of plant-based cat litter, is focused on helping consumers make healthier choices when it comes to their cats and their home in 2020. Leaving old school clay and chemicals in the dust, ökocat is committed to providing cat owners with “a healthier clean.” Unlike traditional clay litter, which contains calcium or sodium bentonite, additives & smelly fragrances, ökocat is made from 100 percent sustainably sourced, responsibly rescued wood and paper, without the need for artificial fragrances, synthetic chemicals or toxic dyes. With no powdery clay dust, it’s cleaner and healthier for cats, families and homes.  “Not only is our cat litter better for the health of our cats, us and our homes, it lasts longer too so less time is spent cleaning the litter box,” said Leslie Ellis, Communications Manager at ökocat. “We understand modern cat parents who are striving to transition their home with healthier choices.” In addition to being a cleaner, healthier cat litter option, ökocat also includes key benefits found most important to all cat owners when choosing a litter: Stops odor before it starts: Wood fiber naturally prevents enzymes from bonding with liquid and waste to stop the creation of ammonia. Clumps solid for easy cleaning: Precision-cut fiber absorbs liquid on contact to form solid clumps for easy scooping and cleaning. 99% dust free for a healthy home: Clean wood fiber is screened & de-dusted for a cleaner pour. No dirty clay dust. Available in nearly 8,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada, ökocat offers litter for all cats in the following five varieties: ökocat Original ökocat Super Soft ökocat Featherweight ökocat Dust Free ökocat Less Mess & Low Tracking For more information about ökocat, and its commitment to helping cat parents make clean and healthy choices in 2020, visit healthy-pet.com/okocat.

Over 48,000 liters of bedding were donated through program in 2019   carefresh® announced the kick off of its second annual carefresh Gives Back program today by selecting Orlando Farm Rescue as its next featured rescue. carefresh is the only brand of small pet bedding made from 100 percent biodegradable, compostable and sustainable materials. During the first year of the program in 2019, carefresh donated a total of 48,000 liters of its bedding to the following shelters and rescue organizations in the United States and Canada: Whatcom Humane Society Hopalong Hollow Archie’s Angels Rabbit Rescue Munchie’s Place for Homeless Pets All Paws Rescue The Pipsqueakery “We’re proud to have worked with such great and deserving organizations during the first year of our carefresh Gives Back program. They are caring for small animals of all varieties, and they can’t always afford to provide the best bedding,” said Leslie Ellis, Communications Manager at carefresh. “This year, we’re looking forward to learning about even more small animal shelters and rescue organizations that could benefit from a donation of our sustainable bedding through our website’s nomination form.” The first featured rescue of 2020, Orlando Farm Rescue, was selected based on customer input. Throughout the year, carefresh asks its customers to nominate their favorite small animal shelters and rescue organizations. When selected as a carefresh featured rescue, the shelter receives a donation of carefresh bedding — the amount is based on each rescue’s number of annual adoptions. In addition to the donation, each person who adopts a small animal from the rescue for the next twelve months receives a coupon for $5 off their first bag of carefresh bedding. For more information about the program or to nominate a shelter, please visit www.healthy-pet.com/pages/carefresh-gives-back. carefresh bedding is all-natural, provides 10-day odor control and is two times more absorbent than traditional shavings. To learn where you can find carefresh in stores, please visit www.healthy-pet.com/carefresh.