Kitten proof your home to keep them safe.
Kitten proofing your house is extremely important for the health and safety of your precious little kitten. Once they are old enough to get about, they want to explore their new environment and investigate all those interesting smells.
As kittens are so curious and small, it is even more important to make sure yours will be safe. This means keeping all doors and drawers shut. I don’t just mean the doors into the various rooms in your house, you need to keep the pantry door closed, all cupboard doors in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry, all the wardrobe doors in bedrooms and the doors to your fancy entertainment unit if you have one. Kittens love to investigate but then get tired very easily and often fall asleep wherever they are. This means they could be shut into the pantry overnight if they have managed to get in there. Make sure you know where your kitten is before shutting doors!
Kittens will also get into places you would never think of – under chairs, behind furniture and curtains, behind the fridge, and when they are a little bigger, into the front loading washing machine or clothes dryer if they are at a level the kitten can jump onto. They will curl up on a pile of washing on the floor or on the clothes on the floor of the kid’s bedrooms. Make sure you know where your kitten is before starting a load of washing!
Be very careful of kittens and electrical cords. Kitten teeth and claws are incredibly sharp and will bite through power cords. Keep the cords wrapped in some wrapping tape to make them too thick to fit into the kitten’s mouth. Try to not have dangling cords, your kitten will want to climb them. If you must have cords that hang, place some contact paper sticky side up in front of them, or some foil paper. Your kitten won’t want to walk on either surface.
While the cord is unplugged in this video, the next one might not be.
One of the best ways of keeping your kitten safe is to provide it with plenty of toys to play with. Having something to chase and pounce on will distract it from chewing on your cords or furniture. Spend time playing with your kitten, teaching it the skills it needs to catch prey. Have a variety of homemade toys available. These can be very easy to make. Why not have a box full of scrunched up newspaper, a feather hanging from a table, an old ball of wool to play with or an old table tennis ball or shuttle cock from badminton. Then, when you see your kitten heading for somewhere you don’t want it playing in, you can distract it with a toy. Kittens are like young children in that they have a short attention span. Distract them and they forget about what they were going to do.
You don’t have to do too much to kitten proof your house. Just use your commonsense with regard to dangers, have plenty of toys available and make sure you know where your kitten is at all times, just as you would with a small child.
Cats can do a lot of damage to cables, and themselves.
It is very important to create a safe environment for your cat as, just like young children, cats are very inquisitive and love to explore their surroundings. This can lead to problems if the immediate area is not completely safe.
I have often been asked questions by new cat owners as to what they should do after getting a new cat or kitten.
The most important cat advice tip I can give is to make your decisions before getting a cat or kitten. If you really are considering adding a cat to your family, make sure that it can access safe areas for food, play and elimination. It is up to you as to whether your cat is going to be an indoor or outdoor cat as the requirements are different for each. If you have decided to keep your cat inside, read Keeping Your Indoor Domestic Cat Happy for more information and ideas.
Many people, depending on where they live, are quite happy for their cats to roam at will. Both my cats Tikki and Cassie can come and go as they please and they very rarely do any damage to the native wildlife. Perhaps once every 18 months they might bring in a bird, but every night they both bring in mice. Having a cat flap on the laundry door means they can get in and out easily.
We are somewhat spoiled however, as we live in a rural setting and the house is set back 1km from the road. Both cats have plenty of room to move around safely, the most dangerous thing they may encounter is some kangaroos or sheep.
If you live in an urban setting you will have the problem of cars and other cats to contend with. Cats are usually pretty savvy when it comes to vehicles and are able to get out of the way fairly easily. But being sociable animals, they do like the company of other cats and other people. How often have you had a cat come up and ‘talk’ to you or ask to be petted when you are out walking.
If your cat is to be allowed to roam, a collar with a tag stating the cat’s name and your phone number is essential. As are up to date vaccinations.
If your cat hasn’t been neutered or spayed, it could also be out looking for a mate, especially at night. If you don’t want the hassle of finding homes for kittens, have your cat neutered or spayed as soon as is possible.
Dogs are an obvious problem for cats so you need to be aware of this when creating your safe environment. How many dogs are in your neighborhood? Is is safe for your cat?
People sometimes don’t realize that other cats can also be a problem. Apart from injuries through fighting, your cat can also pick up diseases and other unwanted items such as fleas from associating with other cats.
Within the house, and especially with kittens, you need to get down to their level and see just what mischief they can get in to. Open drawers, open cupboards, under furniture, dangling electrical cords can prove irresistible to an inquisitive cat. This cute kitten could grow up to be a menace to power cords as it hasn’t been trained not to chew them.
A safe environment for your cat doesn’t have to be hard to create. Common sense preventative measures will usually suffice once the decision has been made as to whether your cat will stay indoors or be allowed to roam at will. Read more about providing your cat with a safe environment as well as creating a safe place or a retreat in *Cat Secrets Revealed.
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