When you are buying or adopting a cat, cat proofing is a crucial step when preparing your home for your feline friend. While cats are smart animals, they are not as smart as humans! They do not know how human homes, furniture, and gadgets work. As a responsible cat owner, it then falls onto you to make your homes safe for them!
Remove the porcelain
We all have a few pieces of porcelain and crystal in our home that we value. It could be a wedding gift or something you bought while traveling to another country. However, our cat friends do not understand this, which is why it is essential to prevent our cats from damaging these. Cats are naturally inquisitive animals and like to explore their surroundings.
A crucial step of cat proofing is therefore removing all the porcelains and expensive, breakable items in your home as soon as you obtain the cat. You can keep them in a locked cabinet or in closed boxes, wrapped in bubble wrap. It is possible that your cat suddenly jumps up on a table and ends up breaking an expensive decoration piece. This could cause you a lot of distress. More importantly, without cat proofing, your cat could also injure itself on one of the broken pieces.
Cat Proof Balcony
While cats are easy-to-handle animals and won’t bug you too much about going out, there is a possibility that an especially curious kitty may wander off on the balcony. This can be a pertinent issue, especially if you live in a top-floor apartment and there is a big window leading up to it. While the easiest thing to do is keep the window closed, at times, this may just slip your mind.
However, do not worry since cat proofing your balcony is relatively easy. All you need to do is go to the local hardware store and get some netting. You can attach this netting to the boundaries of your balcony, ensuring that your feline friend has no way to escape from there.
We would recommend keeping the netting at such a height that there is no possibility of your cat jumping over it. Cat proofing the balcony is essential if you want to prevent your cat from falling over the edge and injuring itself or going missing.
Cover all the wires
Wires can be a hazard for humans and cats alike. One of the primary steps of cat proofing is therefore covering all the wires in your home. Cats like to chew different things and can often not differentiate between things that are safe for them and those that are not.
Younger cats, which are not too familiar with their surroundings, are more likely to chew on wires lying around. The first thing you should do is simply unplug any wires that you are not using. This will ensure that there is no current in them, and even if your cat ends up chewing on them, it will not be electrocuted. A long-term solution could be using wireless devices or covering all wires with strong insulating tape.
Remove Loop Cords
Looped cords that are linked to window blinds and curtains can be potentially fatal for your cat. While cat proofing your home, we would suggest tying up these cords extremely tightly so that there is no chance your cat can open it and get tangled in it.
If it is not too much of a problem, we would suggest cutting off the cords altogether. The reason behind this is that cats can get tangled in such looped cords. Since there is no way out, they may end up getting the cord around their neck and be choked. We would highly suggest watching out for looped cords while cat proofing!
Cover the garbage
If you have cat proof furniture, it seems non-sensical not to have a cat proof garbage can. It is possible that if you have an open garbage can that your cat will rummage through it. Cat proofing your home, therefore, requires that you have a closed garbage can, such as a paddle step operated one so that your cat cannot rummage through the garbage and does not end up creating a mess!
Store chemicals and medicine safely
Whether it is chemicals in the garage (such as motor oil and petrol) or in your medicine cabinet (hydrogen peroxide or mouthwashes), keep them in locked cabinets where your car cannot reach them. One piece of cat proof furniture that you should invest in is, therefore, lockable cabinets in which you can store these hazardous chemicals.
Close the dryer securely!
Dryers and washing machines can be extremely dangerous for your cats! Cat proofing your residence, therefore, requires you to close the dryer securely after every use. This is because our feline friends are attracted to washers and dryers. These are clean places, and after every use, they exude warmth that naturally attracts cats.
Your cat may then try to sleep in the dryer. If you unwittingly turn on the dryer, it will lock itself and could have fatal consequences if your cat is stuck in it. Another way of cat proofing is to carefully check the dryer before every use to ensure that your cat is not hidden in a pile of clothes.
Use a Burner Cover
Cats love to jump up and down. When cat proofing your home, it is sensible to invest in a couple of burner covers. If you have a stovetop that can be covered fully, however, you do not need to invest in individual burner covers. There is a very important reason we are asking you to buy this.
Often times when you are cooking, or in the kitchen, your feline friend may end up sitting next to you and jumping on the countertops. While all of this is fine, in its enthusiasm, the cat may jump on the stove as well. If you have just stopped cooking, the burner will still be very hot, and your cat can seriously injure itself if it does so. Cat proofing the stove is of paramount importance if you want to prevent your cat from serious injury!
We hope that the tips mentioned above will help you in cat proofing your home. Trust us; cat proofing will make your and your pet’s life very easy in the long run!
