Cat Proofing: Make Your Home Scratch Proof & Safe

Bringing a kitten home? It must be a super exciting time for you, but have you ensured that your home is a safe space for the little furball? Kittens are instinctively curious and love to go exploring new places, which makes cat proofing your living space all the more important for you. This includes kitten proofing your furniture, securing cabinets with childproof latches, and making sure your backyard and garage are free of toxic items or objects that may cause injury to the tiny explorer. If you are confused about where to start and how to best go about kitten proofing your house, worry no more! Here are ten essential steps on how to care for cats at home to ensure your little munchkin’s safety and well-being. By following these tips, you'll be confident that your new friend can safely navigate your home and enjoy a happy, healthy, purrfect life.

Why kitten-proof?

Kittens are playful with boundless energy and a keen sense of adventure. They will definitely pounce, leap, or scratch at anything that interests them (which, frankly, are most things!) Thus, they often hurt themselves or damage household items. Cat proofing your home is essential to avoid both. Here are a few things to remember when creating a safe cat house:

• Beware of small items like marbles, board game pieces, and even trash as these are dangerous for your little darling.
• Keep all breakable items away for a while as kittens are prone to destroying them.
• You cannot stop a kitten from climbing and darting off in all possible directions. So, be careful with open doors and windows that they may escape through.
• Remember that kittens have not learnt to distinguish between cat treats and potentially toxic food.
• Kittens love scratching which means your favourite clothes, shoes, and bed sheets must be kept off the kitty zone.

Steps to kitten-proof your home

1. Carefully examine the space of your home inch by inch:

   This is the first step to kitten proofing. Kittens fit everywhere and can climb onto almost any surface. You have to enter every room in your home with the temperament of a kitten to identify that sharp edge where little fur kiddo can hurt themselves or that shelf with glass displays that kitty may damage. You have to ensure that your home is a sanctuary, a perfect cat’s home where little furry is safe and happy.

2. Stow away tablecloths, rugs, and favourite bed sheets:

   Keep your valuable scratchable items away if you don’t want your little fur ball shredding them to bits! Also, investing in scratch proof covers for your sofa is a must.

3. Keep doors closed at all times:

   This includes doors to your washer-dryer and your bathroom. Kittens may not only escape through open doors and windows of houses but may think of the washer-dryer as a safe, warm space and attempt to drink water from the toilet, thereby running the risk of several injuries.

4. Secure cabinets with childproof locks:

   This cat proofing step is to ensure that your feline buddy does not inadvertently ingest medicines or other potentially toxic items. This will also ensure that objects within the cabinet are not damaged by your curious little friend.

5. Don’t leave food uncovered:

   The smell of food will surely entice your little furry munchkin to have a taste. There are certain human food cats absolutely must not have such as chocolates and raisins.

6. Ensure that all wires in your home are encased in chew-proof PVC:

   Kittens have a habit of chewing wires thereby risking burns and electrocution. Hence ensure that wires from household appliances don’t dangle within their reach and are encased in scratch proof and chew-proof PVC.

7. Invest in certain kitty supplies:

   Kitten supplies like a sturdy scratching post, chewies, and toys are essential to keep your kitten engaged and entertained. Place these strategically in areas with vulnerable furniture such as near the sofa so that scratching or chewing on these rather than your furniture will be more attractive to the restless munchkins.

8. Maintain a routine check for small objects on the floor:

   Remove small objects like toffees, marbles, erasers, small toys, rubber bands, and so on from your kitten’s reach as the little furries may hurt themselves by ingesting these items.

9. Certain houseplants may be toxic for cats:

   If you are a plant parent as well, you need to remember that certain plants like lilies, azaleas, mistletoe, poinsettia, and philodendron are extremely toxic for kittens and must be kept out of their reach.

10. Ensure that any form of pest control you use is animal-safe:

    As some commercial pest control products may make cats severely ill if ingested, make sure you only use ones that are animal-safe.

FAQs on kitten-proofing your home