Making Your Home Safe for Your Feisty Feline

There are many dangers that threaten you feline’s safety. These basic cat home proofing tips will help make your house a safe haven for your pet.

Plants

Cats love to play around plants. They also like to chew and claw the leaves. There are however, more than a hundred common house plants that can be poisonous to your house cat. These include aloe, hydrangea, lilies, philodendrons, tulip, holly, hyacinth and lace fern. Luckily there are many plants that are not toxic to your cats, such as jade, begonia, bamboo, and lace orchid. Remember though that even non-toxic plants may still be a threat if they are sprayed with pesticides. 

Electrical Cords

Cats love to jump and claw on almost everything. This includes loose electrical cords. Damaged cords can burn or electrocute a curious cat. One solution is to tape your cords so that your cat doesn’t get encouraged to play with moving or dangling cords. It is best however to completely cover exposed cords. You can use a cardboard tube, automotive vacuum hose, mailing tube, clothes drier exhaust hosing or a garden hose. Check your cord covers and electrical cords regularly for damages and frays.

Cleaning Supplies and Pest Control

The poisons you use for rats, cockroaches and other pests are also poisonous for your pet cat. Your cleaning supplies are also equally dangerous to your cat. Store your pest poisons and cleaning supplies in tightly sealed containers and keep the items locked away and out of reach and away from any traces of poisonous substances.

Garbage Bins

Even the pickiest cat may get attracted to the smell of food scraps in the garbage bin. Your cat can get poisoned with stale food items or may eat items that could upset their delicate stomaches. Every day foods for us may be poisonous for them such as chocolate, onions and tomatoes. They could also choke on or suffer intestinal injuries with bones from left over scraps or non-food trash items such as plastic caps and wrappers. Put tight lids on your trash bins so they are not easily accessible.

Ornaments and Play Things

If you are buying regular toys for your cat, look for toys that are marked safe for kids under three years of age. Make sure to remove small parts especially plastic ones like eyes, tails, wings and ornaments from cat toys. It is always best to carefully monitor or supervise your cat while at play. Be careful too with house ornaments and items that may be attractive to your cat. Keep an eye on your Christmas tree for example and get rid of lower level tree decorations or loose electrical wiring. Tinsel, snow spray, hooks and small ornaments are also all potential choking and poisoning hazards.

These subjects and more are covered in greater details in the book Toxic to Cats!