How to Kitten-Proof Your Home

Kittens are curious little explorers who love to investigate nooks and crannies. If you're a new kitten owner (or are about to become one), you'll need to kitten-proof your home while closely monitoring your new pet as they learn to navigate safely. Additionally, it's crucial to protect your favorite belongings from adventurous kittens!

Why Kitten-Proof?

Kittens possess a remarkable curiosity, a keen sense of smell, and an impressive ability to leap, crawl, and use their claws. Consequently, they can easily get themselves into risky situations or damage fragile decorations and dinnerware. For instance:

• Kittens are fascinated by anything that moves and by most things that they can move around with their paws. That includes wires, knick-knacks, bathroom items, and tablecloths. Some items pose dangers to kittens, while others are prone to breakage.
• Kittens love to climb and will attempt to scale almost anything they can. They may also slip through open doors and windows, given the opportunity!
• Kittens need to sharpen and stretch their claws, which is fine unless they're damaging your favorite clothes or good carpets.
• With their noses close to the floor, kittens, much like human babies, love to put things in their mouths, including bits of trash.
• Kittens don't have the ability to tell human food from cat food, or safe treats from potentially harmful foods.

How to Kitten-Proof

In many ways, kitten-proofing is similar to baby-proofing. Imagine a toddler wandering around your home, grabbing anything that interests them and putting it into their mouth. Next, imagine that the toddler can leap, climb, and zip past you without making a sound—and you've got a good picture of the task ahead.

1. Look around your house first, at high shelves and low cupboards and hidden nooks. Could the kitten get onto a shelf holding valuable or fragile items? Could it become trapped inside a cupboard?
2. If you're into needlework, keep your supplies in a closed container. Needles and thread might appear to be fine playthings, but can be fatal if your kitten swallows them. Yarn can be a dangerous foreign body if your kitten eats it, so be sure to put it away carefully after you use it.
3. Fold and secure your window blinds' cords with a rubber band, keeping them out of your kitten's reach. If your kitten becomes tangled in the cord, strangulation is a risk.
4. Kittens will pick up almost anything they can and love knocking over trashcans. To avoid littered floors, invest in covered wastebaskets and kitchen garbage containers.
5. Always keep the dryer door closed, and double-check inside before use. Cats are drawn to dark, warm places to sleep, which can lead to tragic outcomes.
6. Keep the floor clean of stray rubber bands, ribbon, and twine. All are hazardous when ingested by a kitten.
7. Cover any food you leave out, as kittens have terrific noses and will be attracted to all kinds of treats. Be especially careful with foods that can be harmful to kittens; chocolate, for example, is toxic to cats.
8. Cloth drapes are better left out of reach of your furry 'curtain-climber'. Tie them up securely until your kitten is trained to a scratching post.
9. Keep your toilet lid down at all times, lest kitty fall in or drink from it. Better yet, keep your bathroom off-limits to your kitten unless you absolutely have to keep its litterbox there.
10. Do not keep your kitten in the garage, and always keep the doors closed. Antifreeze is very tasty to animals and is just one of the many common poisonous substances found in garages.
11. Use covers designed for electric cords to protect them, such as those tangled around your computer. Caution: wrapping cords can pose a fire hazard.
12. Several household plants are poisonous to cats, and floral arrangements can also pose dangers. Check before placing flowers where cats can access them. Lilies, which are common, are particularly dangerous, causing acute kidney failure in cats.
13. Utilize animal-safe pest control options. Many commercial roach, rodent, and ant poisons can kill cats if ingested.
14. If your kitten will have indoor-outdoor access, ensure your yard is free of snail poison, rodent traps, and other hazardous materials. Even better, fill your home with engaging toys and keep your cat indoors.