You’ve heard of childproofing your home, but did you think about kitten-proofing before bringing your kitten home? Kittens are inquisitive and rambunctious, which means they’re also good at getting into trouble. Follow these tips to kitten-proof your home to keep your new friend safe from accident and injury.
- Provide your kitten with a safe space to decompress that’s not easily accessible to children or other pets.
- Allocate a space for your kitten’s food storage. Consider latching bins so that your kitten doesn’t get into the food and overeat. Make sure that your kitten can’t accidentally shut themselves in the food bin.
- Make sure the doors and windows to your home properly latch so that your kitten can’t push them open and escape outside, where they could potentially get injured.
- Swap your trash cans for ones with latching lids or place trash cans out of reach. There are too many things in the garbage that might entice a kitten, which can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, intestinal blockages or toxin exposure.
- Secure the cords of your window blinds out of the reach of playful kittens. These present a strangling hazard for kittens.
- Put any threads, rubber bands, yarns or other similar items safely away. While the image of a cat playing with string is well loved, these items are actually quite dangerous and potentially life-threatening if swallowed.
- Unplug loose electrical cords or tuck cords out of sight. These are chewing hazards which could cause an electric shock. Kittens are notorious for chewing on cords.
- Make sure cleaning supplies are in a safe location inaccessible to pets or children, such as a cabinet that’s elevated high off the ground or a high shelf in the garage.
- Many human medications are toxic to cats. Make sure your medication bottles can’t be reached by a curious kitten.
- Make sure there aren’t any gaps in your walls, floors or ceilings that a kitten could crawl through.
- Place scratching pads and posts throughout the house, and consider placing couch protectors or anti-scratch pads on the sides of your couches.
- Keep breakable items away from the edges of counters and shelves. An ornery kitten just might knock them off!
- Keep the doors to your clothes washer and dryer closed when not in use. Consider placing a reminder on these machines to check inside before using. Kittens are known to crawl inside, which could be life-threatening if the machine is started.
- Develop a list of emergency resources. You’ll want to include the number for your VCA Animal Hospital, the nearest emergency veterinary hospital and pet poison helplines. Options include the Pet Poison Helpline (855-764-7661) or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435).
Place these numbers in an easily accessible location, such as on your refrigerator, or save the numbers in your phone. We also recommend downloading the myVCATM app, which gives you access to 24/7 Live Chat* where our licensed veterinary professionals are always ready to answer your questions.
As part of kitten-proofing your home, you’ll want to ensure your kitten doesn’t have access to any toxic substances. Keep the following items out of reach of your new kitten:
- Chocolate
- Onions, garlic, chives, leeks, scallions, shallots
- Caffeine
- Medications, including multivitamins
- Rodenticides
- Pesticides and insecticides, especially dog-specific insecticides containing pyrethroids like permethrin
- Fertilizers and weed killers
- Antifreeze
- Household cleaners, including bleach
- Some essential oils and liquid potpourri products, such as cinnamon, peppermint, wintergreen and ylang-ylang
- Marijuana
- Illicit substances
- Specific plants, like lilies. Check out the top 10 toxic plants to ensure the plants in your home and yard are pet-safe. Keep in mind that even the potting soil or mulch of toxic plants may be dangerous for your kitten.
Not sure if your home is safe for your pet? Access free 24/7 Live Chat*, where our licensed veterinary professionals are always ready to answer your questions. Download the myVCA App Now.
*Live Chat with a licensed veterinary professional is free for VCA clients through the myVCA mobile app, available at Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
