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Curiosity gets more cats into trouble than almost anything else. Cats are very curious by nature and when you bring them into your house, look out!
I got a Ragdoll kitten (Andy) for Christmas one year and decided we should go and get his brother from the breeder the following week. We thought Andy would be so surprised and happy to be reunited with his brother - ha! He seemed to have absolutely no recollection that he ever had a brother and did not want to share his new home with another kitten at all. He stalked his brother (Amos ) all over the house hissing and growling until poor Amos took refuge in the basement of our house. Andy was still not happy until Amos found a small hole in the wall and climbed in and disappeared! He managed to get himself stuck in the wall where he couldn't turn around to get himself back out and we had to tear half the wall down to rescue him. Moral of the story is that you need to kitten proof your house to save yourself a lot of headaches.
Placing glass decorations on high shelves turned out to be another poor decision. I swear they would push them off on purpose. Some of the following tips should prevent a lot of needless disasters and trips to the emergency vet's office.
- Tie up hanging drapery and electrical cords.
- Remove plastic bags, twist ties, rubber bands, medications, cigarette butts and ant or roach traps from where they can get into them.
- Check that if windows are open they have firmly attached screens.
- Do not leave candles burning unattended.
- Keep toilet lids closed.
- Do not leave the stove unattended. Burners can remain hot after you turn them off especially if you have a glass top stove. I kept a tea kettle filled with water on hand just for that purpose.
- Christmas trees should have a category all to themselves. You should secure it to the closest wall unless you want to pick it up off the floor after it is fully decorated! Do not use tinsel on a tree if you have a cat or dog in the house. They love to eat it right off the tree for some strange reason. Do not hang glass decorations on the lower branches for obvious reasons.
Mistletoe, Poinsettia, Oleander, Elephant Ear, Wisteria, Boxwood, Hydrangea, Lilies, Azalea
Rhododendron and Fox Glove.
This is just to name a few. The ASPCA lists over 400 plants that are toxic to cats. I finally gave up and got rid of all of mine. Some cat owners claim that if you give your cats a small container of growing grass in your home they will leave your plants alone. I never tried that so I don't know if it works but it might be worth a try.
One other thing I would do to keep my curious cats safe if to have them micro chipped. A small silicone chip containing the owners' information is painlessly inserted under the cat's skin. If your cat should ever accidentally get outside (trust me, it happens) any local vet or animal shelter would be able to scan the chip and return your cat to you. My cats were total inside cats and had not been outside in their lives until the day somebody didn't close the door tightly. One stayed in the house and the other one went exploring. Fortunately we got him back before he got into trouble he couldn't handle. You just never know what can happen and it really helps to try and have all the bases covered before it does.
Valerie McCune is the owner of 2 ragdoll cats and 1 questionable breed dog that she loves owning and writing about.
Visit her website at http://www.petsarena.com for more articles about pets and pet supplies.
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