Pet-Proofing 101: How to Make Your Home Pet Friendly

By Kim Dow

So, you’re bringing your new puppy or kitten home! Congratulations on the beginning of many years of love, cuddles and laughs. There’s nothing better than a pet to bring a smile to your face. But, there are lots of things your pet may be curious about around your home — from foods and plants to electrical cords and chemicals. Basically, your new dog or cat (or bunny, or any other indoor pet that may roam loose) can get into, well, EVERYTHING, so it’s always best to make sure you have a pet friendly home.

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Before you bring home that bundle of energy home, you’ll want to pet-proof your home to keep your new fur baby safe. Raising a puppy or kitten includes keeping eyes on him or her and removing safety hazards before mischief turns into a trip to the vet.

Pet-proofing is similar to baby-proofing a home. Get down on the floor and look at your house through your puppy’s eyes. What do you see? What looks tempting for a puppy to chew on? (Answer: Everything.) From electrical cords to table legs to toothpaste, everything is fair game for a puppy or kitten. Also, remember when making your home pet friendly, cats can jump and climb much higher than dogs, so you’ll need to look both up and down when proofing your home for your new furry feline. We’ll take you through some rooms and point out safety concerns to address.

Living or Family Room

You and your new pet will spend lots of time in the living room, so it’s one of the first rooms to tackle in making your home pet friendly. Secure electrical cords, computer and phone charging cords, drapery cords, and any other cords at your new pet’s level. Puppies and kitties have sharp teeth and can bite into electrical cords.

If you knit, sew or craft, make certain that all items like yarn, needles, thread, markers, glue sticks, and fabric scraps are out of reach. Put away buttons, batteries, magnets and other small objects. Remove knick-knacks, books, DVDs and any valuable item on your pet’s level that you don’t want munched on when your head is turned. Secure tipsy furniture, too. The landscape of your living room may change while your pet is young, but it’s usually only temporary, and well worth it.

Laundry Room

Your laundry room harbors some concerns for your new family member. Detergents, bleach, stain removers, dryer sheets and even laundry are all tempting for your new pet. Puppies and kittens can also chew on dryer vent ductwork, as well as on washing machine water lines, or electrical lines. They can also squeeze into small spaces in or behind the washer or dryer.

Bedrooms

Bedrooms are usually a safer environment than other rooms of the house, but there are still electrical cords to protect and clothes to remove from chair backs and floors.

Take a look at your shoes and decide if you’d like to keep them wearable! If the answer is yes, put them above your puppy’s reach, and resist the urge to give your puppy old shoes or socks to play with. You may know which loafers or pumps are off-limits, but to your teething puppy, they all smell like your feet and taste like heaven.

Make sure all small bedroom items, like watches, hair accessories, remotes, cell phone chargers, jewelry and personal items are safely in drawers. Puppies are even known to find retainers and dentures to be tasty (and expensive to replace) chew toys.

Bathroom

Your bathrooms harbor temptations for your new pet. Stray clothes like washcloths and socks are fair game for puppies and can cause blockages. Rubber bands, razors, dental floss, hair ribbons and rubber bands are irresistible for both kittens and puppies and are equally harmful.

Toothpaste contains xylitol, which is dangerous to pets. Always keep toothpaste, cleansers, makeup or applicators in a secure place like your medicine cabinet. Keep the toilet lid down to prevent water-bowl behavior and make sure toilet cleaners and drain-unclogging bottles are kept away from your pet.

Kitchen

Kitchens are full of tempting foods and potential dangers for your new pet. Making your kitchen pet friendly involves keeping irresistible but harmful foods out of their reach, including chocolate, grapes, raisins, avocados, macadamia nuts, onions, garlic, medicines, vitamins, and coffee. Research all of the foods that are off-limits to your cat or dog.

Sugar-free gums, which contain xylitol, are tasty but very dangerous for your pets. Keep these safely out of reach and remember that cats and medium to large-sized dogs can “counter-surf,” helping themselves to your just-made sandwich and more. Your pet can also swallow small objects like dropped bread twist-ties and rubber bands.

Few puppies or kittens can resist a garbage can, so try to keep those well out of reach of your pet. You may want to place a baby gate across your kitchen entrance to keep pets out of the kitchen when you can’t keep your full attention on them. They are masters at waiting underneath to catch any and all dropped food.

Other Pet Dangers in Your Home

As you move your way through the house, look for other potential dangers. For instance, keep handbags or kids’ backpacks out of reach of your puppy, kitten or adult pet. Sugar-free gums, candies, cough drops, over-the-counter medicines and prescriptions pose dangers to your pet, even in small doses. Keep children’s toys, plug-in air fresheners, candles, plastic snack bags and grocery bags away from your pet.

If your children have a tough time keeping their bedrooms neat, teach them to keep their bedrooms off-limits to growing puppies or kittens, either with a baby gate or a closed door. This can change later on as your pet matures.

Garages can be a danger zone for your pet as well, with chemicals like antifreeze, fertilizers and rat or mouse baits. Keep these high out of reach.

Protect your Best Furniture

To a puppy, your heirloom antique table looks like an oversized stick, and to your kitten, it’s just another nail-sharpening tree trunk. A puppy doesn’t understand why you think it’s great for him to retrieve sticks outside but don’t want him to chomp down on the “inside wood stick” table leg in your living room. If you have precious furniture, it might be a good idea to remove it from your new pet’s environment until he or she matures.

With a good dose of patience and humor and a good session of house and yard pet-proofing, you and your new pet will quickly bond and enjoy many years of love and companionship. There’s nothing better than your purring cat snuggled up next to you or the jubilant, tail-wagging greeting from your dog as you walk in the door. Enjoy the excitement of puppyhood and kittenhood, knowing you’ve made their environment safe with a pet friendly home.

This article was originally published on Porch.com and has been modified for Sass.

Kim Dow

Kim is the owner and publisher of Sass Magazine, as well as the owner of Sass Studios, a boutique graphic design studio in Frederick, MD. When not in the office, Kim can be found doing some of her favorite hobbies—reading a book, dancing, traveling, or playing with her rescued pitbull.