If you choose to allow your new pet to have the run of the house, be sure to take proper steps to pet proof your home. For instance, keep all electrical cords well out of reach.
This might mean banishing your playful pet from certain areas of the house, but it is a minor inconvenience compared to a potentially fatal accident. Kittens especially love to chew, and electrical cords can be mighty appetizing.
Kittens explore with their mouths, and will pick up anything. Keep everything that’s not a toy out of reach, including spare change. Also, be careful when putting out cockroach or rat poisons, as these can attract curious mouths.
You will probably want to confine unsupervised kittens to non-carpeted floors until proper housetraining has been accomplished. Even so-called stain-resistant carpets can buckle under the strain of repeated bombardments.
Keep all plants out of reach. Cats love to chew on foliage, and if they decide to nibble on a harmful ornamented variety of plant, they could poison themselves. Cats will also enjoy using potting soil as litter, and cat urine has the unique ability to quickly dispatch even the heartiest of house plants!
Cats love to jump onto ledges, windowsills, and furniture. As a result, be sure all opened windows are screened, and that all lamps, pictures, and collectibles are secured. Open washers/dryers, drawers, high ledges or balconies, hot irons on ironing boards, and stovetop burners left on can all be insidious dangers to your cat’s health.
Pins, needles, rubber bands, yarn, string, ribbons, aluminum foil, cellophane, and holiday tinsel are just a few items that could cause serious health problems if eaten by cats.
Inquisitive cats have been known to get their heads lodged within open cans and jars, and because cats possess a strange attraction to bags of all types, plastic bags can become death traps if entered.