We’ve promised our granddaughter, Reagan, that she can adopt a kitten in the spring. The events of that day will certainly be captured on smartphones and seared into our consciousness, but we also want to make sure, before we let the kinetic kitten down and he takes off in turbo mode, to protect him against household dangers — and the house against kitten problems.
Here are my top kitten-proofing tips:
1. Sew there’s a problem. If you sew, knit, or do any kind of needlework you must have all of the thread, yarn, twine, ribbon, and needles put away and not left out.
2. Waste management. Either use covered wastebaskets or have them inside a cabinet.
3. Paper hanger. How many photos have you seen of kittens unspooling toilet paper? To prevent that Kodak moment, have the toilet paper unwind from underneath or use a dispenser with a cover.
4. Keep the lid down. Believe it or not, kittens can be attracted to the sound of running water in the toilet, fall in, and drown. I had this happen to a client’s kitten early in my career. Keep the lid down.
5. Remove all poisonous plants. My number one plant species to remove is lilies. Visit the ASPCA Pet Poison Control website for more.
6. Take breakables off the mantle. Kittens love to climb, leap and clear mantles and shelves of decorative items. Either move them, or use a product like QuakeHold (I buy at Amazon) to secure.
