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Pet Medication Home -> Make Your Home
Cat-Safe
"Make Your Home Cat-Safe
- How To Keep Your Cat Happy and Healthy"
- Lock things up that could cause harm
- Keep the washer/dryer door closed at all times
- Honk the car horn before starting it up
- Use fire carefully
- Keep all upstairs windows closed or screened
- Store string away tidily
- Keep floors free of small things
- Be constantly aware of what your cat is doing
Curiosity gets most cats in trouble at some point
in their lives. As your cat's caregiver, keeping her safe sometimes
seems like a "mission impossible." With a little foresight
and action, however, you can create a "home, safe home."
When you're trying to provide the best home possible
for your cat, it pays to think like her. Put on some old clothes
and get down on hands and knees and take a look around. Is that
shiny crystal vase on the shelf a tempting target? Remember that
cats will jump onto shelves and tables.
That dangling drapery cord would be fun to leap and
grab. What's in this big pot? In case you need help identifying
what might catch a cat's eye, here's a list of common household
items that are often the cause of cat injuries:
- Roach and ant traps
- electric and phone cords
- cigarettes in ashtrays
- open doors and windows
- rubber bands
- housecleaning chemicals
- lit candles
- Christmas trees
- ornaments
- paperclips
- rocking chairs
- uncovered toilets
- trash cans
- human medications
- chocolate
- anti-freeze
- unattended boiling pots
- electric stove burners
- plastic bags.
Cats find plants irresistible as playthings. They
love to pounce on them and shred them with both their claws and
teeth. Although they are carnivores -meat eaters-they sometimes
eat plant material. For these reasons, it's important to make sure
the plants in and around your home won't pose a health risk. The
following are some common house and landscape plants that are toxic
to cats:
- Philodendron English ivy
- caladium dieffenbachia "elephant ear"
- poinsettia
- mistletoe
- azaleas
- holly
- berries
- boxwood
- wisteria
- hydrangea
- oleander
- chinaberry tree
If you live in an area prone to natural disasters,
keep an emergency pet supply kit with your own. Include a week's
worth of food as well as any medication your cat takes on a regular
basis. A photo of your pet is also good to keep with your emergency
supplies, in case you are separated from your cat during the event,
you'll have a way to get the word out to locate her.
A collar with an identification tag is one of those
things that you might never need, but will wish you had if you need
it and don't. Even if your cat is strictly and indoor pet, the unexpected
could happen. A door or window is left ajar, or a natural disaster
creates an opening in your home through which your frightened feline
escapes.
Your cat's identity tag should include the following
information
- Pet's name
- Owner's name and address
- Telephone numbers (day and evening)
- Medical problem requiring medication
- Veterinarian's name and number
- Current Rabies vaccination information
- Reward offer should pet become lost
Many people have their cats micro-chipped for identification.
A small silicone chip containing the owner's contact information
is painlessly inserted under the cat's skin. Most animal shelters
automatically scan lost pets to read the owner contact information.
However, if your cat is found by an average citizen an identification
tag will speed up your reunion.
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