Kitten Proofing Our House

It's scary how quickly time flies. In a blink of an eye, Meuw has already been with us for close to 2 months.

We are living in a high rise apartment, that meant that the danger of our cat getting into an accident from jumping off the building when he is too excited is relatively high. There are a number of potential dangers in the house as of now because we did not plan to have any pets while we were planning and designing our home. Here are some of the steps we took so ensure that the house is as safe as we can get it to be.

1) Windows

Cats are curious little fellows. They love heights and sunbathing, enjoy watching wildlife and most of all, playing.

There have been multiple incidents where the cats are too engrossed with birds flying outside the window that they try to catch them and fall right down. We certainly don't want that to happen to Meuw. Some options we have looked into preventing that are window grilles and pet screens.

Pet Screens

This product is AMAZING and everything we wanted. It's almost like it's not there. There are no unslightly bars, you can easily change the screens out, it is totally flat, it is perfect.

We consulted a professional who specializes in doing screens for homes. He advised us that these magnetic type are not suitable for cats because if they were to pounce on it, it will come right off. The magnet used is pretty strong but it's not enough. He recommended a roller type screen that uses a stronger net and a stronger, rigid frame. We got measurements taken and patiently waited for the quotation. This might be just the perfect solution!

A couple of days later, the quotation arrived and the figure was a little more than $3k. Seriously?? For pet screens? Even window grilles costs lesser.

So we ordered ourselves DIY pet screens online and tried it ourselves. We took hours to complete one window because we want the screen as taut as we can. It looks great - like it's not even there. However, we have to admit that it will not be sufficient to hold in a overly excited cat. For now, it's doing a good job at keeping the files out!

2) Gaps

We checked our whole house for hazardous gaps - in case he gets in and we cannot reach out to him. The only two areas that we were concerned with were around the refrigerator and washing machine. We got the cat repellent mats from Daiso and started kitten proofing.

3) Poisonous Plants

We are not really good with maintaining and upkeeping any form of vegetation and chose artificial plants to add some greenery into our living space. Meuw thankfully does not show any form of interest to the plastic, so we are safe in this aspect.

4) Power Cords

It's a good thing that we always had the habit to hide unsightly cords, either within the carpentry or using cabie ties (the velcro type is great), so Meuw do not have access to them and will not have any chance to chew on any. We had all our ear piece and smaller electronic charging cables stored away in the rooms (which is closed all the time), so we do not have to worry about that either.

That's all we did to kitten proof our place. We really did not do much and it has been pretty convenient so far. We have always been storing all dangerous chemical items in the storeroom and kept the counter top as empty as we can. Less is more, they always say.

#diy #safety #informative