Russian Blue Proofing Your Home

After you've bought all the fun things for your new baby you need to consider all the dangers in your house. This will vary if you got a kitten or an adult but it is best to err on the side of caution and baby proof your house. You must think of your kitten like a 2 year old child. They are active enough to get into trouble but not smart enough to stop themselves from doing something dumb.

Kittens love to snake their way through things on your counters when you are not looking. This can lead to pots falling from the stove, pop spilled on the couch and vases knocked over. There are 2 options: 1) put everything breakable away until they are older or, 2) go buy some museum putty to hold vases and such in place.

Kittens and adults LOVE to gnaw and play with plants because they move and make noises. You need to research if your plants are poisonous and throw them away if they are. If they AREN'T poisonous then you may be able to keep them... or the kitten will decide it is a great toy and gnaw it all the time. You can just wait and see how they treat the safe plants. Here is a link to the ASPCA for a list of all known poisonous plants.

Everyone loves to crawl into holes and small gaps. Make sure you block off the route to the back of the fridge and washing machines unless you want to fish a cat out of there. Foam or a towel may work or it may just give them more incentive to pull it out and get back there. No way to know until you try it. You can also wad up a few grocery bags with NO HANDLES handing out and shove it in the cracks. Check your house for any holes into the walls, your kitten will find it for you if you don't.

Don't leave sharp objects on counters, glasses on counters etc etc etc. They will push them down (on purpose or on accident, no one knows for sure) and shatter. Coming home to a bloody kitten is no fun.

Some cats love to chew on cords, especially when they are teething at roughly 6 months old. You may want to invest in a few cable management tubes for your electronics and lamps.

KEEP YOUR KITCHEN CLEAN! Your cat will drink out of the dishes in your sink no matter how gross they are. This is a great way for them to get sick. They will also knock over stacks of dishes and shatter them all over the floor. The below image is a nightmare waiting to happen.

Beware that your food can be poisonous to your cat as well. Chocolate, Garlic, Nuts, Sugar Free Anything and Raisins/Grapes are just some of the bad foods. Click the pic for the link to the ASPCA page.

Put all your medications and cleaners away in a safe place, buy a childproof lock for under your sink if you need to. Keep potpourri and essential oils out of the reach.The oils can be toxic to cats if eaten. Keep your toilet seats DOWN at all times when not in use. You don't want a kitten getting stuck in there and at worst, drowning. At best you have a filthy toilet water kitten running around your house very upset.

Make sure your laundry cleaners are safely stored and always check your washer and dryer thoroughly before hitting start on the machine. Kittens LOVE to climb in them.

Summer is coming up. Check all your window screens to make sure they are securely on. Your cat may climb them.

So in short, walk around your house and look at everything that isn't nailed down and decide if you want to put it away for later when they are an adult and not as crazy, throw it away as it is a danger or go buy something to mitigate the danger.

Finally- ENJOY! They will surprise you by finding things you never even considered a problem! All you can do is laugh and clean up the mess.