What are the major rules of kitten-proofing?

Question

We are hoping to adopt very soon. They are not super young, one is 5 months and the other one looks younger, but I think he looks older than 8 weeks. We have all our supplies already (litter box, scratching post, etc). We are not letting them upstairs since my husband has slight allergies and the #1 rule is to keep them out of the bedroom. We already know the secrets to controlling the allergy part, now we need the secrets to controlling the kittens! At least, as much as it is possible to control them! FYI Downstairs is the living/dining area, kitchen, and a half bath.

Answer 1

Make sure that nothing tiny is on the floor that they can swallow -- You wouldn't believe how kittens have came to me with BB's, rocks, and wads of paper stuck in their throat .. It's a terrible little sight, but they are just like babies! I'm sure you'll be a great momma!

Good luck with your new baby!

Answer 2

Nothing glass that can be knocked down, nothing breakable on the bathroom sink. NO string or thread, sewing supplies or beads in their reach-the kitten will chew and ingest them. DO NOT USE a reclining chair without visually knowing where the cat is--many have been crushed in the inside of the chair when a person gets up and it folds closed.

If he's a cord chewer--take a cloth and dip it in Bitter Apple and coat all the computer, light and tv/vcr electrical cords in this so they taste bad.

Anything small and moveable will become a cat toy to be shoved off the table/bookcase/aquarium (think fish food container)/etc. and be shoved out of sight somewhere in the throes of playing. Fish food containers tend to break when they hit the floor, just so you know.

Make sure they don't climb the blinds or chew the cords on that. Climbing the drapes isn't too good either. Trim the tips of the nails every two weeks so they don't shred things as bad.

Visually check the washer, dryer, refrigerator and oven any time you open and close it, in case the cat jumps in. Block off the back of the oven and dishwasher so they can't get in back of it, same for the washer and dryer too. Use window screen bent into the section if you need to. Most cats don't go there, but do a visual check to see if there's openings, because kittens will investigate everything.

Answer 3

I currently have 3 adopted cats --one is a 15 years old male, and the two little girls are 3 years old. I've had cats all of my life (50+ years), and I have four ideas to share that are wonderful, I think. I'm not sure they are "kitten proofing" ideas, but here goes.

1. Close the doors to the rooms you don't want the kittens in. Although, I do have a male cat who can open doors with the push-down handle type knob.....really!

2. Get the FRONT paws declawed. I know there are people out there who think this is cruel, but believe me.....the furniture WILL be torn up it you don't do this. Even when the cats are being good, and just running around the house, they climb and jump over the furniture while playing....and you get tears and claw marks. You still get them from the back paws when they push off.....but it's minimal. And, my vet did it at the same time she spayed my kittens (6 weeks old). They NEVER acted like their feet were sore or anything. I've had cats with and without claws throughout the years, and declawing is the way to go......but only if they are totally inside cats who never go outside.

3. If you have a garage that is attached to your house, you can put a small "cat door" into the door leading from the house into the garage, Then, put your litter boxes in the garage....the cats go in and out as they please, and the odor is not in the house. My cats actually like to hang out in the garage at night, looking for bugs, I guess! I also think they pretend my car windshield is a "slide"....there are paw prints all over the windshield!

But, you must be diligent to make sure the garage door is always down, except when you are moving the car in and out. You have to watch the garage doors going down, to make sure the cat does not try to run out and get caught under the door! But, this has worked GREAT for me over the past 17 years. My cats have never been outside, so they are actually scared to be in the garage when I get into the car or open the garage door....they run inside! The kittens learn to use the door quickly...just put some food and water in the garage, and set her out there to eat. She will check out the door and come back inside...especially if you are looking through the door and calling her from the other side. Only takes a couple of times.

If you must keep the litter box in the house, be sure to take the kitten or cat to the box and place her in it after she eats, and several times throughout the day. She'll learn quickly where to find it......and will prefer it to anywhere else, unlike dogs!

4. If the cat likes to jump up on the counter or table, keep a spray bottle filled with water within reach. Spray the kitten with the water when she is on the table, etc. and tell her "no" or "down"...she'll get the message.

I hope these suggestions help. Cats are wonderful friends!

Answer 4

The best thing is to keep the contented.

You want to keep them contained in the lower levels of the house, make sure you have the means to keep them there. Have lots of toys. Have food and water bowls and litter box where they can be easily accessed and there is not a lot of searching for the kittens.

Never hit a kitten, no matter what, a loud "no" should suffice and they will learn their boundaries. If biting is a problem, consider bitter apple spray (ferret/small animal strength (there is one for dogs too, which is too strong for kittens)).

Avoid catnip until they are fully grown (about a year). Finally, if the kittens are overly aggressive/misbehave get them fixed as soon as possible as it usually helps with behavioral problems (as well as the over-population problem).

Look here for some more info:
http://cats.about.com/od/kittencare/Kitten_Care_All_Aspects_of_Kitten_Care.htm
http://www.kittenrescue.org/handbook.htm
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/kittening.html

Best of Luck

Answer 5

They can get pretty much everywhere, and they will try. I thought I had my house kitten proofed until I got my kitten I had to do a few last minute adjustments.

The main one is to keep an eye on them as much as you can, my little one had a fetish for biting and chewing on things, not a good thing when they decide to gnaw on electric cables.

Your curtains will be climbed up, your cupboards will be crawled into, your flower pots will be dug up, if you have a chimney they will try to climb up that too. They calm down after about a year.

I used a spray water bottle (the ones you usually have for flowers) and I sprayed when she was naughty with a firm no attached to it. Avoid running after them or trying to grab them when they are naughty, that will only make them shy of your touch and being picked up.

Good luck

Answer 6

Best thing to do, is basically crawl around and check for anything that your kitten could get into. Get down to their level. They will get behind anything, eat anything on the ground, and pretty much try their hardest to get into trouble.

Make sure there aren't any cords they can get tangled in, no poisonous plants, small things on the ground (screws, plastic, paper).

Kitten-proofing is almost like baby-proofing.

**EDIT** - You don't need to declaw them to save your furniture. Declawing is a very painful procedure. All you need to do is get their nails trimmed every 5 - 6 weeks, or buy rubber nail caps. And be sure to have a scratching post.

Answer 7

Do anything one might do to childproof a house. Put cheapo locks on the kitchen cabinets and anything else where there are toxic substances.

Answer 8

dont get one...those things are disgusting.