5 Ways You Can Make Your Home More Pet-Friendly
Regardless of whether you already have a pet or are thinking about getting one soon, you need to be aware of the fact that your home can pose several threats to your little furry friend. Most of these we’re are unfortunately not familiar with but we need to do our best to ensure nothing can hurt our beloved pet. Listed below are several ways how you can make your home safer for the cat, dog, or any other animal that you decide to bring into your family. Take a look.
5 Ways You Can Make Your Home More Pet-Friendly
Hide wires and cables
A pet will surely start investigating its new environment as soon as it arrives and that usually includes sniffing and chewing things they encounter. Seeing as how choking, suffocation, strangulation, and electrocution incidents are not rare, you should do your best to hide various cords and wires in your home. What is more, they also risk pulling a heavy object onto themselves if they reach a cord. There are many ways to cover cables, from putting specially designed rugs over them to buying some simple cord concealers that can be put on the wall and on the floor. Furthermore, window treatment cords can also be dangerous, so think about cutting them short or finding a way to stick them to the wall.
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Keep your medications and chemicals under lock and key
Another thing you inevitably have in your home are various sorts of medications. If they are easily accessible, left on a table, or on an open shelf, your pet can get to them and start chewing which can lead to an accident. In order to prevent that, make sure you always keep these items in a locked box or cabinet where they cannot reach it. The same goes for your makeup and other beauty products which could potentially be harmful to animals. Finally, the chemicals you use to clean your home or keep your vehicles running need to be secured as well. Put them on high shelves, lock the cabinets they are in, and preferably, keep your pup or kitten away from the garage or any similar area where such things might be found.
Research the plants in your home
Most of us love plants and the way they make our home more beautiful and improve our health. However, something you might not be aware of is the fact that certain plants can be poisonous for our beloved pets. Vomiting and gastrointestinal problems are common side-effects of consuming a toxic plant while it can sometimes even result in death. Therefore, you should do proper research before you bring a pet home. For example, tulips, daffodils, azaleas, and peace lilies are just some of the plants that are toxic to cats. If you still want some greenery in your home, you should look into some feline-friendly alternatives such as a sword or staghorn fern, areca palm, or spider plant. In case you want a puppy, all of the above-mentioned plants that pose a danger to cats are bad for dogs as well and you should also avoid mistletoe, hemlock, and cyclamen. Peperomia, the polka dot plant, mosaic plant, and bromeliads are all houseplants that will not harm your pup. As you can see, properly doing your homework when it comes to the plants in your home is also vital.
Make certain areas off-limits
We mentioned earlier keeping your pets out of the garage. Well, the same can be done for other dangerous areas of your home. For instance, there are many sharp objects and dangerous appliances in the kitchen, so you might want to consider putting some pet gates at the entrance and thus prevent your furry friend from entering this space. Another thing you should add is a pet-safe way to dispose of your garbage as it is not uncommon for pets to go rummaging – consider keeping the trash under the sink, in a locked cabinet or in a bin with a lid that isn’t easily opened. The bathroom is another room that should be kept off-limits or at least pet-proofed. We already mentioned keeping meds out of reach but you should also make sure that the toilet lid is down and secured in order to prevent the pet from drinking from it and being exposed to certain chemicals you use for cleaning. Moreover, if you think they are not ready to go up and down the stairs, put some gates around them as well. You can have these installed permanently or get some that can be moved to wherever you need them.
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Install a fence around your property
Finally, you also need to ensure the backyard is pet-friendly as well. Start by putting up a fence around your property so that your dog can’t wander off and make sure there are no holes they can escape through. Besides fences, you should also put away all dangerous tools you use for taking care of your garden and look into the chemicals you use and see whether they are harmful to pets – if yes, look for a natural alternative.
These five ways are just some of the basics you have to consider in order to ensure your home is safe for your beloved pet. If you’re thinking about adopting, go through this checklist to prevent any incidents in the future.
