How to Kitten Proof your Home

Is it time for your new Maine Coon kitten to come home? These feisty little bundles of love are ready to take on the world. Full of life, love and energy, our kitten is ready to explore his new world and see what’s hiding behind every corner.

Learn how to kitten proof your home with these 9 simple steps.

Clean up Loose Wires

Loose wires dangle and boing around. This is enticing for a young cat. They have instinct that drive them to catch things that are moving. So when they see a wiggly wire, they attack it, and chew it.

You can buy cord protectors that keep the wires away from your cat.

Remove All Toxic Plants

Plants look beautiful in in your home. They provide oxygen into the air, and have many benefits. There are hundreds of plants that are toxic to cat. Some can even be fatal.

Kittens can still get to your plants if they’re “up high” or “out of reach”. Remove all of your plants before your kitten comes home. Then research each one to find out if its safe if ingested by a kitten. Lillies are an absolutely no under any circumstances.

Secure Your Cleaning Supplies

Most cleaning supplies will make your cat sick. Now that you’re going to have a pet, it’s time to start reading the labels. Buy cleaning supplies that are non toxic to pets.

Pet Safe Furniture

This is something that you may not have thought of. That’s making sure that your furniture is pet friendly. Kittens are wild and rambunctious. They can run and leap across furniture at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. The heavier they get, the more likely they are to knock a chair or other pice of furniture over.

It may seem innocent, nut furniture can land on your kitten and fracture bones, or even worse, cause a fatality.

Another furniture hazard is reclining chairs and sofas. Too many kittens have been trapped in reclining furniture. This can cause loss of limbs, tails, and even death. Be careful before you open and close your leg rests.

Secure Heavy Objects

Be sure to put your valuables away. Cats and kittens have no regard for the price or value of anything. They could potentially knock a collectible or time sake piece off of a shelf. Just do a walk through before your kitten comes home to make sure that things of value are secured and/or put away.

Museum Wax is a good solution if you want to be able to display your collectibles without your kitty knocking things around.

Hide Small Objects

Having a Maine Coon kitten in the house is similar to having a toddler. They’re mischievous and get into everything. If there’s a tiny little object under a table or couch that they shouldn’t chew on they’re going to find it.

Do a once over in your home and pick up any small items that can be eaten by a kitten. Ingesting foreign objects is one of the most common reason for emergency room visits with a cat.

Discard Plugins and Diffusers

Diffusers and air fresheners are known to make cats sick. If you have plugins or automatic room spritzers, its time to ditch them.

No Litter Robots Until They’re Bigger

Litter Robots are extremely popular with cat owners. There is a minimum weight requirement of three (3) pounds which means the robot will rotate even if the kitten is inside. This can be tragic for your kitten.

Alternatively, you can offer the robot, but unplug it so that it doesn’t rotate. Plug it in and rotate it manually when you know that your kitten is safe.

NOTE: Maine Coon Kittens are usually over 3 pounds when they go home.

Cat Trees

Every Maine Coon kitty needs a cat tree. It’s very instinctual for them to climb and lounge at an elevated level. They like to observe their kingdom. If you have yourself a clumsy kitten, they can miss a jump and fall from the top of the cat tree.

When they kitten is young, aim for trees that are 36″ to 48″ until they’re a little bigger.

Keeping your Cat Safe and Happy is Our Goal

Here’s a good example of a mischievous cat: One of my adult cats is obsessed with sewing thread (my husband sews)! One night while we were sleeping, Omega got into the thread and ate it. I woke up to 50 feet of string running throughout the house and some (who knows how much) down his throat. It was a catastrophe and a rush to the vet; but he survived by pooping it out.

He wanted until he was 5 years old to take a liking to this new found obsession. We have to make double and triple sure that the spools of thread are securely put away because we know that Meg Meg will sneak upstairs and get into it.

It will only take a few minutes to do a walk through in your home and identify potential hazards for a kitten (or cat). It’s better to be safe and put things away than to find yourself at the vet.

Here’s a list of 8 items you can’t live without if you have a Maine Coon.