Cats are curious creatures and kittens love to explore and roam the house. Before bringing your kitten home, it’s a good idea to kitten proof your home room-by-room, that way you can keep your new kitten safe and help prevent damage to any furnishings or belongings inside. Here are some handy tips on how to kitten proof your home.

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Even if you only plan on giving your kitten access to one ‘safe’ room to start with, their curious nature and small size means they can easily escape or get stuck behind furniture.  Kittens are still learning about the world, they love to explore, climb and investigate, making them more likely to get trapped or injure themselves than adult cats. They might eat or drink things that are harmful to them, get stuck in unexpected places, jump on hot surfaces, fall off high ledges, or become lost. Due to their size it’s easy for kittens to get under your feet, making them easy to accidently tread on or trip over (which is hazardous for you too). It’s a lot like having a baby that has just learned to crawl or an accident-prone toddler in the home – you never know what is going to happen! Kittens are much more fragile than older cats, their bones and joints are still developing, and they can injure themselves whilst exploring their new environment. It’s important to make sure that their surroundings are safe before they arrive in their new home – preparation is key.

Start inside your home, but don’t forget to include your garden, shed, garage and any balconies too if you have them and you are planning on letting your kitten outside after they are neutered. Kittens can jump and climb higher than you think, as well as squeeze into the tiniest of spaces, so consider doing the following: Keep all windows that your kitten can climb up to shut – don’t assume that higher windows are out of reach, even the smallest of kittens are excellent climbers! Secure any cords from window blinds so that your kitten doesn’t become tangled and injured (or worse). Cats and kittens love to play with these and other dangly cords (including electric cords), but there’s a risk of these getting wrapped around your kitten, with serious consequences, including death. Bear in mind that products you think are harmless can be very toxic to cats. It’s best to fit child proof latches to hazardous areas, like cupboards with cleaning products, pesticides, medicines (including pet flea or worm treatments and medicines) or any other chemicals that your kitten could accidentally ingest. Most essential oils are toxic to cats, so oil burners and reed diffusers should not be used in the home. Remember cats will lick products off their fur, and may ingest them indirectly. Human medicines such as paracetamol are very toxic to cats, so should be kept in an elevated locked cupboard. Make sure washing machines and tumble dryer doors stay closed and always check them prior to use. Kittens are attracted to dark and secluded spaces, so may climb inside tumble dryers and fall asleep on the soft clothes. Keep hot surfaces guarded from your kitten, so they can’t accidentally jump on a hot stove top, fall into a boiling pan or get splashed with hot fat. Ideally, kittens should be kept out of the kitchen area when you are cooking as they can get stuck under your feet, which is dangerous for both of you. Avoid using tablecloths and drapes as your kitten is likely to climb on these and could pull the table contents on top of themselves. Food should be put away as cats have an excellent sense of smell and will go above and beyond to reach tasty food, especially meat. Take additional care to throw away any string that wraps around meat, as these are especially attractive to cats and your kitten may eat it, resulting in a trip to the vets and even emergency surgery. Certain foods such as onions, grapes and raisins, alcohol and chocolate are all toxic to cats, so should be stored well out of reach of curious kittens. Fat trimmings and milk can also cause gastrointestinal upset. Keep rubber bands, string, fiddle toys, thread (and needles) and ribbons, etc shut away out of reach. Kittens love to play with these but can swallow these objects which can become trapped in their intestine, which can be fatal. Toilet doors should be kept shut and toilet lids closed too. Kittens can easily become trapped and drown in a toilet bowl. The chemicals that may be used to clean the toilet can be harmful to kittens too. Open fires and log-burners should be kept off or have a guard around them. Your kitten won’t understand how dangerous these heat sources can be, and it only takes seconds for serious burns to occur. Check all electric cords in the home and where possible, cover them with specific covers designed for that purpose. Avoid having any type of lily in the home - the whole plant is very toxic to cats and it’s just not worth risking having them around an inquisitive kitten. Lily ingestion causes kidney failure and death, so it’s advisable to not bring lilies into any homes where there are cats. Even adult cats get the pollen on their fur and lick it off or chew the plant. Kitten proofing the garden can be more challenging. You can’t control what happens outside of your garden, but it’s sensible to check whether you have any plants that are toxic to cats. If so, try to either remove them or keep your cat away from them. As well as lilies, rhododendrons, bulbs (daffodils, etc), cyclamen, holly, ivy, laurel, mistletoe, poinsettia, azalea, yew, mushrooms, jasmine, foxglove, larkspur, monk’s hood, oleander, hydrangeas and tulips can be harmful to cats and kittens. Avoid keeping any rodent poison, slug bait or antifreeze inside or outside of the home, as they are very toxic to cats.

Cats like to engage in predatory play, so try spending plenty of time playing with your kitten each day to provide mental and physical stimulation and help enhance the bond between you and your kitten. Kittens love to play, and it also tires them out, making them more likely to rest when you’re not there. Provide your kitten with lots of toys and keep these on rotation so they don’t become bored. Remember to never use your hands or feet to play with your kitten, whilst this might seem like fun at first, it can be painful later when your kitten is larger and has bigger claws and teeth. Instead, try using a wand toy for interactive play. You could also try puzzle feeding your kitten once they have settled in. Puzzle feeders can make mealtimes interesting and could keep your kitten busy for several minutes, just start with something simple and easy e.g. kibble in an eggbox and see how your kitten gets on. Kittens start to scratch from 5 weeks of age, and this is a normal and necessary behavior for cats. Scratching surfaces are most likely to be used if they are located near where your kitten sleeps, as cats like to stretch and scratch after resting. Once your kitten has full run of the house, it’s a good idea to offer multiple scratching stations in different areas of the home. Placing some scratching stations near entrances and exits may also encourage use too and help prevent unwanted scratching on furniture. Remember that as your kitten grows, you will need to replace any small scratching posts with taller and sturdier options that are suited to adults’ cats. Once your kitten has settled in and explored your home you can try offering some additional sleeping and resting areas. Cats like to feel safe and secure when resting, so offering some beds that are comfortable and provide some privacy and security can help your kitten feel safe. Elevated beds can work well for kittens and cats as they like to relax and observe their surroundings from up high where they feel safe from threat, but take care that they are not so high to start that your kitten could fall and become injured. Never disturb your kitten when they are sleeping as this can startle them.  Offering lots of resting areas is particularly important in multi-cat households or those with dogs or small children, as this gives cats the opportunity to relax in peace. As your kitten grows and starts to go outside, you may be tempted to remove their litter tray if they choose to toilet outside. However, it’s best to keep at least one tray in the house just in case the weather is poor or if there is something outside that your cat wants to avoid, eg fireworks, dogs, other cats etc. Giving your kitten the option to toilet inside if they need to can minimize stress and help to prevent any accidents in the home.

Getting a kitten can be a really exciting and fun time, so preparing your home to make it as safe as possible can help prevent any accidents or injuries and give you precious time to enjoy with your kitten whilst you watch them grow and become part of your family.