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Cat proof your home

Trying to keep your home as nice as it looked before you got a cat? Or trying to minimize the effects your cat has on your decor? There are four main areas where you want to focus your attention: paws, claws, hair, and teeth.

Paws
Cats are notorious for knocking small objects from shelves or tabletops. Like toddlers and young children, cats cannot resist pretty things, especially ones that are light enough for them to push around with their paws. Cats can knock over just about anything they really set their minds to, including lamps and vases that you would think are much too heavy. There are two basic tactics here:
1. Remove what you can. Put smaller items in curio cabinets, or away altogether. Open shelves are tempting to cats, avoid them if possible. They can and do jump, and love to wedge themselves into small spaces, including free space on shelves.
2. Fasten it down. You can purchase a putty-like substance that will not mar wood or other surfaces, and you can use this to effectively "glue" your lamps, vases, figurines, what have you, to your furniture. We should have bought stock in the company but Blue Tac and the new White Tac will hold almost anything down and will not damage your furniture. Be sure to use enough to discourage a determined cat. Usually if a swipe of the paw doesn't do anything, the cat will give up quickly. Almost everything in our house is held down with Blue Tac. It may drive our cleaner crazy when she dusts and polishes but none of our breakables have been broken in years.
3.The other damage that paws can do is digging up your houseplants. Use Spanish moss to cover the soil in your plant pots, and they may be enough to discourage your cat's curiosity. Some cats will not dig in gravel, and so nicely coloured stones may also be an option, but rocks don't bother some cats at all. Wood chips or moss seem to be most effective in discouraging digging.
4. If all else fails use the plant mister and say 'no' and sprinkle cayenne pepper liberally over the top of the soil. It will not harm cats or plants, but your cats will hate it.

Claws
Cat's claws should be trimmed regularly to minimize damage. We use a human nail clipper, finding the special ones made for cats to be more difficult to use. If you aren't certain how to clip your cat's nails, ask the breeder where you bought it or your veterinarian.
The best way to prevent scratches and claw-mark damage to your possession is to give your cat something it can claw at whenever it wants. This means getting scratching posts and keeping them in several places around the house. If you have a piece of upholstered furniture that your cat has started to claw, get a scratching post and place it directly in front of the furniture then put your cat's claws on the post so it gets the idea.

Hair
Cats shed varying amounts depending on the breed and the season, and this can be a problem for upholstered furniture and clothing especially with longhaired cats. To remove fur from clothing, one of the tacky roller-handled hair removers is really your best bet; cat fur is very fine and silky, and clings like mad. Cello tape wrapped around your hand (sticky side out) works wonders to remove cat hair before leaving the house.
A cosy throw-blanket can be just the invitation your cat needs to curl up. In my experience, if there is a blanket on any piece of furniture, the cat will sleep on the blanket rather than on the cushion. Have several blankets so you can rotate them frequently; make sure they're washable so you can launder them. Guests coming? Just throw the blanket in a hamper and you have hair free furniture to sit on.
Buy furniture and carpets with a similar colour to your cats and any hair that is shed will not show.

Teeth
Cats like to chew on cables and wires be it from the television, computer, stereo or telephone. Protect your cat and your assorted wires and cables by purchasing flexible tubing to cover them. If you have several wires or cables in the same area the tubing advertised as being perfect 'to organize and hide your wiring' works well. If the cat chews on the tubing, before it learns what 'NO' means then its teeth should not reach the actual wiring.

Toxic Plants
Its true that cats can kill your plants, but several plants are more than capable of getting revenge. Most of the plants on this list will make your cat sick, but some of them can kill. If your cats has been playing with or attempting to eat or chew on any of them, call your veterinarian immediately. This list is not exhaustive, but it will get you started. Always contact your veterinarian if you have questions.

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