I'm bringing home our eagerly-awaited blue mitted girl later this week (I think she's 14 weeks), and I am not sure how much "baby" proofing I will need to do. Do I need to worry about things like the millions of Legos around the house? I am worried about her eating things that may be harmful to her. I need a few pointers here, thanks for any info you can pass along.
Cheers,
Mary
Wow, never heard the legos question before, LOL, and I would assume something that small could be a danger. Most people when bringing home kittens tend to "kitten proof" one room of the house where the kitten will stay for a while as it adjusts before getting full access to the house. So I would say, definitely in that room the legos should come up, and make sure electrical cords aren't where they can chew on them.
I would ask the breeder about the personality of the kitten as that would indicate how much kitten proofing you will need.
Better to overprotect than underprotect.
Do what you would do if you had a toddler over. Cover outlets, wrap up loose or dangling wires. Put away tiny pieces of toys. Keep the toilet lid down. Be careful when you close closets or start the dryer. The chewy stage will end but the curious side with be forever.
MaryinVirginia Wrote:Do I need to worry about things like the millions of Legos around the house?
That reminds me. I got to start buying Legos for my daughters B'Day in Sept. She wants 100's. I dont worry too much as most are too big for the kittens. Its the beads and K'nex that may be more of a concern.
Teddy puts everything in his mouth. He is sometimes quicker than me but I usually get it. I bundled wires and and put up the shade cords when I open them. I couldn't have a room for him since I only have 3 so we are all together. Teddy is doing fine with it but when I really need for him to be out of the way I put him in the bathroom because his box is in there and he loves playing with his balls in the tub. They don't get away from him in there. I figure it's better than the crate and he doesn't feel caged up. He doesn't cry as much either which makes me feel better.
Kitten Proofing...
well when titan came we didnt really need to do any kitten proofing. our biggest thing was making sure a cat post was satisfactory for him (so our couches were saved). we now have a multi level one out in the dinning room, and just a small one in the bedroom for night times.
congratulations on u baby enjoy her
It sounds a bit crazy, but it's a good idea to get down on your hands and knees to see what might be enticing to her re: cords, knick-knacks, etc.
I would clean up the Lego and other small toys until you get a chance to see how interested she is in those items. As the others mentioned -- tie up blind and shade cords (choking hazard), keep toilet lids down at all times and keep her out of the bathroom when the tub or sink have water in them (kittens are incredibly curious and clumsy, and can easily fall in and drown), keep washer and dryer doors closed and check to make sure she isn't inside either if the doors are left open. Also look for little nooks that she can get into but might not be able to get out of. Teddy managed to wedge himself behind the washer and dryer a few times -mostly when he was little, but once more just a couple of months ago. I thought I had blocked it off properly, but he proved me wrong. I came home from work and couldn't find him. I finally found him whimpering behind there and pulled him out to freedom. I felt awful! I also know people whose kittens have gotten themselves stuck behind the fridge and couch.
Oh, and anything you truly cherish and might be breakable - put it up high where she can't get it.
Have fun!
Coral
Thanks to you all for your wonderful advice. I will do my best to get ready, and look forward to the fun of having a kitten. Still need to figure out which room will be the room to put her in when we're away from the house.
I'll post some photos once she's here, since I know you all love to see them (as do I).
Cheers,
Mary
Since I brought Atrus home in the summer, I was home all of the time with him. I basically followed him around all the time or got down on the floor with him when he was playing to see where he would go or what he would try to get into. If you will not be home all the time, having a "safe room" is a good idea. Make sure it is completely kitten-proof and then you can supervise her adventures through the rest of the home at your own pace.
I had to better secure our screens so they wouldn't fall off when the kitten was hanging from them. Also I put some butterfly stickers all over the bottom of the sliding glass door, so that during his romps he wouldn't try to run through the glass. Otherwise we were careful about a lot of little things he could pick up, although he never was much for putting things in his mouth, including several varieties of canned food we tried! He did go through a wet bathtub phase, where he wanted to be in there all the time playing with the shower curtain. The problem with this was he would get wet and then jump in his litter box and get covered with cat litter. We had to start keeping the shower either dried out with a towel of closed when wet. Not an issue now, he wouldn't get in that shower if it was wet for a million bucks!