# Cat-Proofing Tips for Your Home



## JonSR77 (Mar 30, 2022)

Cat-Proofing Tips for Your Home​Excerpt:

*1. Aluminum Foil / Corks, etc.
Cats may love to play with an aluminum foil ball or cork on a string, but these objects can kill. *If lodged in the throat, your cat could strangle; if chewed or partially eaten, they can cause intestinal blockage. Cellophane (including wrappers on cigarette packages) can turn “glassy” in a cat’s stomach and cause a painful death.

https://pawsbink.org/pet-care-library/cat-proofing-tips-for-your-home/


----------



## Jules (Apr 4, 2022)

Cosette said:


> I'm lost. Forgive me. I thought the point of having a cat was for them to be used for pest control; wouldn't that require allowing the cat to have free roam privileges around the home, inside and out? Honestly, I thought the point of having a cat is to let them go free range and kill mice, insects, snakes and birds.


There’s a whole lot that I don’t agree with here.  My cats were for companionship and because I loved them.  I think this is why most people choose a pet.  

I absolutely would not have a cat wandering loose to kill birds.  Or other little critters in the eco system.  A mouse in the house, that would be fair game.


----------



## Pepper (Apr 4, 2022)

And dogs were kept for hunting & herding cattle, sniff out bedbugs, etc.  Does your @Cosette do that?  Honestly, I thought the point of having a dog is to let them go hunting & herding and for fun, dog fights.  Honestly.


----------



## Marie5656 (Apr 4, 2022)

*Looks like a good article. Took a look as I am thinking of adopting a cat down the road.
Yes.pest control is a thing, but I would not see that as the only reason to have a cat. I live in an upper floor apartment..no mice. BUT, they are great companion animals, and if litter trained it is a plus for someone who is not able to bring a pet outside to potty.
I want to companionship and unconditional love a pet brings.
Not a home pet proofing thing....but declawing is NOT an option...painful for them.*


----------



## Pepper (Apr 4, 2022)

Marie5656 said:


> *Not a home pet proofing thing....but declawing is NOT an option...painful for them.*


I think declawing not legal in NYState.


----------



## Marie5656 (Apr 4, 2022)

Pepper said:


> I think declawing not legal in NYState.


You are right. Many more states doing that as well.


----------



## mrstime (Apr 4, 2022)

Pepper said:


> I think declawing not legal in NYState.


Declawing is cruel and not necessary. Get a heavy scratching post, first time kitty uses it, give them, a treat. Our Fancy was so smart, she scratched I put the treat on top of the scratching post , she loved and gobbled the treats then she looked at me and while watching me she scratched, got treats. That first day I thought she might wear her claws out. But even as the treats got fewer in fact to once a day she never ever scratched the furniture. That worked with the next kitty after we lost our Fancy. I believe cats should be strictly indoor cats, the cats who are strictly indoors live longer. Our last cat had been a stray we couldn't entice her even with the leash to go outside. In fact one day I saw her look out at some crows , she then ducked down so the crows couldn't see her. I assumed at some point in her life she had tangled with crows.


----------



## Pepper (Apr 4, 2022)

Well ok @Cosette, that is equitable!  If I reacted sensitively it is because I lost my male cat 2 weeks ago and it is hard.  I have his sister and she is acting all scared & clingy, which is fine, as they've been together since the womb.  She was not only there to comfort him at the last, but also stayed with him for several hours after.

Now that you mention it, when I saw a bug I would say to them "Aren't you doing your job?"


----------



## Remy (Apr 4, 2022)

Jules said:


> There’s a whole lot that I don’t agree with here.  My cats were for companionship and because I loved them.  I think this is why most people choose a pet.
> 
> I absolutely would not have a cat wandering loose to kill birds.  Or other little critters in the eco system.  A mouse in the house, that would be fair game.


OMG, so yes to this Jules!!! My cats are strictly indoors. Birds are certainly not pests. Not to mention lizards, snakes. My cats are family. What would I do without them.

It's one of the reasons I feed the 3 fixed ferals at work. Not only do I not want them to suffer hungry but I don't want them going after birds. One has got a mouse a couple of times, but the gulch must be full of them. There was a small dead rat in the parking lot for two days. Yesterday I put on a glove and tossed the poor thing into the channel where he lived. One of the cats had probably got it.


----------



## Remy (Apr 4, 2022)

My cats are not declawed. I have the skin and furniture to prove it.


----------



## Pepper (Apr 4, 2022)

Cosette said:


> I'm sorry about your cat, but in reality a cat serves a purpose much like a dog serves a purpose. And as much as I like Cosette she's designed for athletic ability, hunting and friendliness with humans. Such is her purpose. That's just how I see the world.


Okay, it's nice to meet someone so upfront and non sentimental, or is that going too far?


----------



## Jan14 (Apr 4, 2022)

Remy said:


> My cats are not declawed. I have the skin and furniture to prove it.


My cats clawed up my furniture in their first year. But I scold them or just say their names and they are learning to stop.  Doing much better.  They can be trained. I don’t like declawing because of pain.


----------



## Marie5656 (Apr 4, 2022)

*I hear a spray bottle of water helps with clawing furniture...Is that true?  Just a mist*


----------



## Della (Apr 4, 2022)

Yes a mist of water is a truly disgusting insult to a cat.  I kept a small atomizer of water on the kitchen counter and sprayed my cat once when he tried to jump up and help me prepare the chicken.  I never had to do it again, just the sight of the spray bottle horrified him. 

For years I thought the leather furniture in the living room was safe from him but one day I ran my hand down the sides and found nothing but bumps.  Little dickens. 

I did manage to keep him out of two decorative side chairs I had by putting a strip of clear tape from one arm to the other -- sticky side out.


----------

