We’ve just brought home our new kittens; Scarlet, Caesar & Cleo.

Gary’s never had kittens before and it’s been over 19 years for me.  I’d forgotten how curious they are.  If I was new to the world and really had no sense of danger, wouldn’t I want to see, smell & touch everything?  You bet I would.  Just like small mobile children, kittens like to explore everything that they can fit into their mouths, or fit under/into.  For their own safety, it’s time to kitten proof. 

 The one thing that I was really worried about was the electrical cords.  They were like a magnet to the kitties.  No matter how hard I tried to cover all the cords, they always found them.  My vet told me about a product called Bitter Apple that tastes like it sounds.  I put a little of that on the exposed electrical cords and when the kitties put one of them in their mouth, the taste was too bitter and they lost interest.    Some of the other things I noticed was that they could squeeze into the tiniest openings.  I had to go around and inspect every nook & cranny to make sure that there was nothing dangerous.  If there was, I had to cover it up with cardboard or anything that would do the job.  As they grew, they were able to get higher up – like on the counters & table tops.  For certain areas that were off limits, I used a static pad – a vinyl pad that emits tiny, harmless little shocks, like static electricity shocks.  For some of the tables, I put down double-sided tape because kitties hate stepping on anything sticky.  I even installed child safety latches on the cabinets because they eventually learned how to open the doors with their paws and climb in side. Like children, you need to keep an eye on them and make sure that there isn’t anything that can injure them if they bite it, swallow it, open it, or crawl into it.  I learned the hard way about heavier items on the top of my head board.  As I said earlier, they like heights.  They got big enough to get up on my head board and I’d wake up by getting hit in the head with falling objects.  That’s when my stuffed animals came in handy.  They don’t hurt as much.

This post was originally published by www.purrfectworld.com TM