Sep 21 2008
Household Dangers for Cats
As cat owners, we do our best to protect our beloved companions, but not all dangers that face cats are outside. Some of the most dangerous hazards to cats’ health are within our own homes.
Cleaning products: One of the most obvious dangers to a cat’s health are chemical cleaners we use to clean, such as Pledge, Windex, Mr. Clean, bleach, Scrubbing Bubbles, Tilex, Lysol, and more. If you utilize these products to clean in your home, ensure the surfaces you cleaned with the products are rinsed thoroughly before allowing your kitty to come near the surface.
It’s best not to use these chemical cleaners if you can help it. Instead, use cleaning products that are not poisonous to your cat.
Wire: Electrical cords are very dangerous for curious cats! It is not uncommon for kittens to try to chomp on cords, but if your kitten or cat bites through a cord, he or she can suffer severe electrical burns and/or electicution!
To prevent your cat from chewing on electrical cords, spray them with Bitter Apple or buy plastic cord covers. You can purchase Bitter Apple in pet stores and you can purchase plastic cord covers in department and home supply stores.
Rolling office chairs: Office chairs that roll on wheels also pose a danger to cats. Owners can easily run over a cat’s paw, leg, or tail if he or she rolls backward in the chair without looking behind him or herself first.
ALWAYS look around you to ensure your cat is not in your path before you roll around in your office chair.
Dryer sheets: Dryer sheets are also dangerous to cats. Cats may like playing with these, but dryer sheets contain a poisonous chemical for cats, so cats should not be allowed to play with them. Make sure you throw away your used dryer sheets immediately after you take your clothes out of the dryer and put unused dryer sheets in a place your cat is unable to access.
Plants: There are many common household plants that are also poisonous to cats. You should not have these types of plants in your house at all because cats tend to like to eat plants! I will provide a list of poisonous plants for cats in another post in the near future.
Human food: There are some specific types of human food cats should not ingest, as it is poisonous to them. Please check back in the near future, as I will provide a list of foods that are poisonous to cats.
These are only some of the household dangers for our feline friends. In order to protect your cat from these common household dangers, please do your best to avoid using or having these things in your home. Your cat will thank you for it!
Please let me know what you think in the comments section below!
