Congratulations on your new property! As you start making this new space truly feel like home, it’s important to also make adjustments to keep your fur babies safe and feeling comfortable. Or maybe you’ve never had a pet before and want to learn how to protect your beloved home from any animal-related damage? Whatever your reason, we can help.
Pets bring a lot of joy into our lives, but they also come with their own set of needs and challenges. Whether you’re a seasoned pet owner or a newbie, transforming your new house into a pet-friendly haven is essential. 23 Legal is here to dive into some simple steps and tips to help your family make this process smooth and enjoyable for you AND your furry companions….
Making Your Home Pet-Friendly for Your Furry Friend
It is important to prepare your home before getting a new pet, especially if you are adopting a new furry member into the household. One can begin by designating particular zones of the house exclusively for certain functions of your pet, for instance, a sleeping area, feeder, and a litter box for cats. Such regions should be quickly reachable and located in diverse parts of living space to ensure that your pet feels protected and comfy.
Secondly, mistakes happen and can be avoided. It is possible to take measures in pet-proofing homes in a way that entails dumping off dangerous items which include; exposed electrical wires, toxic plants, and small items that can cause choking to the pet. Lock kitchen garbage containers and cover them; store detergent and medicines where small children cannot gain access to them.
These are measures that can help avoid occurrences that have the potential to endanger your pet’s life. You should also purchase some items in stock such as food, treats, toys of pets, grooming items, and cleaning materials used in cleaning the pet mess. If these are not on your list, it will definitely help in the transition and your pet will not lack anything on the first day. In this way, you’ll be ready to welcome your new pet to your home, and they also will be ready to accept your house as theirs which will make your relations close and friendly.
Safety First: Protecting Your Fur Baby
Remember these safety tips for your pets:
- Label and store flammable materials, corrosives, and toxic substances away from children and pets.
- Keep the electrical cords and outlets covered to avoid being chewed by the kittens.
- Remove or keep small items such as coins, buttons, and small toys out of reach to prevent children from choking.
- Avoid opening windows and doors for the pets to flee by locking them and keeping them shut.
- Never leave toxic plants lying around the house and if possible do not use actual plants at all.
- Tie or anchor any furniture that has been loosely placed or is wobbly to avoid such incidents from taking place.
- If the containers are for pets, make sure they are trash cans with tight-fitting lids to discourage pet access.
- Medications and supplements should always be kept out of reach.
- This is good especially because you are advised to store sharp objects such as knives and scissors away from children’s reach.
- It may be useful to think about the use of baby gates, to limit infants and toddlers’ ability to enter some rooms.
- Make sure your pet is properly identified: remember to update your contact details and chip your pet.
Keeping Your Animals Safe and Secure
First and foremost, pet safety and protecting your pet from straying away should be the first consideration when one moves into a new home. One is acquiring a pet door through which your companion can come and go to a securely fenced compound or a pet provides access to a yard while being confined to his owner’s compound. Such freedom of movement can improve their quality of life and frustrate them into more physical activity or exploring their environment besides.
It is also important to note that if you have a yard or a compound in which your pet can play or locate his house, then it should be well-fenced. You may wish to spend on a good fence that is high enough and strong enough for the animal to escape regardless of whether you will be gating it or not. Also, to avoid early entry into the compound by the pet, ensure that you put a pet-proof gate at the entrance of your compound.
Having your pet chipped is also important to avoid loss and possible loss of the pet’s life; besides, make sure that your pet’s identification tag is current. If your pet does get out, the proper collar with identification and a microchip dramatically boosts the chances of you getting your pet back. These measures may only go a long way in giving you and me a sense of relief knowing that our beloved pet will be safe and sound in our new homes.
Pet-Proofing Hazards
Children can be quite careless and if you have little kids at home, then their carelessness could lead pets into almost any danger that you do not want your pets to encounter at home, especially if you own puppies or kittens. Cords and cables, cleaning chemicals, and poisonous plants are some of the danger points for your lovely animals.
Electrical Cords
Playing with the electrical cords entails the risk of getting burnt or shocked, or in the worst-case scenario, even getting electrocuted. This can be done by either using cord covers or tubing or by ensuring that cords are ideally concealed or hung above the surface of the respective floors. Switch off appliances when not in use, and to further reduce the chances of touching live wires, it may also be wise to install short extension cords.
Cleaning Supplies
There are household cleaners that contain dangerous chemicals that may be harmful to the well-being of animals in cases where they chew on cleaning products. All cleaning products are to be kept in a closed area on cupboards or somewhere high where cats cannot access them. To ensure pet safety, if possible, one has to use pet-friendly cleaning products that are free from toxic chemicals and scrub the floor well to remove stains.
Toxic Plants
It is important to note that many of the decorative house plants are equally poisonous to pets if consumed such as lilies, azaleas, and philodendrons among others. Reverse the placement of plants in your home and identify those with lethal effects before disposing them off. They can also be placed in areas not accessible to the pets or if they are hanging from the ceiling hooks, they can easily be removed. To make the companion animals happy when you are not there, you should have some plants that are safe for the pets such as cat grass or catnip.
By doing the above, you can have a safe home for your pet animals when you are relocating which will give you more time and concern as they roam around and play with minimal risks.
Flooring and Furniture
Pets are foot traffic bears as well as have sharp claws that can scratch your floors and furniture, so selecting the right sort of fabric is very important. Choosing timely, stain-resistant materials for floors such as hard, laminate, or tiled flooring should be preferred. Do not use fuzzy carpeting which may generate dust and become a home to the smell of the pet. Depending on the type of upholstery, it is recommended that furniture, leather, microfiber, or tightly woven fabrics as these do not attract stains and hair.
Some groups of furniture or rugs can be very expensive, make sure that your pet can’t access them by setting them in no-pet zones or covering them with appropriate coverings. Adding soft pet beds or nest-like perching to the areas that the pets use will create a more comfortable space to recline.
Assign the cats with toys that will help them scratch the furniture so that they can relinquish the habit. In addition to routine vacuuming, it is essential to also clean the surfaces with a vacuum cleaner or a dry stiff brush, so the fur does not accumulate on the floors and create an unpleasant smell.
Kitchens
Small dogs are self-explanatory, and quite lethal when it comes to household cleansers and other toxic substances, therefore one common-sense action would be to lock or cart them away in a separate locked shelf. Furthermore, check for any possible gaps and crevices in the space behind cupboards and/or appliances in which a small animal can get stuck.
Surprisingly, there are some absolutely normal foods, which can become lethal to cats and dogs. products containing artificial sugar/sugar substitutes, avocados, grapes, onions, coffee residues, chocolates, etc. can be lethal or potentially toxic. The first level of basic safety measures would be washing hands before preparing food, storing all food products out of reach of the kids – putting ground-level cabinets out of reach, and installing child lock into it.
Bedrooms
Your bedroom might seem like a safe space for your pet, but you’ll still need a safety inspection. Teething puppies are highly drawn to power cords and phone wires. Hot pepper sauce or a bitter apple spray will make power cords taste terrible, discouraging chewing.
Another helpful tool for protecting your furnishings is a bitter spray. Using the spray on wooden chairs and table legs can prevent your dog from making furniture a midday snack and can aid in training for good behaviors like staying off the couch.
Garage and Backyard
This would mean that your new pet can also get hurt while outside. The use of checklists for signs of danger is useful in safety operations when children are outdoors. This is true even for a small quantity of ethylene glycol and other forms of antifreeze, which can cause death. One lick would make the pet fall sick or in extreme cases die.
Cereal weeds, and other kinds of pesticides such as herbicides, rodenticides, and insecticides can also be very dangerous to pets. If you spray or treat your lawn, please check the instructions on the usage of the product from the manufacturers before allowing your pet to play on the treated area. Finally, remember that pets too can play in such garden areas; well, there are several plant species that may pose a health risk or even be lethal to animals, such species include lilies, holly, yarrow, yew, and many others.
Again, it is useful to search for these typical hazards in every room in your house but it is prudent to monitor your pets for the first few weeks, if any, especially if you are having a puppy.
Keeping Your Furry Friends Out of Trouble
Apartment pet-proofing is about preventing destructive behavior and making sure that your pets do not endanger themselves or others. Crate training is a useful technique when it is necessary to provide the pet with a safe area where it can stay alone when you are at work or don’t have time to control it. This tool should be introduced by rewarding your pet with food and praises rather than punishments to ensure that they consider the crate as a comfy den.
If you own a yard or garden ensure that your plants and other decorations are safeguarded from the curious creatures. Arrange barriers such as enclosures or employ physically repellent materials such as oranges or coffee grinds around the area. Offer large areas of the yard with places equipped with sand or dirt for dogs to dig on but without the chance of destroying the garden or finding forbidden items.
They can also avoid having to destroy things around them due to boredom by ensuring that they have set aside areas for play. Designate a specific area in your house area or a particular room where your pet toys, scratching posts, activity centers, etc are placed well. Finally, new toys should be changed after a while as this helps in stimulating the minds of the pets. By providing your pet with the right training, limiting its freedom, and giving it plenty of amusements, your pet will be able to explore the new home without destroying everything along the way.
Regular Grooming and Responsible Pet Care
Remember, your pet requires grooming and good care just like any other member of the family to be healthy at all times. Pet health care entails grooming or washing the pets, brushing, nail trimming, and periodic checks by the veterinarian if necessary.
Bathing: Apart from using water and soap to wash your pet, the process also enhances the fitness of his skin and the quality of the coat. Select a very gentle shampoo that does not cause any skin irritation to your pet and avoid bathing your pet more often than required by breed or coat kind.
Brushing: Grooming your pet involves brushing your pet’s coat as this will help to remove the shedding hair, prevent the formation of more tangles, and spread the skin oils evenly on the coat. It also offers a chance to assess for skin reaction, in addition to checking for parasites on the skin.
Nail Trimming: Nails grow continuously, and long nails can be irksome or even risky for the nail bed where they originate. It’ll be good to have your pet’s nails trimmed on a frequent basis, but do not go too close to the part called the ‘quick’- this is the pink part of the nail containing blood vessels and nerves.
Regular Vet Visits: It is still important to go to your veterinarian regularly for your pet’s health check or even yearly physical examination. Your vet can suggest what should be done, for example, vaccinations and treatment for parasites, and also can identify further any health problems.
On these particular visits, your vet may suggest extra grooming provisions including nail trims for overgrown paw pads, clipping of fur for long-haired animals, and even professional grooming for animals with unkempt coats as well as cleaning of teeth for proper hygiene.
Please note that grooming and caring for your pet has a double effect; on the one hand, it provides the physical input to get the pet to look neat; on the other hand, it creates a positive experience and social interaction between the pet and its owner.
Final Thoughts on Pet-Friendly Homes
Overall, to adapt a new cat to the environment of your home or to make sure your dog is comfortable in a new home, it is necessary to take several actions. From the knowledge of the importance of adopting pets, how to go about doing so, how to secure your home for your pets, to the signs of household dangers your pets can come across, these steps shall greatly assist in providing a secure and loving environment for your pets. Aim at practicing all of these tips and being ready to ensure the safety of your beloved pets. The goal is to keep our furry ones happy, healthy and safe!
23 Legal loves animals. Attorney Ben Weaver understands the special bond between families and their animals.
We wish you and your furry friend many happy years of making memories together, playing and cuddling in your new home!
Why Choose 23 Legal
23 Legal offers Real Estate and Estate Planning legal services to individuals, families, community associations and small business owners throughout Chicagoland. We know how intimidating “the law” can be. In fact, when most people think of law offices, they think of stuffy leather chairs, huge wooden desks and pompous lawyers who charge outrageous fees. That’s not us! We believe in 1-to-1; the same lawyer should work with you all the way through. Whether you have an estate planning issue, family trust concern, or you have a legal problem in regard to a new home, business, real estate or remodel, you need a lawyer who cares. That’s where Ben comes in! We are great listeners; more than that, we are lawyers who believe that our clients always come first.
