When it comes to making your home a safe and comfortable place to live, you have to consider the other people you live with. Not just the people, but the animals too. Your home is also your pet’s home, so make sure that they’re as safe and comfortable as you are. You also need to make sure that your lifestyles aren’t a danger to each other. Here’s a list of ways to make your home more pet-friendly.
Choose the right flooring
There’s no denying that carpeted flooring makes for one of the more tedious cleaning jobs, so try to avoid it altogether. It’s difficult to remove pet hair from it, but if you have it in your home, use a carpet rake or vacuum cleaner. It’s also harder to clean up stains, which are more likely to happen when you have a pet at home. If you live in a space of your own that you’re free to modify as you please, consider getting laminate flooring. It’s inexpensive and scratch-resistant.
If you’re a die-hard for carpeted flooring, there are paw-friendly carpets out there that you can ask your interior designer or decorator about.
Keep harmful chemicals and objects out of reach
With winter steadily approaching, you may be restocking on some antifreeze to get ready for the season. Be sure to keep them away from pets and small children. They are more prone to be attracted to antifreeze because of its sweet flavor that’s due to the presence of ethylene glycol. Antifreeze is dangerous for both pets and humans – it can cause fatal kidney failure. Other harmful substances include cleaning products, mothballs, lawn fertilizers, weed killers, and swimming pool chemicals. Keep them in high cabinets or cupboards. Eliminate things that can function as makeshift ladders for your pets that can enable them to climb to those cabinets. You may also opt to latch the cabinets shut.
The other things you need to keep out of your pet’s reach are small objects (risk of swallowing and/or choking), sharp objects, fragile and valuable objects, your shoes, and important paperwork such as your child’s homework.
Keep appliance wires out of reach or at least protected. Pets may chew on these and get electrocuted in the process. Also, keep in mind the foods and beverages you may have in your pantry that may be dangerous for your pets to ingest.
Invest in pet furniture
Giving your pets a designated space lowers the chances of them sneaking off into corners of your home that may be harmful to them. Of course, you want them to feel at home too. Purchase pet furniture and toys for them.
Keep the toilet lid closed
It’s typical of pets – especially dogs – to be drawn to bowls of water. But toilet water isn’t safe for them to drink, even if it’s from the cleanest of houses and bathrooms. Even if you’ve just cleaned your toilets, the cleaning agents you used that are still in the toilet water are harmful to your pet. This includes the agents that make your toilet water blue. Apart from the risk of poisoning, there’s also a risk for smaller pets to fall into the toilet and drown.
Think about your safety too
Just as certain things about your lifestyle can be harmful to your pet, your pet’s habits and needs can be harmful to humans in your household. Keep the litter box away from the feeding areas of both animals and humans and clean it out regularly. Go to the vet and have your pets vaccinated and neutered. Vaccinations aren’t just for your pet’s health. There are also shots that help to regulate their moods and make them less aggressive.
Neutering or spaying your pet also helps regulate their mood and lowers their risk for contracting certain diseases. It also helps curb the population of stray animals.
Make sure your garden and yard are pet-friendly
Having a green space at home for your pet to frolic in is nice until they get ticks or lice. See to it that you take the proper measures for insect control. Keep your garden free of plants that may be toxic to your pets.
Educate your kids about pets
At-home pet care and safety will only work if every human at home is made aware of the dos and don’ts. When they’re old enough, educate your children about pet safety. Tell them right away what objects and substances should be kept away from pets.
Having a pet means having another living creature in your home. Treat it with love, care, and respect, and make sure that you aren’t a danger to each other. Take the proper measures to ensure the health and safety of both pets and humans at home.