KEEPING INDOOR CATS SAFE FROM HARM

 

From A House Full of Cats website:

 

Think your indoor cats are safe from harm? Think again! While indoor cats will not get hit by a car or eaten by a hungry coyote, they can still find plenty of ways to get themselves into trouble. 

 

Living with lots of indoor cats, there are some everyday activities that require more caution and attention. One of these activities is standing with the door open waving hello or good-bye to your company. Indoor cats tend to view open doors as an invitation to go through and explore what's on the other side!

 

PLANTS

Many cats seem to enjoy chewing on houseplants. And many houseplants can be dangerous to your indoor cats causing everything from mild irritation to severe illness or death. If you have live houseplants, check the list of toxic plants to be sure none of them will harm your cats. If you have plant-chewing cats, try spraying the plants with Grannick's Bitter Apple Spray

 

POISONS

Unlike dogs, who tend to eat anything that doesn't eat them first, indoor cats are usually poisoned by walking through or brushing up against a toxic substance, then ingesting it when they groom themselves.

 

Other common products that can be harmful to cats include bath oils, cosmetics, perfumes, moth balls, hair dye, laundry detergents, and even suntan lotion. Medication, both prescription and non-prescription, can be deadly. One Tylenol alone is enough to kill a cat! Keep these things away from your cat.

 

PEOPLE FOOD

While none of our cats have been harmed by their food thieving, there are some foods that can be particularly harmful to cats. These include onion, onion powder, garlic, garlic powder, chives, leeks, cocoa, chocolate, macadamia nuts, coffee, coffee beans, tea and alcohol. Keep these food items and food containing these away from your indoor cats - no matter how much they beg!

 

ELECTRICAL CORDS

While more common with dogs than cats, indoor cats, especially kittens, have been electrocuted from chewing on electrical cords. To cats, the cords are like a snake and considered fair game!

 

STRINGY THINGS

String, yarn, ribbon, thread, tinsel, rubber bands and other string-like things can cause grave injury to an indoor cat. Cats have backwards facing barbs on their tongues which can make it impossible for them to get the stringy thing out of their mouth. (This is also what gives that sand-papery feel when they lick you!)

 

Cats can usually swallow the stringy thing with without difficulty. The problem arises when it tries to pass into the intestine. There, it can become tangled, causing obstruction or cutting off the blood supply and part of the intestine dies. This can be fatal to your cat!

 

SMALL THINGS

It can seem impossible to get a cat to swallow a pill but drop an earring, tack, staple, paper clip, pin, needle, coin, toothpick, button, or any other small thing and the cat seems to quickly and easily swallow it as soon as they realize you are trying to take it from them! Keep small, tiny things in containers or a latched cabinet and pick up dropped items right away. If you see your indoor cat happily playing with something you didn't give him, investigate immediately and take it away if it is not safe for him to play with!

 

THE SPONGE

If you use a sponge for cleaning, we recommend getting rid of it or at least, keeping it lock away. Don't leave it on the sink where your inquisitive indoor cat can get to it! Sponges often retain food smells which can be enticing to a cat. Cats can chew sponges into pieces and swallow them causing an obstruction. Also, if the sponge is used for cleaning, some of the cleaner remains in the sponge and can poison the sponge chewing cat!

 

LAUNDRRY

Cats love lounging in the laundry, clean or dirty! The laundry basket is big fun for indoor cats! Check to be sure that no little kitty is hiding in the basket of dirty clothes before dumping them in the washer. Use a hamper with a lid for the dirty clothes before wash day but still check. Some indoor cats can figure out how to get in the hamper and close the lid without you even knowing.

 

STORAGE AREAS

Drawers, cupboards, cabinets and closets are all very exciting places for indoor cats to hide for a nap. They love small, dark places and these definitely fit the bill. However, a cat can be injured or become trapped very easily.

 

BOX SPRING MATTRESS

Indoor cats are notorious for clawing holes in the bottom and crawling up inside box spring mattresses. We have platform beds to avoid this issue but if you have one, try putting a fitted sheet on the underside of the mattress to keep the cats out. Cats sleeping inside box spring mattresses have been severely injured by getting pinched by the springs when someone has sat on the bed.

Read full article here - http://www.a-house-full-of-cats.com/indoorcats.html

RELATED

Cat food recalls alerts - https://www.avma.org/news/issues/recalls-alerts/pages/pet-food-safety-recalls-alerts.aspx?fvalue=Cat


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