I can’t tell you how happy we are to have Lily functioning to her full kitten capacity again. She is one of the dearest kittens I have ever had the joy of knowing—she’s an absolute angel. And since her accident, we have become even more protective of this sweet kitty. (Read the June 30, 2009 post to find out what happened to Lily.)
Once you’ve had a kitten injured in your home or poisoned, for example, you begin to look at everything as a possible kitten hazard.
• We used bleach to clean the shower this week and took extra precautions to keep Lily out of the area until we were sure it was safe.
• I don’t leave plastic or paper bags with handles lying around anywhere. (We once had a curious kitten get the handles of a gift bag around his neck. This spooked him and he began tearing around the house with the rattling, crackling bag chasing after him.)
• We are teaching the small grandchildren to pick up their foil wrappers, food items and such so the kitten won’t ingest a foreign object or food that’s unhealthy for her.
• Lily has never shown an interest in the trash, but I am careful to dispose of her canned kitten food lids, sardine can lids, etc. in the outside trash containers. These things are sharp and could cut into a kitten’s or a cat’s tongue if they were to lick them.
• I’ve removed heavy vases and other knick knacks from table tops where Lily could jump up, catch a claw in the doily and pull the item over on herself.
• We only use safe fans—where a kitten cannot poke her paw into the blades.
• I store my knitting projects in a plastic container with a lid. A rambunctious kitten could conceivably fall or jump on a ball of yard with the pointy end of a knitting needle poking through.
• We made sure that our screen doors close securely and abruptly enough to keep a curious kitten from slipping out or an outside cat from dashing in when someone is going in or out.
• When I leave my office, I move my chair into the middle of the room so Lily can’t use it to hop up on my desk or keyboard. She isn’t big enough to jump from the floor to the computer desk, yet.
• We still keep the toilet lids down. We’re expecting guests this week and I’ll post signs to remind them to close the lids after using the facilities.
• I turn lights on when I get up at night because in the dim light, Lily looks like a shadow on the carpeting.
• We’ll give our guests little flashlights to use at night and we’ll instruct them to expect a kitten underfoot anytime they are getting a cup of coffee, a bottle of water, making a sandwich, combing their hair, etc.
There are lots of things to think about when you bring a kitten into the house. And training others to use caution where she is concerned is part of our program. It is our responsibility to keep her safe, after all and one that we happily accept.
Have you ordered your copy of Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats? It is available in print and ebook form and it is illustrated with numerous photographs. These are true stories about some of the cats I’ve loved over the years and those of others. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades
