How to Cat Proof Your Apartment

Check for poisonous plants. Many plants are poisonous to cats. Some are only mildly so, while others can be deadly. Check each plant in your house to make sure they are not poisonous to your cat. It's best to take out poisonous plants altogether, but if you must keep them, put them in a room the cat is not allowed in.^[6]

• Some common plants that are poisonous include Aloe Vera, any type of lilies, many types of ferns (though not all), calladium, and many ivies.^{[7] [8]}
• Some non-toxic options for cats include African violets, bamboo, and feather palm.^[9]

Keep poisonous foods out of reach or put away. You shouldn't have coffee, alcohol, chocolate, grapes, or raisins where your cat can eat them. In addition, you shouldn't let your cat try yeast dough, macadamia nuts, onions, garlic, chives, or xylitol, as they can also cause problems. Though it's common lore that cats like milk, you shouldn't feed it to them because the lactose can cause stomach issues. Finally, avoid feeding your cat extra salt, as she may not be able to process it properly.^[10]

• This list isn't comprehensive. Always check to see if a food is safe to feed your pet by using high quality websites or asking your vet.

Put up any strings. Strings, such as the ones on blinds, are enticing to your cat. They look like perfect toys to her. However, she can get tangled up in them or even strangle herself. Your cat also might be interested in cords for electronics, which have an obvious risk if she chews on them. Hide them or tie them up high when possible.

• Don't forget to hide strings such as dental floss or yarn. While you can use them to play with your cat, if you leave her unsupervised with these items, she can swallow, which can cause stomach problems.^[11]
• If you can't get them out of reach of your cat, you can make them taste bad. Use a cat-safe spray, such as bitter apple.

Hide the chemicals away. Cleaning supplies and other household chemicals are often poisonous to cats, and your curious cat may try to get into a bottle if she can find one.^[12] Therefore, make sure you keep them put away in cabinets that your cat can't get into.^[13]

Hide medicines. Like chemicals, medicines can be poisonous to your cats. Even if it's a medicine your cat can normally take, it will be a much higher dose than she would need. Unfortunately, your medicine bottles may sound like a cat toy to her, and she may play with it until it pops open. Put them away in a medicine cabinet or cat-proof box, such as one with snap handles.^[14]

Remove other toxic items. Some common household items are toxic to your cat, ones you wouldn't think about. For instance, mothballs and fabric softener sheets can be toxic. In addition, cigarettes and batteries can also cause your cat problems. Make sure to keep these out of your cat's reach.

Provide appropriate scratching places. If you live in apartment, you want to protect it from your pet. Therefore, make sure you provide a place for you cat to scratch that's not the carpet. You can find inexpensive scratching boards at any pet store; some are even made out of cardboard.^[15]

Take down breakables. If you have knickknacks that are breakable, it's best to hide them away, even if you think they are out of your cat's reach. She is a curious creature, and she will climb onto places you wouldn't expect, knocking off your breakables. Not only will you lose the knickknacks, your kitty could get hurt on broken shards.^[16]

Clip your cat's claws. If you don't believe in declawing your cat, clip your cat's toenails on a regular basis. That will help protect your furniture, plus it's better for your cat.^[17] If her claws aren't trimmed, they can cause pain for your cat.^[18]

• You don't need a special tool to trim your cat's claws, though you can buy one. You can just use regular nail clippers, as long as they're sharp. Have cornstarch, styptic powder, or a bar of soap near by to stop bleeding (rub them on the bleeding part), though the claw shouldn't bleed if you do it correctly. Grip your cat under one arm, while gently grabbing a paw. Press on the cat pad to extend the claw, then clip the nail, making sure to avoid the "quick," the pink part, which has nerve endings. Trim the rest of the claws. It may take several sittings to get them all.^[19]
• If you do decide to declaw your cat, make sure you research your vets. Different vets use different declawing methods; the best approach is either the blade excision method or the laser method, as these usually do not lead to bone or pad damage, which the guillotine method, the more traditional approach, can do.