MeOW  Welcome to Service Cats and Everything Feline on Furidays. Each week we tackle the questions and topics ya’ll have asked and suggested. We welcome all questions; just leave them in the comments below or send us an email via our Contact page. Remember, when asking behavioral questions, be as specific as pawssible and give any relevant examples so that we may know how best to answer. And, ifin you’ve missed any of the posts in our Service Cat series, you can ketch up by clickin’ the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page from the menu. We’ve been focusing on Kitten/Cat Proofing your home for the last couple of weeks, and we’ll be coverin’ more Tips fur you today. June was adopt a kitty month and we hope lots of kitties found their happy furever. Unfurtunately, we couldn’t find any stats on exactly how many kitties found homes this past month, but we believe every month is a great month to bring a new kitty into your life and home. So, let’s get to our next room.

The followin’ post will be written in human English fur reader and translator ease. Our Service Cat posts aren’t intended to be an all inclusive Trainin’ Manual but rather Tips, Tricks and Techniques used/developed by mommy A thru her many years of animal trainin’, cats in purrticular. And to offur insight into your questions about Everything Feline. Always remember, Training is all ‘bout Repetition and Rewards.

     We started out in the living room and moved to the kitchen and dining room. Last week we focused on the bathroom and laundry room. We didn’t mention medicine cabinets, as most homes these days don’t have one. But don’t worry, we’ll get to that subject as it’s very important. So, today we’re going to cover the bedroom and those extra rooms some have, known as sewing/craft rooms or spare bedrooms. The bedroom has a few areas of concern to watch out for. Closets are always tempting to kitties because they have a door, lots of hanging things and sometimes different levels of shelving. Often times access to the attic/crawl space are located in the closet. Before allowing kitty access to the closet, make sure the crawl space access spot is securely covered. Mommy lived in an apartment once where the neighbors’ kitty used to visit others through the crawl space. This is a very dangerous area for kitty to be. Insulation can contain fiberglass or be treated with toxins.

Bedroom and Closet:

     Of course, you may choose to do as mommy does and not allow kitty in the closet. Either way, before closing the closet door and leaving, especially for extended periods of time, always check to make sure kitty didn’t get past you to explore. The same goes for chests and dresser drawers. These spaces filled with comfy clothing of our humans is so very tempting. Many a kitty has spent the day closed up in a drawer because their human didn’t check before closing it.

     And of course, don’t forget about all the goodies on top of the chests and dressers, such as perfume, cologne, jewelry and jewelry boxes, coins/money, knick knacks and televisions. Keep jewelry boxes closed and all jewelry stored safely inside. There’s lots of tempting shiny things that kitty may find appealing, but can cause damage if swallowed. Put away spare change, many a kitty/woofy has had to have surgery to remove money from their tummy. Push perfumes and cologne bottles away from the edge as well as any breakable knick knacks. Altho’ kitties are very stealthy and can walk in the tightest of spaces, our tails do occasionally betray us and knock things to the floor. Nope, you didn’t see me’s paw push your antique photo frame off the dresser.  

Night Stand or Table:

     Let’s not forget about the night stand/table located next to the bed. You know, the one with that obnoxious alarm on it? Sometimes peeps like to read before going to bed, so the night stand/table can often contain reading glasses, lamps, a drinking glass, and medicine/cough drops during times of illness. We covered cords in Pt. 1 of Kitten/Cat proofing, so we won’t cover that again. If you have a drink before bed, remember not to leave alcoholic beverages unattended on the night stand/table. Alcohol is toxic to both cats and dogs. If possible, use a plastic cup containing only water just in case kitty/woofy decides to have a drink and pushes it off the table during the night. 

Medications:

     NEVER leave any medication unattended or within kitty’s reach. Assume all meds are toxic and store appropriately. Cough drops and cough syrups usually contain codeine or some other form of depressant/alcohol. Keep them in the night stand drawer or a cabinet. If you think kitty has gotten into any medication, call your V-E-T immediately.

Sewing/Crafting/Spare Room:

     The last room we’ll talk about today is the spare/sewing/crafting/art room. Kitties love strings, so we definitely love thread. We don’t have a specific room for these things in our house, but mommy does have a sewing area complete with sewing machine, supplies like needles, threads, pins and pin cushion, scissors, elastic, zippers, tape, glue, paint, brushes and other items. There’s more than one needle with a left over piece of thread stored in it. If these items aren’t put away and stored in a closed container, they can be deadly to kitties and doggies, not to mention small children.

     Always unplug the foot pedal to your sewing machine when it’s not in use. We also recommend covering your sewing machine so that kitty isn’t tempted to check it out. Pick up any errant pieces of thread and throw them out. Crafters, never leave a hot glue gun unattended and put your supplies away in a closed container when finished or taking a break. Be mindful of the products you are using. Some should only be used in well ventilated areas. When using these kinds of products, keep kitty out of the area. Our lungs are much smaller than a humans and can succumb to toxic fumes much quicker. Keep buttons, sequins, glitter and other small accessories stored in closed containers and only take out what you can work with at one time. Mommy also paints. It’s important to keep paints and paint brushes in a closed container especially when not in use. Put canvases or other painted pieces out of kitty’s reach to dry.

Well, there sure are a lot of dangers ‘round the house.Unfurtunately, peeps offen overlook a lot of these till it’s too late. Anyways, we’ll be wrappin’ this topic up next week when we take a look at the garage, yard and furinally our toys. Can you believe there are dangers in the very toys intended fur us to play with? Well, join us next week and find out. In the meantime, we’re joinin’ Comedy Plus fur Feline Furiday. Don’t furget to leave you questions and topic suggestions in the comments below or by sendin’ us an email via our contact page. And, you can ketch up on any post in the series by clickin’ the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page.  

Till the next time………………………………………………Be Blest!!!

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

Deztinee and RaenaBelle