Pet Proofing Your Home (Part 1)
If your cat or dog goes outdoors, you’ll also need to watch over activities there. Fences where the pet can escape must be repaired, and you’ll need to check for anything that could attract the notice of your dog or cat. Watch out for plants in your backyard (some plants are lethal for pets). Painted wood may encourage chewing, but could contain lead in the paint. You should also check there are no places for bugs to grow, such as fleas, mosquitoes, ticks, which could hurt your pet.
You need to be alert when your pet goes into certain areas of your house. For example, you likely won’t want them in the garage, because there are too many possible dangers (such as oil or antifreeze spills on the floor). Cabinets or closets with dangerous chemicals must also be placed off-limits, perhaps with child proof locks.
Pets are curious and interested about the objects they find (like people). But curiosity can be a problem. For example, items on higher shelves, delicate figurines and objects, delicate objects (like vases on tables), and other objects can be an accident waiting to happen. If it is easy to bump into or knock over, it’s too possible for a running dog or jumping cat to hit it - and the result is a valuable broken.