It’s been a year and a half since Vincent came into my life. This cute little two-weeks-old cat made a way into our hearts from the moment we met him. He’s a family member who we love and spoil and can’t have enough of. Vincent loves to snuggle, his meows are the cutest, and he’s the king when he walks into a room. He’s very handsome, and he knows it!

Now that we have a pet in the house, there are a few things about which we need to be careful. Cats and other pets tend to jump around the house, leap for something they can play with, chase you around and eat and poop round the clock. It’s like having a baby. 

Also Read: How to Design a Perfect Kitchen

Here are few tips you can follow while decorating your home when you have a furry friend living with you:

• Keep things out of reach: Pets love to grab on or push things off a table for fun. So definitely keep things out of reach. Keep valuables inside a closed storage cabinet, maybe a display shelving unit or even shelves that are placed at a height. Keep your detergents, chemicals or any medication in a close unit. Intake of these could be harmful to animals  

  

   

• Keep food packets sealed: Keep dry and wet food for pets in closed lid boxes and out of reach of your pets. They can smell their food and can scratch their way into those packets. Also, the wrapper can be hazardous to their health in case they choke on it

  

   

• Close the toilet lid: Keep the toilet seat lid closed as pets tend to drink water from wherever they find it. They even drink water from plants that are around the house. This could be harmful as they would be exposed to chemicals. So shop for some good bowl. Keep water bowls at 1 or 2 different locations and train and encourage your pet to drink from them. You can also create exclusive space for them so that they know whatever they need will be available there

  

   

• House plants: There are some house plants that can be dangerous to animals if they consume their leaves. Common houseplants that could be harmful to animals are Snake plant, Lilies, Aloe Vera, Jade, Dumb Cane etc. Try and avoid putting these in your home and read about them before growing them at home. Instead you could try growing Lipstick plant, Kentia palm, Boston Fern, Echeveria, and Calathea. 

  

• Dangling Wires or Threads: Keep wires taped and tied into knots if they are exposed on a wall as a light or speaker point. You can shop for many such wire concealer or even create one taking inspiration from many DIY videos available online. Animals have a tendency to chew on them. Avoid leaving your charging cables into a plug point. It could be dangerous to pets if they grab onto it or if they happen to switch it on by mistake

  

• Keep garbage bins / appliances closed: Pets love to hide in cosy spaces. Hence, if a washing machine door is kept open or even a wardrobe is open, they tend to go inside and rest. Make sure you keep the doors shut to avoid this. The appliances may cause their body temperature to rise and make them feel uncomfortable. Wardrobes of course don’t provide them good ventilation hence the pet may feel suffocated here. And garbage bins should be kept shut as the pets may intake any harmful substance and could be dangerous for their health

  

• Laundry & vegetable baskets: Keep the vegetable basket lid on, so pets don’t end up eating anything harmful for them. As pointed out earlier, pets love to snuggle, laundry baskets are one place they love to sleep and chill! Select brackets that are easy to clean since the pets would shed their hair. Also you could put a fabric lining in the basket or in case it is of cane material, it won’t end up hurting the skin of the pet. Again, avoid leaving the lid off since pets while playing with your clothes would ruin your them and buttons or zippers might choke them

  

• Cut nails, keep paws clean & Furniture upholstery: Cut your pets nails periodically since they can scratch you very hard most times also they might hurt him/herself as well. Clean your pets paws at intervals since you may not be able to give them bath very often, it’s always better to maintain proper hygiene. This will ensure that if they are on any dirty surface, your couch or chairs with fabric upholstery won’t get dirty and the nails won’t always spoil the fabric of the furniture upholstery and have threads coming out. Select fabrics of your pet’s favourite spot carefully for its longer use

  

   
• Bedding: Buy cute swaddle cloths to make a bedding sort on your pet favourite spot. You could also purchase cute beds online or even look up for DIY tents or even swings for your pet. I have this cute bed for my cat stuck on the window since my cat loves to climb onto things, it’s very playful!

  

• Regular grooming & Lint removal: Regular grooming of your pet will ensure lesser hair around the house that they shed. Vacuum clean your home at proper intervals since this is a really good tool to remove pet hair. For closer cleaning of your clothes, cushions or pillows, lint remover is quite effective. If you have carpets installed, vacuum clean them regularly

  

• Keep pet equipment clean: Proper care needs to be taken with their food and water bowls. Wash them regularly. Keep fresh food be it dry or wet in their allocated food bowl. Place a mat below the bowls so as to make cleaning of spilled food easy. You can also keep the bowls on an elevated level to avoid any kind of ants getting in

  

• Chew toys and Scratch mat: Buy fun chew toys for your pet that they could enjoy to play with. Also keep a scratch pad or mat for pets to scratch themselves. Keep chew toys healthy by washing them regularly. Research on these before buying, lot of options are available on different websites

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Follow these tips by tweaking a few things around the house to make it pet friendly. Have a snuggly day !

Also Read:10 reasons to use greenery in decor

Contributed by: Twisha Thakker Kothari, Principal Designer, Twisha Thakker Design Studio. The views expressed are of writers own.