Tips for Creating a Pet-Friendly Home

Every pet owner will agree with me that you cannot have a better companion than a pet. You love to see them doing all naughty things. They keep you happy, cheerful and relaxed all the time. Pet care is the sole responsibility of the owner. However, just providing them with food, water, bedding, and toys is not enough. Their safety is equally important. You may invite a lot of trouble if you do not create a pet-friendly home. After all, you cannot keep a constant watch on them. Rather, you should take some needful measures that can prevent any harm to your lovable pet.

Tips for Pet-Friendly Home

You are aware of the traits of your pets. Depending on their temperaments, needs and demands, you have to make some changes in your home in order to ensure both the pet and the owner live comfortably in the same house. Here are a handful of useful tips for creating a pet-friendly home:

Create Personal Space for Them: Designate an area inside the house exclusively for your pets. Here, they can spend their lone time and relax themselves. Ideally, it should be located near the entrance door so that they do not have to roam around the entire house to reach there. Keep all such items which they need like food, water, pet bedding, and some toys for their entertainment in this area.

Keep Your Home Clean: You have to ensure that your home is free from dirt, debris, allergens, and pet hair, to keep your pet and other family members healthy. For this, regular vacuum cleaning of every nook and corner of the house is a must. The floors, especially their feeding area, should be disinfected daily. If the floors get contaminated with animal excretions, you must clean it up and disinfect the area immediately, as it can be a carrier of several germs. While selecting cleaning products for your home, make sure you pick up the one which does not have any component that can cause harm to the pets.

Opt for Pet-Friendly Home Decor: Pet owners have to take care of certain things while decorating their house too. As far as a pet-friendly flooring option is concerned, a hard surface like a concrete floor, ceramic tiles and brick flooring are preferred, as they are scratch-resistant and easy to maintain too. You can have hardwood floors, provided you do not have large dogs at home. Avoid using carpets on the floors as stains and odors are easily absorbed in them. When it comes to the color scheme for the interior walls, dark shades are a better option, as the signs of dirt are easily visible on light wall colors. Shelves and tables with a low height should not be kept in the house, as pets can access any objects kept on them.

Use Stain-Resistant Fabrics All Over the House: You know it very well that no matter how much you try, you cannot prevent pet stains. Therefore, it is advisable to use stain-resistant, washable fabric for the curtains, upholstery, slip covers, bed sheets, etc. Cover up the chairs and sofas with heavy fabric like denim or canvas. Even leather and ultra suede upholstery are quite popular among pet owners. If your pet sleeps with you, then you should use easily washable cotton bed sheets with medium or dark colors, to hide pet stains.

Secure the Windows: This holds true particularly if you live in a high-rise building. As your pet is active, it may accidentally fall from the window. Therefore, you have to take care of the safety of your pet the way you take care of a small child or an elderly member of your family. If possible, keep the windows shut. Otherwise, install a sturdy screen to secure them. Window guards can also prevent falls of large-sized pets. Do not use vertical blinds or any other window treatments with long cords, as the pet may get strangulated. Curtains and valances are the safer options available with you.

Keep Household Items Organized: You cannot afford to leave household items around the house, as your pet can make a mess in no time. They may chew up newspaper, books and plastic bags too. Pets get attracted to toys and they often break or chew them while playing with them. So ask your kids to keep the toys out of the reach of the pets. Smaller items like thread, needles, staples, coins, and medicines should not be kept within their reach. If they swallow up such objects, it can be dangerous for them. For the same reason, you should keep sharp tools and instruments away from them.

Protect Them from Poisonous Substances: Pets often get poisoned by regular household cleaners, disinfectants, paints, insecticides, fertilizers, etc. Keep all such harmful substances in closed cabinets only, so that the pets are not exposed to them even accidentally. A few houseplants such as lilies, aloe vera, and caladium are dangerous for the pets. If you have these plants at home, place them on a higher ground level.

Block Those Areas Where Pets' Entry is Prohibited: There are some areas in your house where you do not want your pet to gain access to, like the bathroom where you keep cleaners and other such items that contain harsh chemicals. Similarly, the kitchen area can be dangerous because of the stove burner, as animals are attracted to fire. In such instances, you must keep the doors of these rooms closed and put child-proof latches on them. While cleaning a room or working in the garage, you would want to prohibit their entry to these areas temporarily, until you have finished your work. In that case, you can use a child gate.

Before you bring in a new pet into your home, or you are moving into a new house with your family and pets, it is your responsibility to make it pet-friendly, with the help of the tips given in this article. Thus, you can ensure safety and comfort for this very special member of your household.