Poison Proof Your Home.
Check your home for possible poisons and toxins that your kitten can get into. Common toxins include antifreeze, rat or mouse bait, slug bait, and insecticides, Make sure you keep all drugs and medications out of reach.

Plant Proof Your Home.
Plants are an attractive part of home decorating, however they can be toxic to pets. Be careful what you bring in and note whether your kitten is getting into it. Ingestion of many plants can cause vomiting and/or diarrhea in cats and kittens. Easter lilies are especially toxic and can cause fatal kidney failure. For a more complete list of plants that can be toxic to Kitty please follow this link to the Cat Fanciers’ Association website: http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

Check Collars, Tags, and MICROCHIP.
If your kitten will wear a collar, make sure it is a “break-away” collar to prevent strangulation should it become snagged on something and check his or her neck at least weekly to make sure the collar is not too loose or too tight and…it is still there. Kittens can easily lose their collar and in many cases their “identification” along with it. Consider having a microchip placed for permanent identification. The procedure is similar to a simple injection. A recent study performed at Ohio State University and published in The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association showed that cats with embedded microchips were returned to their owners TWENTY TIMES AS FREQUENTLY as cats without a microchip!

Keep Cats Indoors.
Overall, indoor cats live longer, healthier lives than do outdoor cats or cats that go outdoors. Outdoor dangers include dogs, cars, exposure to fleas, ticks, worms, and other cats (that can cause fights or carry infectious diseases such as feline leukemia or feline “AIDS”).

Don’t Let Your Kitten Play with String or Ribbons.
Cats love to play with strings and ribbons; however ingestion of those items can cause life-threatening problems. Oftentimes extensive surgery is necessary to remove string, ribbon, tinsel and other “foreign bodies”. Toys specifically intended for cats are the safest choice for Kitty’s entertainment needs.

Kitten Proof Your Home.
Prevent common accidents in your home by kitten proofing! Protect your kitten from electrical cords and outlets by keeping cords neatly coiled and inaccessible and using commercially available outlet covers. Remove access to children’s toys, strings or small objects that can be chewed on or swallowed. Don’t allow pets near automated garage doors. Kittens can easily be crushed under reclining chairs and rockers so use these items with caution! Fold and secure window blind and curtain cords so they’re not hanging in Kitty’s reach. The real secret to kitten-proofing is to look at your home through the eyes of a cat. Find everything that looks like a swell toy, and if it’s something harmful, get rid of it or make it safe.

Know who to call.
In case of an emergency keep your veterinarian’s number handy as well as the number to your local after-hours emergency hospitals.