Kitten room - safety check please!

tamgirl99

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Okay so I've been working on the safe room for my new kitten. This is where she will stay when I'm not in the house to watch her so I'm trying to make it as safe and comfortable as possible. I've taken pics of most of the room for your safety input. It's been a LONG time since I've had a kitten but I think I've got it covered for the most part. Unfortunately this is an office space but I've done my best to make sure nothing can fall off of the shelves if she jumps up them. I've also covered every cable/cord in the room with the exception of a coax cable to my tv. It's up high and tight against the wall so I'm really not concerned. My cat never liked coax cables only the thinner/softer plug cables. It also doesn't move so I wouldn't think it would be very attractive to her.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Pic 1: Here I have her a tent bed in the corner (homemade!), a tall scratcher and a floor scratcher, Dr. Foster & Smith's cozy cottage (made completely out of double corrugated cardboard with four levels and a roof). The blinds (2" plastic type) are down but the cord is put away up high and the frames on the wall are held in place at four points.



Pic 2: This is the other corner of the same wall where I have a very tall bookshelf. Her crate is on the floor and I plan to remove the long strap handle and keep it open for a second bedding option. I also have a cube for her to play in.



Pic 3: Here is the computer desk. I have a large piece of cardboard covering all wires behind it and it is very secure. I have the litter box under the desk and was planning to feed her on top. I still have to get a second bowl and place mat. The monitor has no exposed cables for her to get at either.



Pic 4: Final pic of the remaining corner of the room. This is the TV stand with another bookshelf. Here you can see the taut coax cable. There is a printer at the bottom but no cables are attached. I have the trash can turned upside down with a HEAVY thesaurus/dictionary to keep it secure. This is just extra protection to make sure there is no way to get behind the cardboard to the wires.



Specific questions I have:

1. Is the food too close to the litter box? I know they like them separated but I'm not sure if this is far enough.

2. Are the curtains tied up high enough?

I know this is long but I would really appreciate input on this. I don't want to make any mistakes that could harm my new baby. Thanks again!
 

gayef

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So far, looks good. But honestly, it is next to dern-near impossible to kitten-proof a room. The things that stand out to me in the photos are:

1: Tie back any cords from the mini-blinds up with the curtains.

2: Make sure any and all electrical outlets are either in use (with cords securely covered with wire wrap or other un-bite-able conduit) or are covered with child safety covers.

3: Secure any drawers from opening. (I had a litter of kits who liked to go behind the dresser, which I ~thought~ I had secured and push the drawers open from the back - I lost two good sweaters this way, not to mention the scare of having kittens ingest the wool!)

4: As for the litter and the food, I don't think it is too close, but I wouldn't feed the kitten on top of the desk. I would suggest getting a water-proof placemat or the like and placing the food and water dishes on the floor.
 
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tamgirl99

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Thanks gayef! The only reason I put the food/water on the desk was to keep it out of the way during playtime, but I will move it down. I may clear off the bottom shelf on the tall bookshelf or something and put it in there. That way it's at least somewhat protected from running/jumping into it.

And yes, the blinds cord is already tied up high, even I can barely reach it. Luckily there are no drawers in this room so I don't have to worry about that.

Believe me, I know it's impossible to completely kitty proof, but I definitely want to make it as safe as possible.
 

goldenkitty45

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Actually if the kittens are young, they probably will not be able to get to the food. I'd put the food bowl about 6-8 feet from the litter pan on the floor.
 
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tamgirl99

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Actually if the kittens are young, they probably will not be able to get to the food. I'd put the food bowl about 6-8 feet from the litter pan on the floor.
She'll be a little over four months so it wouldn't be a problem, but I've already relocated the food/water to the floor. I went and bought a placemat with a rim around the edge to keep spills contained.

BTW, this is an abyssinian kitten in case anyone needs to rethink their suggestions based on this high energy breed.
 

zoethor2

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Teehee -- we have some Aby mixed breed kittens and they can be a serious handful. One thing that SEEMS to keep them from causing TOO much trouble is just making sure they have lots of toys to play with. They really really like anything small and tubular that rolls around oddly on the floor. So, old pill bottles (these are great since the tops are childproof, and you can stick a bell inside if you want) are popular, and so are chapstick tubes. Chapstick tubes, in fact, are so popular that I have had to double my stock of chapstick to keep up with them stealing them so often. They haven't managed to ever get the tops off, but if you're really worried, you could always tape it down, or buy a tube and not open it. For 99 cents, it's about the same as a cat toy anyway.


The other thing they LOVE is one of those ping-pong ball in a round track, toys. It just totally fascinates them that it goes around in a circle! And that they can't pull it out... even though they try their hardest.

Have fun with your kitty!
 

mom of 4

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Is the bookshelf secured to the wall? A couple of L brackets at the top will work. The top shelf appears to have breakables - my daughter's 4 mouth old kitten climbed to the top of a bookshelf that high and cleared everything off of it. I would hate for there to be something breakable.
The papers laying flat on the shelves are also likely to end up on the floor, so if you need to keep them I would move them. I can also see a kitten falling as she pulled on them.

The TV looks top-heavy on its stand. I don't know if the kitten could pull it over, but there another toddler in Dallas who pulled a TV over and was trapped underneath it - still in the hospital with a skull fracture. I tend to be a worrier.

What about a soft area - pillow, bedding or cat sack?

It's very smart of you to ask for seocnd opinions on the preparation. Fresh eyes are wonderful.

Gig'em.
 
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tamgirl99

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Originally Posted by Mom of 4

Is the bookshelf secured to the wall? A couple of L brackets at the top will work. It is not secured to the wall but I've tried tugging it myself just to see if it was at all tipsy and it doesn't budge. I'm only planning to keep the kitten in this room for a couple of weeks max, as long as my older cat accepts her readily. She should since she has always loved other kitties but you never really know.

The top shelf appears to have breakables - my daughter's 4 mouth old kitten climbed to the top of a bookshelf that high and cleared everything off of it. I would hate for there to be something breakable. There are a few jar candles on that top shelf and I have no problem removing them so I'll go take another look.

The papers laying flat on the shelves are also likely to end up on the floor, so if you need to keep them I would move them. I can also see a kitten falling as she pulled on them. I tried to put the heavier stuff on top of anything loose but will double check again to make sure. Nothing on these shelves is of much value so I don't worry about her tearing anything up. And none of these possibly moveable papers are more than 2 feet off the ground

The TV looks top-heavy on its stand. I don't know if the kitten could pull it over, but there another toddler in Dallas who pulled a TV over and was trapped underneath it - still in the hospital with a skull fracture. I tend to be a worrier. I just saw that news story today! So sad. And it is a much older television so it's before they were made top heavy. There's no way she could knock it off unless she somehow propped herself against the wall behind it and gave it a tremendous push with her lower legs.
Also, it will never be on so she shouldn't have any desire to attack it.


What about a soft area - pillow, bedding or cat sack? Yep, there is a fleece nesting type bed inside the little tent in the corner and the bottom of the crate is a fleece pad.

It's very smart of you to ask for seocnd opinions on the preparation. Fresh eyes are wonderful.

Gig'em. Thanks and gig'em right back at ya! I was wondering if anyone was going to notice my Aggie decor/diploma.
Zoethor2 - Thanks for the tips on the toys. She does have one of those spinning ball things in there and if you look close you can see it in the corner. Another item that didn't show up in the pics is a 5 foot long crinkle tunnel. I wanted to give her as many hiding places as possible since it's a new place and she may be scared at first. Of course these are all fun things to play with too.

I've got another toy that's like a wooden box with holes in it and a couple of balls. The balls can be batted out but they're big enough she couldn't swallow or choke on them. I have several prescription bottles and chapstick tubes so I'll try those too! I'm going to try to rotate toys though so she doesn't get too bored with any one of them.
 

taterbug

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Originally Posted by Mom of 4

The TV looks top-heavy on its stand. I don't know if the kitten could pull it over, but there another toddler in Dallas who pulled a TV over and was trapped underneath it - still in the hospital with a skull fracture. I tend to be a worrier.
That was the thing I noticed first, too. And the way it's sitting in the corner, and the table nearby, I can just see a kitty jumping from the table, to the top of the TV, and sliding off into the corner behind the TV and being trapped.
Yeah...it happened with one of my girls a long time ago.
 
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tamgirl99

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Originally Posted by taterbug

That was the thing I noticed first, too. And the way it's sitting in the corner, and the table nearby, I can just see a kitty jumping from the table, to the top of the TV, and sliding off into the corner behind the TV and being trapped.
Yeah...it happened with one of my girls a long time ago.
Any suggestion of how to block the area behind the tv so she can't get back there? I'm not quite sure how to tackle that but I'll see if I can come up with something.
 

taterbug

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Originally Posted by tamgirl99

Any suggestion of how to block the area behind the tv so she can't get back there? I'm not quite sure how to tackle that but I'll see if I can come up with something.
If the TV is never on or plugged into an outlet, maybe a large pillow?? I had a pillow on the floor behind my TV, and scooted it out so that they could at least get out if they slid off again....and I think it only happened about twice after that. But...my TV wasn't as far from the floor.
 

zoethor2

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Originally Posted by tamgirl99

Zoethor2 - Thanks for the tips on the toys. She does have one of those spinning ball things in there and if you look close you can see it in the corner. Another item that didn't show up in the pics is a 5 foot long crinkle tunnel. I wanted to give her as many hiding places as possible since it's a new place and she may be scared at first. Of course these are all fun things to play with too.

I've got another toy that's like a wooden box with holes in it and a couple of balls. The balls can be batted out but they're big enough she couldn't swallow or choke on them. I have several prescription bottles and chapstick tubes so I'll try those too! I'm going to try to rotate toys though so she doesn't get too bored with any one of them.
This may or may not be typical, but our kitties have been playing with the same toys for about 7 months now, and they aren't bored of ANY of them yet. And they keep finding "new" toys in the house... balls of paper... pen caps (pen caps??? ridiculous cats...) ... anything that isn't tied down mostly. I think with Abys there's less of a boredom factor going on.

Oh and one other thing they go nuts for is playing with a laser pointer. Our boy, in fact, will play with it so hard that he'll start panting but still want to keep playing. It's ridiculously adorable, although maybe not the best sign for his ability to take care of himself!
 
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