We have done our best to cat-proof our house as much as possible, to the extent that surfaces that once held various decorative items and knick-knacks are now totally bare. We are also working on training the boys to keep them out of things that will hurt them, and we've taken preventative measures like installing child safety latches on the cabinets since they've been pulling them open.
I work nights, and my husband works days, so he leaves early in the morning and I sleep 'til about 1PM before it's time for me to get up and get ready to go myself. That means that the boys are unsupervised from the time that he leaves until I get up, and then for another couple of hours after I leave, before DH gets home from work. They tend to sleep with us at night, so they don't seem to get into much while we're sleeping.
This afternoon when I got up, I found that they had apparently gotten to a very high shelf that I didn't think they could reach, and they knocked over a decorative bottle, you know those that have peppers and things in them with oil and vinegar and they're really colorful? Not suitable for consumption, of course.
I was...horrified. Not so much about the bottle, because it only cost $5 and is easily replaced, but because there was oily-vinegary stuff all over the floor, shattered glass all over the floor (and I felt sick at the thought that they might have glass in their paws or that they might've eaten some if it) as well as the not-suitable-for-consumption vegetable-type things. I put them in the guest bath long enough to clean it up, and then I inspected their paws for glass, but if they did manage to escape unscathed, it'll be sheer luck, I'm thinking.
I'm going to clear off that shelf, but my DH is very angry because when the bottle fell, it chipped the kitchen tile which will be expensive to repair/replace. He said that we need to find a way to keep them out of stuff or we'll have to get rid of them. I will NOT allow that to happen, but for the sake of marital harmony, I need to find a way to make certain shelves and surfaces totally uninteresting to them without hurting or scaring them (which I would never do). I know that some cats dislike the scent of citrus, but it doesn't bother them at all. What can I do to discourage them from getting on some of these shelves and things? I'd like to be able to actually use the shelves to hold stuff again at some point, rather than having to keep them totally bare for however many years we have our boys. I'll do it if necessary, but it's not the preferred option, heh.
So please help, and please don't worry about the boys, they're be staying right where they are, being loved and receiving all the care they need.
ETA: We are working on training them on where it is and is not acceptable to go, but for that to work, we have to catch them in the act. Obviously, during the periods where they are unsupervised, this isn't possible. Also, their litterbox area is sort of central to the house, so we can only close off certain areas to them. (We don't allow them in the office, guest bedroom, or master bedroom without our supervision.)
I work nights, and my husband works days, so he leaves early in the morning and I sleep 'til about 1PM before it's time for me to get up and get ready to go myself. That means that the boys are unsupervised from the time that he leaves until I get up, and then for another couple of hours after I leave, before DH gets home from work. They tend to sleep with us at night, so they don't seem to get into much while we're sleeping.
This afternoon when I got up, I found that they had apparently gotten to a very high shelf that I didn't think they could reach, and they knocked over a decorative bottle, you know those that have peppers and things in them with oil and vinegar and they're really colorful? Not suitable for consumption, of course.
I was...horrified. Not so much about the bottle, because it only cost $5 and is easily replaced, but because there was oily-vinegary stuff all over the floor, shattered glass all over the floor (and I felt sick at the thought that they might have glass in their paws or that they might've eaten some if it) as well as the not-suitable-for-consumption vegetable-type things. I put them in the guest bath long enough to clean it up, and then I inspected their paws for glass, but if they did manage to escape unscathed, it'll be sheer luck, I'm thinking.
I'm going to clear off that shelf, but my DH is very angry because when the bottle fell, it chipped the kitchen tile which will be expensive to repair/replace. He said that we need to find a way to keep them out of stuff or we'll have to get rid of them. I will NOT allow that to happen, but for the sake of marital harmony, I need to find a way to make certain shelves and surfaces totally uninteresting to them without hurting or scaring them (which I would never do). I know that some cats dislike the scent of citrus, but it doesn't bother them at all. What can I do to discourage them from getting on some of these shelves and things? I'd like to be able to actually use the shelves to hold stuff again at some point, rather than having to keep them totally bare for however many years we have our boys. I'll do it if necessary, but it's not the preferred option, heh.
So please help, and please don't worry about the boys, they're be staying right where they are, being loved and receiving all the care they need.
ETA: We are working on training them on where it is and is not acceptable to go, but for that to work, we have to catch them in the act. Obviously, during the periods where they are unsupervised, this isn't possible. Also, their litterbox area is sort of central to the house, so we can only close off certain areas to them. (We don't allow them in the office, guest bedroom, or master bedroom without our supervision.)
