Now that you´ve selected your new cat, you must make sure your home is a safe home for him too. Cats and especially kittens will play with and chew on just about anything. You should be extremely dedicated to cat proofing your home so no harm comes to your new pet. There are the usual pitfalls such as dangling cords and cleaning products that are dangerous to your kitty. There are also a number of houseplants you should be cautious with when introducing a new pet to the home. You should know all the plants you have in your house. The following are just a few plants that will harm your cat.
- Lilies of any type. This includes the Easter lily, Day lily, Show lily, Asian lily, tiger lily, stargazer lily, and generally anything in the lily family. Licking or chewing on any part of a true lily will kill your kitten.
- Peace lily and Calla lily (which are not true lilies), philodendrons, pothos, shefflera, and dieffenbachia plants are common household greenery that will cause mouth pain, drooling, vomiting, and loss of appetite if kitty nibbles on them.
- Azaleas, rhododendrons, lily-of-the-valley, foxglove, milkweeds, yew, and mistletoe are also found in many homes. These plants are all very toxic to a cat´s heart. Once again, if you´ve decided to have a cat as a pet, you should take inventory of your household plants and flowers. While many of these flowers are attractive and brighten up a room, they are deadly to your cat that will nibble and chew on plants out of boredom or simple mischief. If you have plants that are sentimental and you just can´t bring yourself to get rid of them, you should place them where kitty will not have access.
