The 411 on Pet-Proofing Your Apartment

By Julia Dunn on September 3, 2015

This article is brought to you by CORT, a subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathaway and the world’s largest furniture rental and relocation services company. To learn more about how we can help college students like you, click here.

Score–you just found out that your new apartment’s landlord is cool with tenants having a pet!

This is great news, of course, since furry friends are the best stress relievers from our hectic college lives. Sadly,  pets aren’t totally hassle-free 100 percent of the time, and you don’t want them to mess with your apartment if you can prevent it.

Image via Unsplash 

Plus, given the high level of curiosity pets exercise in their day-to-day mischief, you want to make sure that your property is equipped to handle your animal without placing it in any danger.

Here are some necessary tips on how to pet-proof your apartment so that your pets are safe, while making sure that your apartment doesn’t become trashed by the time you move out.

Store chemicals out of reach.

This should be self-explanatory, but toxic chemicals + pets = a disaster and a half.

If you use harmful chemicals or cleansers for scrubbing windows, bathtubs, and other household amenities, keep them in a location that you know your pet cannot access by any stretch of the imagination. Pets know how to climb, and they are prone to getting into anything that looks interesting.

Image via Unsplash

A good solution for this might be to use a lockable tupperware container/storage box for harsh chemicals and bottled cleansers. Or, simply store them in the highest cupboard of your kitchen, where an inquisitive pet cannot knock them down.

Keep garbage cans locked in an under-sink cupboard.

From experience, I’ve seen the havoc pets can wreak when they have access to a garbage can containing food scraps. It’s not pretty.

In general, any food scraps should be disposed of in a place where pets cannot scarf them down. Some animals develop an appetite for human-food right when they taste their first piece of pasta or brownie, and it’s a nightmare from there on out to keep your pets out of your plates during mealtime.

If your pet enjoys people-food as much as my cat does, you will want to make sure that they absolutely cannot get into your trash can. Many varieties of food can be poisonous to pets if ingested in any way (for example, chocolate is toxic to cats and dogs … then again, hopefully you have enough sense not to throw away chocolate!)

Furthermore, pets often make a huge mess when they raid trash cans, causing more stress for you in the clean-up process. My cat takes any opportunity she can to knock over the trash can and wolf down whatever is inside, and it’s pretty nightmarish.

If you can, prevent your pets from getting a taste for human-food at all costs. Trust me … the sight of a cat galloping across your living room with a corn cob in its mouth is completely hilarious at first, but not exactly ideal after a while. Cat stomachs do not react well to corn, as a rule.

Always unplug cords when you aren’t using them.

Image via Unsplash

Critters like to chew on and play with cords–from a cat or dog’s point of view, they’re fun to bat around, and they look like snakes (always a plus, of course)! This pet pastime can be dangerous if you have a habit of leaving electrical cords plugged into wall outlets when you aren’t using them, as you definitely do not want your animal to shock themselves (especially when you aren’t home).

Cords can also be choking hazards if your pet accidentally becomes tangled in them. Your best bet for pet-proofing your apartment is to keep cords out of reach when you aren’t home or aren’t able to keep an eye on mischievous pets.

Be aware of houseplants

Even seemingly non-poisonous plants can put pets at risk if you keep plants at their level. Cats in particular occasionally like to chew on grass, so houseplants seem no different in their eyes.

House plants can pose a hazard if your pet finds themselves munching on random leaves and flowers. These plants may contain natural toxins capable of making your pets sick.

Look inside washing machines and dryers before using them.

It sounds ridiculous–but stories of cats and dogs hiding out in washers and dryers aren’t unheard of. You certainly don’t want to throw an entire load of laundry and some soap on top of your new kitten and turn it on (it’s not hard to see that this would be a really, really bad situation). A quick peek before you do your laundry can save you and your pet a lot of panic and distress.

Stow away fragile items/decoration pieces.

You know that pretty glass flower vase that looks so cute on your coffee table? Yeah, your cat probably sees that as a bowling pin.

No matter what kind of animal you’ve got, it will inevitably knock stuff over in your apartment. Upon adopting your pet, reconsider which decorative pieces you want in your highly-frequented rooms, and if any of those objects are breakable, it might be a good idea to replace them with items that can withstand the antics of a rowdy pet.

Owning a pet is a lot of work, but pet-proofing your apartment doesn’t have to be stressful. Taking steps to prevent pet-related kerfuffles will save you a lot of time. There will undoubtedly be mini catastrophes when adjusting to caring for a pet in your apartment, but try not to panic too much–you’ll have some funny stories in the bank for hangouts with friends.

Image via Pixabay

Looking for a more convenient way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Rent stylish furniture from CORT and save time and money. For more information on furniture rental packages, click here.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format