Don’t Let Your Furry Friends Ruin Your Home

Most people love pets but find that unless proper precautions are taken, those same loved pets can destroy doors, décor and furnishings in the home.

If you have pets then you need to find ways of limiting the damage that they might cause. Below are some top tips for pet proofing your home and making life a bit less worrisome.

Tip 1 Protect Your Sofa

It doesn’t matter how much we tell ourselves and our pets that animals have no place on furniture but should remain on the dog shelf – the floor – it is more likely that they will get their way.

You can protect sofas and chairs with ordinary throws or better still, with loose covers that are easily washed. Cats are a particular threat to soft furnishings as they like to exercise their claws on the back or side of a sofa.

Get your cat a scratching post and make it appear more attractive with a bit of catnip as most cats are attracted by the herb. Again loose covers will protect your furniture from the shredding that occurs when a cat gets at it with its claws.

Tip 2. Shatterproof Doors

Both dogs and cats can damage your internal and external doors. If you have solid oak doors at the back or front of your home then some scratchproof paint will help to protect them from claw related damage.

Fit a cat flap to the exterior rear door so that your cat has easy access and will not scratch and claw at the back door in an effort to escape outside.

Solid wooden doors are also good inside the house if you have an exuberant dog as he is less likely to do any damage if he runs into them. Scratch proof paint on both doors and walls will ensure that your home stays looking good even though you are living with pets. There are plenty of brands of paint around and what you choose is purely personal, just make sure that the tin says that the paint is scratch proof.

Paint is always a good choice as it is easily washed or painted over should it be damaged by your pets.

Tip 3 Protecting Glass Panel Doors

If you have glass panel doors in your home then choose those with panels on the upper part of the door as this is usually below the reach of heavy paws. Make sure that panels are made from shatter proof glass when you have pets as this will greatly reduce any chance of an accident.

Tip 4 Pets and Floors

If you have pets then you will have hairs. Carpets are often not practical if you have a cat or a dog and wooden floors are by far the more practical option. Cats in particular have a problem with hair balls and may often cough them up onto your floor so it is much more practical to have something that is easy to clean.

Living with pets can be a lot of fun providing you take some precautions to limit the damage that they can do to your home.

Photos: Thee Erin, Overdrive_CZ