House is full of hidden hazards for your feline

You share your home with a feline or two. You acknowledge that items can no longer be left on your counters. Cabinets must be closed or locked. Plants are moved up high. Valuables and breakables are kept in a hutch with a door.

And just when you think you have your feline friend safe from household dangers, something you overlooked pops up.

Here are a few suggestions to keep your curious buddy safe.

Sir Walter Scott made some interesting observations when trying to characterize a feline's traits: "Cats are a mysterious kind of folk. There is more passing through their minds than we are aware."

A utility or laundry room can be a feline sanctuary for them and a nightmare for you. Hot water heater, furnace, washer and a dryer can all hold hidden disasters. Try to keep all lids and doors closed and check the contents as a precaution before loading or turning on an appliance. Space behind an appliance should be checked to prevent your feline from crawling into a tight trap.

Gas dryers are famous for this problem. The coil that vents the dryer to the outside often requires too much space to prevent kinking. If you find this to be a problem, there is a product on the market called a dryer box that allows the coil to recess on the wall behind the dryer.

This product allows more airflow to the vent and allows the dryer to be placed right up to the wall to block a space your feline might normally investigate.

Laundry soaps, bleach and other cleaning agents can also be potential hazards. If toddlers find the cleaning pods attractive to eat, your feline will also find them tempting to bat around until they burst and the soap is everywhere, leading to a soapy mess all over your feline's paws to ingest, not to mention the cleanup. All cleaning products need to be placed in cabinets out of your feline's reach.

The bathroom is a feline paradise of mischief. The toilet, sink and tub are true trouble. Keep all the lids closed an free of chemicals. Some felines cannot resist water. Try and make an extra effort to tighten all the faucet handles. Fresh water is a great temptation for some felines, even if you provide a moving water fountain for them.

Our felines seem to be quite proud of themselves once they master the skill of turning on a faucet. When you leave the bathroom, try to remember to check all the stoppers are in the up position, or you may find a flooded room when you get home hours later.

For a tiny room, the bathroom is sure a lot of work to cat proof. Besides cleaners, you have medications, mouthwash, toothpaste, antiseptics and adhesives as a few potential problems. All of these items need to be secured in a tamper-free cabinet.

Dental floss is of great interest to our felines, so do not leave it on the counter or in an open trash bin. My felines think they have discovered floss as the next best toy. Dental floss, like yarn, can cause serious intestinal obstructions. You can consider yourself lucky if you find floss in a neat, little hairball.

If you store your curling iron or hair dryer in the bathroom, keep it stored away to avoid burn or cord chewing. An appliance plugged in unattended or cooling is an attractive potential disaster.

In other larger rooms, placement of decorations and breakables will be a challenge that must be well thought out. Crystal, glass and ceramic items are not safe within a feline's jumping range. They can harm your feline when they fall, and once shattered they are a continued sharp object hazard.

If you are not willing to give up live plants in totality, be sure you are familiar with the properties of all plants that enter your home. Anything toxic needs to stay outside.

Reclining chairs and collapsing tables may not be items you associate with danger to animals. If your feline has even fallen asleep under one and a paw or tail is pinched, you already know what I am referring to. Before you sit in a recliner you might check who might be snoozing down below.

In time, your feline will teach you on a day-to-day basis what perils it wishes to investigate. Feline proofing your home is an ongoing, exhaustive process, so just accept the fact that you can never let your guard down.

• The Buddy Foundation, 65 W. Seegers Road, Arlington Heights, is a nonprofit 501(c) 3, shelter. Call (847) 290-5806 or visit www.thebuddyfoundation.org.