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- Sep 17, 2020
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Hello all! I'm in the process of looking for a house. Yay, me. In looking at houses, I've suddenly become aware that many buildings have potential hazards that I've never had around, just because they were built in a different time or place from other places I've lived.
I'm especially nervous about:
1) Lofts! Has anyone ever had a cat fall out of a loft eg while playing or otherwise distracted, or try to jump off of one, etc? (For clarity, "loft" in my local terminology is when the second floor is open to the first floor, usually with a railing. Here are two random examples I pulled from the internet: one and two.) I just, I look at these open spaces and thing, what if the mouse she's chasing goes skittering off the edge and she's so excited she follows it? Or what if her vision is bad (both of my current cats, who will not be moving with me, have poor vision) and she doesn't realize how far it is? Or what if he sees a stray out the window downstairs and goes tearing after it, and falls?
2) Radiators! I look at old radiators like this one and can't help but thinking, could a kitten get stuck in there? Could a cat fall asleep on top and get burned?
I. I think I know that this is mostly my anxiety speaking, but if anyone has lived in place with a loft-style second floor or with old fashioned radiators, I'd really like to hear from you.
And is there anything else I ought to be looking for? My cats are indoor cats, so things like a pool aren't a problem.
Thank you!
I'm especially nervous about:
1) Lofts! Has anyone ever had a cat fall out of a loft eg while playing or otherwise distracted, or try to jump off of one, etc? (For clarity, "loft" in my local terminology is when the second floor is open to the first floor, usually with a railing. Here are two random examples I pulled from the internet: one and two.) I just, I look at these open spaces and thing, what if the mouse she's chasing goes skittering off the edge and she's so excited she follows it? Or what if her vision is bad (both of my current cats, who will not be moving with me, have poor vision) and she doesn't realize how far it is? Or what if he sees a stray out the window downstairs and goes tearing after it, and falls?
2) Radiators! I look at old radiators like this one and can't help but thinking, could a kitten get stuck in there? Could a cat fall asleep on top and get burned?
I. I think I know that this is mostly my anxiety speaking, but if anyone has lived in place with a loft-style second floor or with old fashioned radiators, I'd really like to hear from you.
And is there anything else I ought to be looking for? My cats are indoor cats, so things like a pool aren't a problem.
Thank you!
The cat I had loved to stretch out over the metal covers in the winter because they would get super hot (scorching actually). I had to put a thick folded blanket on two of his favorite spots to keep him from getting burned. This most likely was not taken in the winter so the heat wasn't on:
Check the insides of all cabinets, upper and lower, and make sure they are completely solid inside. If they're just open, the cat can travel behind the cabinet and possibly into the walls or floors. Check under bottom cabinets too to make sure there is a board there, to (not sure what they're called. Toekicks?). If there are built in furniture, check those too. Check crawl spaces, the basement, attic, garage for any potential hazards and cat appealing hiding spots. Old houses have lots of quirks and may not be completely up to date with today's building codes.
Some messes will soak through to the carpet pad and the floor underneath and there's no way to clean that without tearing the carpet up. My unit originally had carpet but I had that removed and hardwood floors installed before I moved in.
