Your pets should feel at home in every space in your house. Whether it’s your bedroom, the garage, and even the kitchen. Every pet owner should be interested in designing a pet-friendly kitchen, so your pet feels unafraid of walking into any room.
You should properly pet-proof your entire home to keep your pets safe. To ensure your kitchen remains pet-friendly, follow these tips.
1. Incorporate a Feeding Area
The pups should eat in the kitchen, too! Incorporate a feeding area at the end of your kitchen island to give them their own special place to join you and your family as you all chow down every day.
Plus, it’ll help you keep track of how much they’re eating while you work on dinner or breakfast for the family.
2. Invest in Durable Cabinets
Having the proper cabinetry in your kitchen is essential for your pets. From stray tail wags to paw scratches, you’ll want to ensure your RTA cabinets are built with pets in mind.
When you have quality cabinets, they’ll last through all the normal wear and tear that comes with owning a pet. You should also make sure to wipe them down at least once a month to get any pet snot or slobber from them.
3. Give Them a Sleeping Area
As you’re designing your cabinet layout, make sure you carve out a place for your pets to sleep. Give them enough space for a plush dog bed, a blanket, and maybe a toy or two.
They’ll love to be right there in the middle of everything with you. It’s also nice to have a doggy sleep area in your kitchen if your backdoor is there, too. That way, when your dog comes in from their day outside, they can head right to their bed and enjoy a brief snooze before dinner.
4. Invest in Heat-Safe Appliances
Cats are infamous for getting into trouble because of their agility and curious nature. Consider going with a gas stovetop instead of an electric flat top if you own cats. That way, if they jump onto the counter next to the stove, they won’t accidentally step on it and burn their paws.
If owning an electric stovetop is a must for you, consider using a hob cover to keep cats away.
5. Make Sure You Can Clean Everything
Even if you own hypoallergenic dogs, they still track in dirt and bacteria from outside through your kitchen. It’s important to keep everything clean and install easy-to-clean surfaces in your kitchen. This will make your kitchen much more livable for both pets and humans.
6. Utilize your Upper Cabinets
If you own cats, turn the space at the top of your kitchen cabinets into a cat play area! Cats love heights and peering down at people below them.
So, install some cat stairs or tunnels for them to move through your kitchen with ease. They’ll have so much fun in their custom playground! You can also add some blankets or a small pet bed for them to lounge in on the tops of your cabinets or refrigerator.
7. Hide Away Dangerous Utensils
Keep the knives or any other dangerous kitchen utensils hidden. Instead of hanging your wine glasses over the sink, keep them inside a cabinet so nosy animals can’t get to them.
Not only is cleaning glass up a frustrating task, but it’s also dangerous for your pets if they break something while you’re not home. They’ll be walking through the glass until you arrive and can clean it up. To be proactive about this, keep all your dangerous objects out of your pet’s reach.
8. Consider Using a Lock for Your Cabinets
Much like children, pets can be curious. To prevent them from getting into lower cabinets – especially if that’s where you hide their treats – use a cabinet lock.
This way, you’ll keep them from digging through or hiding in your lower kitchen cabinets. It also keeps the inside of your cabinets from getting destroyed and protects any dishes, pots, or pans you have stored inside!
9. Use Pet-friendly Cleaning Supplies
If your pet can somehow get through your cabinet locks or any other protective measures you put into place, make sure the cleaning supplies under your sink or in your laundry room are pet-friendly and non-toxic.
This is also a perfect way for you to start incorporating more environmentally friendly products into your lifestyle. While most products have lids that should make the product secure, a very determined puppy or dog with a powerful bite could tear through the container or bottle housing the cleaning product.
10. Install a Hidden Gate
By incorporating a hidden gate into your kitchen, you can easily keep the pups out while you’re cooking. Then, you can push the gate back to let them in once you’ve finished and cleaned up.
It’s a great way to keep them safe and out of your hair while you cook. It can also double as a baby gate if you have a young child who has just learned to walk.
11. Try Out Clear Food Storage Containers
Nothing is worse than opening up the food bag to see your pet’s food is gone. You can alleviate this by using clear food storage containers.
Not only do they let you see how much food you have, but you can also see what food you have. This will ensure you don’t mix up the dog’s food with the cat’s food or grab the wrong type of pasta for dinner.
12. Go Vintage with a Fish Tank Bar
There’s nothing wrong with adding a little retro aspect to your kitchen design! Putting a fish tank in your bar is a unique design feature. It’s especially great for individuals who work long hours and want to own pets but can’t commit to taking care of a dog or a cat.
Fish are relatively easy to take care of, and the fish tank can be easily cleaned. Even if you own pets, they’ll love to sit by the fish tank and watch the fish swim around. This is mostly for cats, but puppies and dogs will be intrigued, too!
Getting your family ready for a pet is just as important as making your home pet-friendly. Find out how you can do this here.
