Pet-proofing your home is essential preparation that prevents injuries, poisoning, and property damage. Work room by room with a systematic checklist.

In the kitchen, secure cabinet doors with child-proof latches to keep pets away from cleaning chemicals, trash, and toxic foods like chocolate, grapes, onions, and xylitol-containing products. Move food off counters and store it in sealed containers. Cover or block access to the stove and oven when not in use.

In living areas, bundle and hide electrical cords behind furniture or inside cord covers. Remove or elevate houseplants, as many common varieties like lilies, pothos, and sago palms are toxic to cats and dogs. Secure bookshelves and heavy objects that could topple. Pick up small items like rubber bands, coins, buttons, and children's toys that pets might swallow.

Bathrooms need closed toilet lids, locked medicine cabinets, and secured trash cans. Many human medications are fatal to pets even in small doses.

Bedrooms should have laundry hampers with lids since socks and underwear are frequent foreign body ingestion culprits. Check under beds for small objects, and consider whether your pet should have bedroom access at all initially.

Garages and utility rooms are high-risk zones. Antifreeze is extremely toxic and appealing to animals. Store all automotive fluids, paints, pesticides, and rodent bait in locked cabinets. Check for small gaps where a pet could become trapped.

Outdoor spaces need secure fencing inspected for gaps at ground level. Remove or fence off toxic plants, mulch containing cocoa shells, and standing water that may harbor bacteria.

Finally, get on the floor at your pet's eye level and look for hazards you might miss from standing height. This perspective reveals dangers that are otherwise invisible to adult humans.