It is said that the people who have the compassion and love for animals are the people who make good friends, partners, or house-mates. It is actually true because animal-lovers know how to take care of a living thing and know how to give and receive affection from a non-human companion.
The making of a good citizen.
It is nice to have a pet in the house. Unless your pet is a savaged hyena or meat-loving alligator, it is always comforting to go back in your house and be greeted with your affectionate cat or your fun-loving dog, or to wake up in the morning with the chirping of your pet bird.
"Welcome to hell. I mean, welcome back home."
Without sacrificing comfort and style, you can actually make your house to be pet-friendly. In fact, pet-friendly decoration is becoming a trend nowadays. To be able to accommodate your pet's needs, you need to have the right materials for your furniture. But these materials should also be comfortable for humans. It isn't really difficult to do that since most of the times if it works for you pet, it also works for you and your kids and your guests.
The often your pet bathe and groom, the longer your house is clean.
By trimming your pet's nails regularly they won't be scratching your floors or any of your furniture. Also, if you bathe them and brush them every so often, you would remove the loose hair even before they fall to your carpet, to your bed, to your sofa, everywhere. More over, if you bathe your pets regularly they wouldn't mess your rugs and furniture making them last longer because you don't need to wash them more often. Isn't it more fun to clean your dog than your upholstery?
"Brand new furnitures are the best to scratch."
With the right vacuum, you can't be wrong.
If you are a natural pet-lover and you already have a pet even before you start decorating your house, you consider buying sofa with the colour that matches the colour of your pet's hairballs that they will be virtually invisible. But no matter how invisible they seem to be in your sofa, you need to vacuum at least twice a week or once a day if your cat is shedding. You must admit that your pet's hair has an odour and it will only attract more dirt to your sofa because it has oil. Ask your pet-lover friends what vacuum they use so you can get pointers. You will be surprised how horrifyingly furry your sofa, your carpet and all your living room is.
Everything must be washable.
Unless your dog or your cat sleeps outside the house, there will always be "accidents" when they sleep with you on the bed. For example, cats tend to barf a lot and you need to be prepared for it by covering your bed with thick pad. You can use bedsheets that can hide the pet hair as well as stains in so that you can buy time washing them, thus minimizing the wear.
"Please wash this bedsheet when we wake up. It smells funny."
Tricks with fabrics.
There are synthetic fabrics that are pet-proof. Unlike velvet or silk which are like the perfect magnet for pet-hair and other dirt, choose fabrics that are stain, smell and bacteria resistant. Leather is always a good choice because it can be easily cleaned but if you are not a fan of leather because you find it depressing to use a fabric made from animal to use for your pet, you can consider pleather or ultrasuede as an alternative.
And of course don't forget to train your pets to use the litter box. Also, you can ask your interior designer to consider these little members of the family when they create the design for your home.
