Hey everyone! This is my first time posting on this forum, so I'm a little nervous but excited to interact with you all. :)
I'm just now getting into hearth craft in particular and am hoping to set up an altar in my home office to help focus the energy there for when I work (I'm a full time PhD student so any sort of grounding and focus is extremely useful). The issue is I have two very curious cats, one of whom is an extremely precocious kitten who will eat literally anything including non-consumable items such as matches. I'd like an aluminium cauldron and some crystals, but I'm nervous to put any salt or herbs on the altar; much as I would like them for the energy, I can't trust my cats not to eat them.
Any tips either for safe herbs/plants or for other items that can help focus energy but would be safe for my fur babies to be around? Thanks in advance for any insight.
Maybe try looking out for a small table-surface display cabinet. Something a few inches deep with a hinged glass top. This could be placed on the altar itself and anything potentially hazardous kept inside. The outside of the display box could even be decorated to match the themes of your altar too.
That's a good idea, thanks! I didn't like the thought of covering the altar up, but if there was glass or if I cut little designs into the wood so I could still see in and the energy could flow better that would be a very good alternative.
My cats were very curious in their younger years as well. What I did was put some cat grass in a place they were allowed to go and trained them not to go on my altar. So, if you have space elsewhere I suggest setting up a 'cat sanctuary' so to speak. Create a space they're allowed to go with cat grass, a shallow box, a magazine in the sun (lol), anything they would prefer and give them treats when they go there. Give them treats in this new space particularlywhen you're doing curious things so they associate you using your altar to their new space.
I have a dog and I have had a cat (and I’m getting a kitten in a week), so I have a few tips.
1. Glass display cases with doors that open easily are great.
2. If you are using candles, set your altar up high and use holders that are heavy enough that if your cat gets to them, they won’t knock over.
3. Little bags are good for holding things that you don’t want pets to play with.
My dog is forever messing up my altar. He likes to play with my wand. It’s cute but annoying!
