Three things have prevented serious "stepping on" injuries in my multi-animal household.

1) The "Multi-pet shuffle". I haven't done a normal walk in my house in decades. I shuffle. I can't step on little toes if my own feet never leave the ground.

2) I bellow "GIT!!!" if they simply won't permit me to move freely. The right "Do it or DIE!" tone of voice generally gets them all moving in the other direction.

3) If I should move in a manner that lands an animal foot under my own, I'll take a fall before I'll put weight down on the foot.

So far, so good. I have no idea how long all of our luck will hold out, though.

Laurie

I think a lot of it has to do with breed & temperament;

My Cocoa is a Burmese mix, & he's a real hazard, always underfoot, can't even run from him because it just gets him excited.

I think the "shuffle" is a great idea!

Step on them. They learn real fast to stay out of the way.

I've stepped on the little guy now for 16+ years and he still hasn't gotten the idea. He can't resist chicken and will do *anything* to get some. He's known for nosing out the dogs to get to it and almost became lunch himself a few times. He's all by himself now so there is no competition. I've tried the big voice, water squirts, broom, shuffle; nada. He still winds up under foot. The dog (she's gone now) knew "Get" and "No begging" but the cat never caught on.

I've taken a header for him many times and I've stepped on him before but this is the first time he got hurt. I swear he was trying to trip me as I had chicken in my hands.

My wife swears at our cat and gently puts her foot up his backside. I try to get him up on the couch or the spare bed by patting and making catty 'pswswsws' or 'ch-ch-ch' noises which seem to attract him.

The missus says I love the cat more than I love her. Well the cat doesn't make a habit of driving the car into the gatepost.