I used a kitchen grout sealer on all flat surfaces where there is a chance that our Leo may decide to go to the bathroom, or there is chance that may get wet. The other grout sealers I found stated not to use in an area that may come in contact with food, which I took to mean that it may cause issues even after it's cured. The kitchen grout sealer stated that it was safe for food prep areas. As for paint, I used a latex acrylic with a low to no fumes. With the concern of indoor air pollution these days they make paint that gives off almost no gases after it's dried. You pay a premium for it, but you can usually get small containers so it's not quite as bad. The paint that I used was BAER Premium Ultra which runs about $45-50 /gal at HomeDepot. They have sample jars though that I paid $4.50 for 500ml. As for sealing the paint, I didn't but others have used stuff like Modge-Podge with sand mixed in.
