[Poetess]

OK, so ... I got my Finnegan early Feb. from an animal shelter and he was 5-6 months then (the vet thinks he was 5) and overall, he's very loving and cuddly. Finn will just snuggle in a chair with me for hours. But he tends to do naughty things, and half the time I don't catch him. He has went after TV cables, the cord to the TV, lamp cord, computer cords, my iPod (which I hide now), the cord to my wall AC, and I have a Sleep-by-number bed that has cords and a tube/pump attached to it, and he goes after that - so because of that, he can't sleep with me, and if I leave for an hour or more, he can't stay out . A vet told me to put him in a kennel or a cat carrier, but I felt really bad about that idea. So Finn goes in his "room" at night and when I'm away; the room was a large storage room (almost half the size of my own bedroom) and it has a bed, and is where his litter box is and has food and water bowls, but I hate doing that.

Does anyone know how I can break him of this? I can't afford to replace expensive things like that constantly, and I also don't want him to hurt himself. Will he grow out of this? I've been around cats and dogs my whole life (even ferrets and a wild bird that I rescued as a child), but I've never had a problem like this. Any advice, experiences or help would be appreciated.

 

[Ted]

In preparation for my boys, I went to Fry's Electronics (not sure if you have such a store near you) and purchased some cord covers (they come in various sizes)...they're like coils that wrap around the elec. cord. They're made of plastic. Yes, the cat MAY be able to chew through them, but at least it's something. Office Depot also carries them.

Also, I've purchased something called "Bitter Apple". You basically spray what you do NOT want the cats to chew. But wear gloves... I've accidentally tasted it and it IS pretty awful stuff. I got mine at Petsmart. It's not called Bitter Apple there, but it's "No Chew" or something like that.

 

[MowMow]

Amazingly this was one problem I never had with Shepherd Book until a few nights ago. He woke up me a few nights back with a cry and I found him backed into the corner of the bedroom shaking. He wouldn't let me touch him and was afraid to move so MowMow and I investigated the room. I found the computer cord (near the plug) soggy with teeth marks on it. I can only conclude he tried snacking on it and got zapped.

Now Shepherd Book is convinced the bedroom floor is evil. He leaps onto the bed from the doorway and exits the same way, a mighty leap into the hall that usually ends him up in a heap on the floor. The bed, in his mind, is the ONLY safe place in that evil room.

He looks fine and there was no damage to him, other than his delicate psyche.

BTW: I'm NOT suggesting you let your cat get electrocuted to teach him a lesson. Just was relating an antic-dote that had a similar theme. I would look for cord covers and try to hide as many as possible.

 

[Poetess]

In preparation for my boys, I went to Fry's Electronics (not sure if you have such a store near you) and purchased some cord covers (they come in various sizes)...they're like coils that wrap around the elec. cord. They're made of plastic. Yes, the cat MAY be able to chew through them, but at least it's something. Office Depot also carries them.

Also, I've purchased something called "Bitter Apple". You basically spray what you do NOT want the cats to chew. But wear gloves... I've accidentally tasted it and it IS pretty awful stuff. I got mine at Petsmart. It's not called Bitter Apple there, but it's "No Chew" or something like that.

Oh, that was a good idea. I had never even thought of it before as I'd never had any animal interested in cords. Granted, I was raised around a blue-eyed tabby that had a fetish for shoe strings, but that was it. Thinking back, I'm positive that he would do this mostly when I was gone; this makes me wonder if he doesn't have some abandonment issues or kitty-anxiety. I'm with him 90% of the time since I suffer from chronic pain, so I wonder if he thinks I won't come back as I'm here with him most of the time. He follows me around like I'm his momma cat all the time. Did your cat have problems with that, or was it a 'just in case' type of thing? Were the covers expensive? I will take the word from the wise and not try the No Chew. haha

Amazingly this was one problem I never had with Shepherd Book until a few nights ago. He woke up me a few nights back with a cry and I found him backed into the corner of the bedroom shaking. He wouldn't let me touch him and was afraid to move so MowMow and I investigated the room. I found the computer cord (near the plug) soggy with teeth marks on it. I can only conclude he tried snacking on it and got zapped.

Now Shepherd Book is convinced the bedroom floor is evil. He leaps onto the bed from the doorway and exits the same way, a mighty leap into the hall that usually ends him up in a heap on the floor. The bed, in his mind, is the ONLY safe place in that evil room.

He looks fine and there was no damage to him, other than his delicate psyche.

BTW: I'm NOT suggesting you let your cat get electrocuted to teach him a lesson. Just was relating an antic-dote that had a similar theme. I would look for cord covers and try to hide as many as possible.

Oh no! I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad he's OK, though. Poor guy. Don't worry; I'd never consider letting him learn the hard way. I hope that doesn't happen with your kitty again, though. If he hasn't associated it with the cord itself, he may not have learned. Maybe we should both invest in covers.

 

[harv]

In preparation for my boys, I went to Fry's Electronics
(not sure if you have such a store near you) and purchased some cord
covers (they come in various sizes)...they're like coils that wrap around the
elec. cord. They're made of plastic. Yes, the cat MAY be able to chew
through them, but at least it's something. Office Depot also carries them.

Also, I've purchased something called "Bitter Apple". You basically spray
what you do NOT want the cats to chew. But wear gloves... I've accidentally
tasted it and it IS pretty awful stuff. I got mine at Petsmart. It's not called
Bitter Apple there, but it's "No Chew" or something like that.

Thanks Ted! I'd heard about both of these solutions before. My computer
mess is crying out for some of those cable covers. I think they're called cable
looms. A Google search found them in many sizes and diameters.

Harv

Off-topic PS to Mow Mow: I stumbled across a bunch of info on "Firefly"
and now understand Shepherd Book's name. :thumb

 

[goombella]

I have the exact same problem. I have never owned cats before, but I have fostered before and never had that problem with any of them. The two I have now have gone through a lot of cords (they prefer the expensive ones it seems) and even though we try to cover some of them, and keep them up, they still manage to find one to mow down on. We also put bitter apple on the cords regularly, but you have to keep reapplying. Since someone is usually home most of the time, they are only in the safe room for them when we can't supervise them. It is set up quite nice for them and I don't think they mind too much since they opt to go there sometimes when they are not required to. Of course, I have two, so they are never alone. So my situation is a bit different than yours.

 

[Milky's Mammy]

Milky does this every now and again too. We have caught him several times nibbling on cables and stopped him straight away. I've throught abought getting the cable covers to prevent Milky from damaging them and from hurting himself, but the cables are just quite a mess and coming from all directions so it be not be the most suitable method for us to use. I've heard people say spray bitter apple or tabasco sauce on the areas you want him to avoid. I may do that tonight and see if he will go near it again.

 

[sandyrivers]

Cheap way to cat proof wires!

Hi,

I also have an avid chewer! Gino likes to chew on pretty much everything!

They do sell special cable covers, but they can be quite expensive...

A cheaper way to avoid having electrical cords, stereo wires and the likes chewed by your cat is this: go to the hardware store and buy what I call ''black hose by the foot'', you find this in the plumbing or seasonal department. The type of hose that is used for ponds...it's very sturdy and to my knowledge, no cat can chew tru it (not even Gino). Just make sure the ''plug'' portion fits tru the tube (you can try this at the hardware store), and when you get home, you pass all the electrical wires, extension cords and what nots in this tube, use duct tape at the ends to secure the whole thing, and voila! You no longer have to worry about your wires being damaged and your cat getting electrocuted! This type of tubing comes in many diameter sizes, so you can use a certain size for small stereo/speaker wires, and larger size if you need to pass many extension cords tru it.

This is a cheaper way to do things, it may not be as eye pleasing as the fancy wire covers, but it sure works just as good if not better!

Hope this helps!

sandyrivers

 

[Julz]

Be careful with the Bitter Yuck and bad tasting sprays that are liquid. If the wet hits an exposed wire that they've already chewed through the lining for, you can get sparks (been there, done that).

 

[Ted]

Hehe, sorry. I just got tickled seeing Julz (Joules?) talking about electricity.

I'm a dork. :roll:

 

[cinderflower]

i had the same problem, a kitten in '07 and another 2 years ago.

they do grow out of it, but not until they destroy a lot of things. i don't have very many exposed cords, but for the ones i do have, i just kept a lot of the cardboard tubes from paper towels and strung them together on the cord. then when the kittens stopped chewing everything, i threw them away. you wouldn't want to do that if they're extremely visible because it's ugly but most of mine fit behind furniture.

 

[Julz]

Hehe, sorry. I just got tickled seeing Julz (Joules?) talking about electricity.

I'm a dork. :roll:

who better!?
haha AWESOME. didn't even think of that.