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Electrocuted from biting cord

9.8K views 29 replies 20 participants last post by  lovetimesfour  
#1 ·
My friend's cat got a serious mouth burn from biting electrical cord. It's bad. Half her lip died and had to be cut off. The vet almost cut off her upper jaw on one side of her face. She's got a hole on one side of her face. Her face is deformed and might have to have a feeding tube. I love this cat. I hope she makes it. I'll be seeing my friend soon. I'm afriad of what i'll see. :sad:

If you have a cord biter better to be safe and use cord covers

Kathy
 
#3 ·
I think the kindest thing would have been to let her go. :(
 
#5 ·
That’s horrible and it’s something that I fear all the time although I have never heard of such damage before. My most dearest cat Squirts likes to chew on cords and we have so many of them all throughout the house.

Wires designed to be buried underground have stuff to prevent gophers from chewing on them and it’s a wonder why lamps cords don’t already have something to keep pets from chewing on them. It’s not only pets but I’ve caught my grandchildren chewing on them as well. I always worried more about the lead in the cords then electrocution, but after hearing this I wonder how often this happens. I don’t remember it, but my mother often told me that I once got a shock from chewing on a cord when I was a toddler. I guess I was lucky.

Anyways I’ve never heard of “Crittercord” or cord covers before and I’m going to do some research now. Thanks for bringing this to my attention because I just hooked up about 50 cords for my Christmas Tree display.
 
#7 ·
silly 5 minute edit rule......
What i meant was that electrocution should have enough damage to her heart to cause her to jump back, but the way it sounds she kept gnawing while it continued to burn her. Unless it happened some time ago and the damage was caused by infection i guess...
 
#8 ·
If the cord was actually powering something at the moment and she bit completely through the wire, the electrical current would have burned her because there would have been a huge spark. If the cord were simply plugged in with voltage and no current flowing, then her own resistance would have just caused a small shock and not all that damage.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I'm very sorry to hear about your friends cat. I agree about possibly having chosen to let the cat go in this situation, but maybe it sounds worse than it is. There's dedicated loving owners who stick through the bad times with their pets and the pets triumph over their disabilities after a short (or sometimes long) period of rehab. The great thing is, cats and dogs usually love life dispute it all...

When my father was growing up they had a cat that was killed from chewing on an electric cord. If you have a pet that chews on cords, do everything you can to move the cords out of the way and under rugs/furniture, or cover them with tinfoil or store bought protectors or repellent sprays (make sure that cat doesn't like the spray first!) ...
 
#10 ·
I've never had a problem with my older (2 years old) female chewing cords,but my 9 month old Maine Coon still likes to sneak and chew them. I tried Bitter Apple and several other things before I found something that he won't touch now. I hope your friend's cat is ok.
 
#12 ·
Cat electrocution update

My friend's cat, Zora, is doing so much better. I went to visit my friend and i was afraid of what Zora might look like. She has a small whole on the side of her mouth and you can see the bones on the gums. She's on pain meds, antibiotic, and a something to cleans the mouth daily. She plays and eats well and she's always into something, the little devil. She's a little cutey though. The only time she seems to be in pain is when she yawns but she's always sniffing the other 4 cats' butts.

My friend wanted me to tell you that Zora had bit on a major wire in the basement not a regular cord. So happy she's doing so well.

Kathy
 
#15 ·
Update burned mouth from biting a major wire and still bite another cord

Zora is doing much better. The roof of her mouth is healing. She is coming off pain meds but will be on an antibiotic for a while to curb future infections. So glad. I really like this cat. She acts like a normal cat that didn't burn her mouth from a major wire. What i remember about her the most is that she is a butt smeller. She's always smelling the other cats' butts. See she didn't need to be euthanized and she's lucky she had an owner who had the money. Cost so far $1300.00. which if i had the money i would pay. I would pay any cost if i had the money. Update-Carrie told me she was biting another cord. Stupid cat. I guess she didn't learn her lesson.

Kathy
 
#17 ·
Zora is doing much better. The roof of her mouth is healing. She is coming off pain meds but will be on an antibiotic for a while to curb future infections. So glad. I really like this cat. She acts like a normal cat that didn't burn her mouth from a major wire. What i remember about her the most is that she is a butt smeller. She's always smelling the other cats' butts. See she didn't need to be euthanized and she's lucky she had an owner who had the money. Cost so far $1300.00. which if i had the money i would pay. I would pay any cost if i had the money. Update-Carrie told me she was biting another cord. Stupid cat. I guess she didn't learn her lesson.

Kathy
When Zora was electrocuted she most likely went into shock. She doesn't know what happened to her, so is unable to make the connection between chewing on a cord and being electrocuted.

To her a cord is just something she likes to chew on. She is not stupid. Zora's family should be taking care that there are NO CORDS for Zora to chew, since they know she wants to chew cords.

All cords need to be covered with something. Inexpensive pipe insulation is the easiest way. They come with the split down the side already, just open the tube and put it around the cords.

And they should provide Zora with something safe to chew.
 
#23 ·
Update on Zora

She's the cat who bit into a major electrical wire. She's doing very well considering the damage it caused but the vet did say she will probably need surgery in the future. She does seem to sneeze because there is still a hole in the top of her mouth. She's one lucky cat.

I strongly suggest anyone who has a cat that chews cords to cover them. Cheap covers can include foam covers used for pipes as long as the cat doesn't chew that too or a hard plastic cover.

Kathy
 
#25 ·
Update

Just saw Zora and Zora is doing extremely well. She's on the last week of antibiotics. See she didn't need to be put to sleep. All you had to do was give her a chance. In fact she's into everything as usual-butt sniffing the other cats, playing, into everything, loving her mommy and her friends and yes I just saw her biting a cord. I can't understand how she didn't remember the extreme pain she got when biting that cord but she's biting cords again but maybe a cord biter and ever a cord biter She's just so cute I want to hug and squeezer her.

Kathy
 
#30 ·
Update

Just saw Zora and Zora is doing extremely well. She's on the last week of antibiotics. See she didn't need to be put to sleep. All you had to do was give her a chance. In fact she's into everything as usual-butt sniffing the other cats, playing, into everything, loving her mommy and her friends and yes I just saw her biting a cord. I can't understand how she didn't remember the extreme pain she got when biting that cord but she's biting cords again but maybe a cord biter and ever a cord biter She's just so cute I want to hug and squeezer her.

Kathy
For pete's sake, haven't they covered those cords yet? What is wrong with those people?

We already explained why she didn't make the connection. If I had a cord chewer every cord in the house would be covered. Good grief.
 
#28 ·
I just read through this thread and now wonder the same thing:

this poor cat has been injured once from chewing on cords. To her the cords are a chew toy, something for her to gnaw on. I can't understand why her humans haven't taken steps to cover the cords with something so this poor cat won't get hurt again.

And the reason Zora doesn't make the connection between chewing on cords and getting hurt is due largely to her having been in shock when the injury occurred, and because she's a cat and does not possess the ability to think logically like us humans, which is why it is up to us to ensure our critters are kept safe and happy.