Category: Animal House
Lately, my cat has had a thing for chewing on wires, even if something is plugged in. He has chewed my I phone cable to the point where it doesn't work anymore. He has also chewed holes in my grandmother's laptop charger, and most recently, my braillenote charger as well. He has never done this before, and it is getting beyond the point of ridiculous. Is there anything my grandmother and I can do to stop him from chewing on wires?
All I can think about is talking to the vet. He might be stressed so he's chewing your wires. Or, keep wires away from him. Hope that helps!
best wishes
Marilyn / bp
If you catch it on the act, spray the cat with water. But again, you need to spray the cat when it is doing it. no point doing it later
I used to have that problem with my cat. He started when we got him at the age of seven months and kept doing it until he was almost three eyars old. We were told to rub soap on wires because he wouldn't like the taste, but we never did try that, so maybe it does work.
Puts me in mind of that movie Christmas Vacation where the cat gets electrocuted. Sorry, couldn't resist. *evil grin*
That actually does happen, and is the main reason why we breeders place protective things over the wires and advise that all new kitten/cat owners do the same. It never ends well for the cat when they chew through a live wire.
You can get cable tidies on Ebay and I'd strongly suggest you look into them.
Has anything changed in his life/your lifestyle since the behavior started? There is apple bitters you can buy, but I don't find it effective. Spray bottles during the act are pretty powerful deterrents for negative behaviors, but timing is the key. Agreed about the protective covering. Amazon has them reasonably priced.
Or, one of those hi-pitch collars. I don't like shocking animals. I don't even like those prong collars, that some dog guide schools use. High pitch is not nice, but they get the word. There's a little monster next to me, who hates when I squeak this one animal toy, because it hurts her ears. I hate it too, but she's going to get herself into more trouble, if I don't help her. I know change in location, or traumatic changes, can really freak a kitty out.
Hope this helps.
Blessings!
Sarah/HW
The trouble with squirting a cat with a water gun or bottle or using a noise they don't like is that you have to actually catch them while doing the behavior you are trying to stop. But you have to have a way to stop them from chewing on wires when you are not at home or when you are not near enough to catch them. I like the idea of getting a product to cover and bundle wires together. My cat used to chew on very thin wires but not the heavier ones. But whatever the reason your cat has started this behavior, some of the above suggestions for hiding the wires sound the best to me.
The thing that irritates me, is they know what they are doing isn't what we want, but test us anyway. I know this little furr ball is very smart, and just looks at me like she wants to say:
"Yeah? I know I'm making you mad when I do such and such! So? What you gonna do about it?" But, not all kitties are like that. This one, just is too weird, and I know others.
One thing, my older kitty has always done, is not tell me she's somewhere, then looks offended, when I accidentally sit on her. LOL
Sarah/HW
must be in the air. my cat started doing this out of the blue in the last few months too. it's rediculace, and expensive. seriusly ready to have her live outside.
Am I the only one who notices that Siamese kitties are prone to lunar-related outbursts? Just a thought that was kind of random. When the moon is full, my little brat goes bananas! Just like setting a timer, I can tell how full the moon is, by her behavior.
My little furball is almost two, and he started chewing on wires about three weeks ago. We've had nothing going on that I can think of that would upset him. However, he does like to play outside, and lately, the weather has been to cold, and we let him out, but he comes right back in, with a look on his face, like, hey, what did you do that for!
They're definitely influenced by lunar phases. I see it very clearly in my breeders and neuters and have always found it very interesting.
One of my classmates works with traumatized animals, and I find what I'm dealing with is an anxious kitty who wants a better place. And bigger. My problem is solved. But, I still don't get why a kitty just starts chewing.
God Bless!
Sarah/Hot Wheels
My neighbor did some research for us after this pesky furball chewed up hre I phone cable that I was using at the time. She found that cats hate lime juice, anything sticky, and dish soap. So with these ideas in hand, my grandmother took lime juice and put it on one of the wires he'd chewed and left it out to see what he'd do. He sniffed the lime juice and backed off. We have wrapped all thin wires in tape and put dish soap on the tape, problem solved!
Yea! Glad to hear you found a workable solution.
yes glad you have found a solution to your problem but another thing I think is for why cats will begin to chew wires can be a sign that they are bored so be good to get them some thing to play with.
Could that be why they chew plastic and paper? If so, I have a cat that needs much entertainment! Hahaha!
yeah sounds like you'll have to, smiles.
Get a couple of Ping-Pong balls or something. You can get little balls with bells or rattly things inside them. Many cats will play with those on their own.
Alternatively, there are many more complex toys that they'd like as well. If you want something simple and interactive, you can get one of those wands with string and a feather at the end. Many kitties can be enticed to bat, pounce, chase and otherwise hunt the feather while you wave or flick the wand. This second form of play does mean you're directly involved, but if you have the time it's often to the good because you and your cat are interacting, rather than you just throwing a toy or three at the problem and hoping it goes away.
Toys won't fix the problem for sure though. In fact, for some chewers it doesn't matter. Anything strongly citrus-scented or citrus-tasting usually puts a cat off. Also, tape. When they get stuck to it, they hate it.
My kitty, the little one, loves bottle tops. So, when I finish water, pop, or whatever, I'll toss it, and she'll sometimes bring it back to me. I keep losing her wand, though. That's the owner's fault, not kitty's. Hahaha!
I never get the waving around right, so she appreciates the sighted folks that come around. They're much better at it. But, I love how she'll bring lids to me. Like she's saying: "Throw for me! Please?" Ah, kitties are the cutest!
Blessings, Auntie Hot Wheels
i know of a cat who would play fetch with a bottle top. very sweet indeed. glad the op got their wire chewing kitty problem fixed.
Cats will play with wads of paper too, or there's always the paper sack ... keep them entertained for hours.
Awe how cool and pretty cute kitty and yeah I agree kitty's are pretty entertaining and it some times doesn't take much for them to keep themselves busy with playing with things like some like playing with the empty toilet rolls and jumping in and out of cardboard boxes, plastic bags, grins.
My cat loves to chew through headphone cords. He has chewed through probably about two dozen pairs since I've had him almost five years. I know some companies sell apple-flavored spray which cats hate the taste of (I should get some). They're supposed to be less likely to chew things if it's sprayed. I also limit my headphone use to when he's not around. Good thing I buy cheap headphones!
To the last poster, another thing kitties hate is lime juice. Put some lime juice in a spray bottle, and spray it on the wires you don't want him to chew. My cat has had a thing for trying to attack our Christmas tree, and the lime juice is keeping him away from it.
Hello. I was just browsing through posts on here and saw this one. I used to have a cat that was obsessed with my cords to my speakers and stuff. I bought this spray bottle of stuff called bitter apple or bitter orange at the store. I think regular grocery stores have it but I know if they wouldn't, pet stores definitely would. It's very bitter tasting, and it doesn't have any smell at all. Its texture is kind of thin and watery, and it has a waxy substance in it that you can't really tell is there just by touch, but it helps the spray to stay on the cords and stuff for longer than just a day or so. It made my cat so afraid to lick or play with those cords it wasn't even funny. I sprayed it on anything I didn't want that cat messing with and it worked great! So if you don't want to mess with the lime juice, that works really well and a little bit of it goes a long way. It works for dogs too, they won't chew on things you have sprayed either.
Does it work on plastic? My cat's obsessed with chewing bags, and she needs a bad taste inside her mouth.
Thanks and Blessings,
Sarah
bitter apple and nature's miracle a different version of the same thing work on plastic, cloth, carpet, whatever.
Thank you. There's going to be an apple smell in my place.
Blessings,
Bitter-Apple Sarah LOL