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Cat gnawing on wires



 
 
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  #11  
Old April 14th 09, 09:41 PM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
[email protected]
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Posts: 126
Default Cat gnawing on wires

On Apr 14, 1:15*am, jamina1 wrote:

I'm just kind of troubled as what to do here. I am currently
unemployed and can't afford to continuously replace these things she's
eating through - nor do I want to wake up and find her electrocuted! I
tried hot sauce, I tried Curry paste - Help!


Better living through chemistry.

There are several aerosol sprays for the purpose that keep cats (and
dogs) away from entire areas if necessary. This stuff has a bit of an
odor on first application but that goes away quickly. And, after a few
days, the cats simply get used to not going to that location anyway.

As to hot sauces, curry, mustard, even straight capsicum, we have
found over the years that (at least) our cats seem to prefer strong
flavors and are entirely unimpressed with even triple-heat flavors if
delivered by-mouth. And we would never put out something such that the
cat could be damaged by getting it in its eyes via washing or other
means.

But you *may* have two problems - the identifiable one with the cat
chewing wires, and the more subtle one as to why the cat is chewing
wires. This is not any sort of natural behavior other than the dangle-
factor with kittens and so is either displacement or boredom or (just
barely remotely possible) some sort of defficiency or irritation that
has the cat looking for something - may such as salt or some mineral,
or its gums itch and chewing 'rubbery stuff' calms the itch - teething
kittens come to mind immediately for this drive.

No-Spray will address the first issue. Perhaps a few toys
strategically place throughout the house will help with the second.
Kitty greens (or just sprouted popcorn for-cheap) will help with
roughage, tooth-cleaning and trace minerals. The oils from fresh
catnip will sooth itchy gums.

For toys, something as simple as a bulky neoprene O-ring (a few cents
at a plumbing supply) on the end of a ribbon hanging from a doorknob
does well. The rubber is inert and very tough, but chews and claws
nicely.

And if nothing helps, if a kitten (or a cat) chews through the output
cord from a 12VDC wall-wart, they won't get enough current to harm
them but they will get a massive jingle. I do not recommend or suggest
this. But it could be a lot worse than if they nail a 120V line in
your absence - negative reinforcement is always the very last resort.

Foil is effective, but a massive PITA to run throughout the house on
every cord, wire or pull-string.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

  #12  
Old April 14th 09, 10:34 PM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Sharon
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Posts: 67
Default Cat gnawing on wires

I had a cat who chewed wires and tobassco sauce, etc. did not help.
He chewed through phone wires constantly. One day, while ironing, the
phone rang and while I answered it, the cat chewed halfway through the
iron cord and burnt his mouth with the sparks - he was afraid of irons
after that, but still would chew a cord if it was available. We had
to make sure the cords were behind furniture and he couldn't get to
them. He lived to be 20 and did it his whole life............

Sounds like wrapping the wires with foil, etc. is the best advice.

  #13  
Old April 15th 09, 02:39 AM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Bill Graham
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Posts: 1,065
Default Cat gnawing on wires


"Sharon" wrote in message
...
I had a cat who chewed wires and tobassco sauce, etc. did not help.
He chewed through phone wires constantly. One day, while ironing, the
phone rang and while I answered it, the cat chewed halfway through the
iron cord and burnt his mouth with the sparks - he was afraid of irons
after that, but still would chew a cord if it was available. We had
to make sure the cords were behind furniture and he couldn't get to
them. He lived to be 20 and did it his whole life............

Sounds like wrapping the wires with foil, etc. is the best advice.

Yes. Some electric appliance cords have a grounded foil wrap underneath the
outer rubber insulation.....This would be ideal. The cat would have to get
through it before coming into contact with the electricity.....Foil leaves a
bad taste in the mouth, because of a slight battery action caused by the
saliva and metal........I don't like chewing on it either...:^)

  #14  
Old April 15th 09, 02:44 PM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Spider[_3_]
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Posts: 8
Default Cat gnawing on wires


"James" wrote in message
...
On Apr 14, 8:27 am, "Spider" wrote:


I put all my kittens through cable, chemical and car training, in the hope
that they'll live longer.


Please describe car training. My cat is but I don't know how I did it
other than being out there with her and watching out for cars. There
are few cars except during rush hours. When she was young she would
leisurely cross the street even when a car was coming down the road.
I would of course call her and made sure the driver saw her. When she
was young she would try to follow me into my car. I had to make sure
I can see her far away before starting the car.


Hi James

Thanks for your interest. As I'm sure you've discovered, any form of
outdoor training is more difficult than indoors because the little dears can
scarper at will, so you need to be sure of their indoor training first. It
gives you a much stronger hand outside. Because my kittens couldn't go out
until all their innoculations were done, and then had to wait for their
spaying wounds to heal, I had heaps of time to concentrate on their indoor
training. This is important, because it means they were fairly biddable
when I took them outside.

I always use a harness and lead on each kitten for the first week or so,
just to have overall control and see how they react. Most kits react badly
to noise at first, so I use this reaction (and others) to reassure them when
they're safe and when there's a danger, and to encourage them to trust me.
Also, by the time they're outdoors, they've already learned words like
'hurt' and 'dangerous' and, obviously 'stay' and 'leave'. They know I'm in
charge. I don't take them too close to the road at first but, as they peer
at it curiously, I warn them it's dangerous; cars pass, and I say 'stay, it
would hurt you'. This is one time when noisy cars are helpful, because
they frighten the kits and reinforce what I'm teaching them.

Once they're off the lead, but still learning, I wait for them to veer
towards the drive and road and say 'stay, don't go in the road'. Naturally,
sometimes they wander out, but I call them and warn them until they come in.
When they do, they are thoroughly praised for returning. These days, if I
see them near the gate, I say 'Cheetah (or Panther) - don't go in the road'.
I may have to say it a couple of times, but they respond more often than
not. Right through training and beyond, I find it helpful to watch their
behaviour and encourage them when they even start to move in the right
direction. Once they've willfully gone their own way, it's difficult to
turn them around, so I find it helpful to encourage their slightest
inclination to obey. In truth, safety training of any sort is never really
over, because we're dealing with nosey little critters, so I just keep on
warning them and calling them to me.

No doubt, in your own way, you've done something similar. I knew someone
once who always took their kitten to the road's edge and, quite simply,
taught it the (human) Highway Code: look right .. left .. etc. ! :~)

Cats are amazingly clever creatures.
Spider



  #15  
Old April 15th 09, 07:44 PM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Bill Graham
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Posts: 1,065
Default Cat gnawing on wires


"Spider" wrote in message
...
Also, by the time they're outdoors, they've already learned words like
'hurt' and 'dangerous' and, obviously 'stay' and 'leave'.


And how, exactly, did you accomplish this? If I could do any of this, then
training my cats to avoid cars would be duck soup.........

  #16  
Old April 15th 09, 10:28 PM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cardarch
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Posts: 12
Default Cat gnawing on wires

I suppose you could keep a spray bottle of water in the bedroom and
spray him in the face whenever he menaces your wires. Or...you could
just get up out of bed and start the day like he wants you to do.
When all Snappy's ploys fail to get me out of bed, he reaches under
the covers and tries to pull my feet out onto the floor with his
enormous claws which I always think is kind of funny. He knows the
feet have to be on the floor so he can get what he wants. The other
really bad but funny thing he does is when he wants to play and he
catches me knitting is he jumps up on my lap and bites the yarn in
half and then immediately jumps down. Hes done this twice. Today I
spotted him trying to pull the knitting off the table. He's very
bored because its been raining and cold for days on end.
  #17  
Old April 16th 09, 12:51 PM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Spider[_3_]
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Posts: 8
Default Cat gnawing on wires


"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...

"Spider" wrote in message
...
Also, by the time they're outdoors, they've already learned words like
'hurt' and 'dangerous' and, obviously 'stay' and 'leave'.


And how, exactly, did you accomplish this? If I could do any of this, then
training my cats to avoid cars would be duck soup.........



Hi Bill,

Cats are very clever. They may have some difficulty learning English (or
American), but they are experts at reading body language; that's how they
communicate and read each others' behaviour. Hopefully, it is not difficult
for you to see that, after word and behavioural repetition, cats can learn
to understand what we mean.

For instance, if I'm scratched by my kitten when playing (or play-fighting),
I say "Ouch, that hurt, Cheetah". I emphasize the 'hurt', lick my hand
(cats lick their paws when injured, so it's behaviour they understand), and
look more pained than I really am. I will then say "Gentle. Don't hurt
your person". Yes, all my cats have understood the word 'gentle', too. It
is very helpful when kitty is in mid needle-claw kneading prior to snoozing
on my lap! :~) I often say "Gentle paws, Panther" when that furry minx is
making a blood bath of my lower limbs. She understands and obeys.
Occasionally, she gets so carried away that she hurts me again, but a
repetition quickly calms her.

They gradually learn quite complex language. My first beloved cat,
Tiggypuss, used to beg for scraps while I was cooking. Sometimes, I
couldn't offer him something, so I would say "No, you wouldn't like it,
Tiggy". Because, previously, if he was purring over a favourite dinner, I
would say "Dear puss, you like that, don't you?", he'd clearly learned what
'like' meant and seemed to understand the negative. This became clearer to
me when, once, he backed off as I offered him a tasty treat he'd never had
before. I simply said "Try it .. you'll like it". He looked at me with
such a warm look of recognition and purred heartily, even before he started
tucking into it.

It is very clear to me that they learn some of our words. Tiggypuss learned
the word 'naughty' quite early in life due to his mischievious nature. One
day, when he was sadly mewing because he'd lost a toy under a cupboard, I
pulled the cupboard out to help him and said "It's not here, Tiggy". He
immediately flinched and became wide-eyed and anxious. He thought I'd said
'naughty' (rather than 'not here')! This was *my* big learning curve; after
that, I selected training words much more carefully.

I hope you now see how cats learn words for training and for repeated
behaviour situations. Most cat owners I talk to say their cats understand
at least some of their words/instructions. Cats are immensely clever;
patience, empathy and willingness simply make it easier for both sides. Try
it, and remember to share that duck soup with your cats :~).

Spider







  #18  
Old April 18th 09, 05:54 AM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
S.Smith
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Posts: 22
Default Cat gnawing on wires


"jamina1" wrote in message
...
Thank you all for your recent help with my cat Sylvanas. But now my
problem lies with my current cat, Pagan. She's very spunky - and for
her health I have started feeding her holistic wet food - I've settled
on Merrick brand and she's happy with the flavors available.

My problem is that if I am not on the dot with her feedings (if I
sleep in on weekends, or if I am otherwise not awake) she will come
into my bedroom and start gnawing on things (for some reason she
prefers wires! - predominately the ones behind my computer). So far I
have lost 3 pairs of headphones to her and a charger for my Nintendo
DS, as well as the power cable for my cable modem.

Not only am I worried for her safety - what if she chews through an
actual higher voltage power cable? - I am annoyed at her behavior and
want her to stop. Luckily, I believe she only does this when I am
home!

Even if there is food in her bowl, but it is not a flavor she enjoys a
lot or if it has been sitting for a little while, she will come in and
start gnawing. I know that my behavior has only "trained" her to
continue - every time she does it I get angry, fed up, and end up
feeding her, so technically I'm rewarding her.

As I've pretty much always had her on wet food which requires smaller
portions more often, I'm wondering - should I sacrifice her ultimate
long term health with this natural food and get dry food that I can
put down in quantity? (Which then ultimately means she will overeat
and become fat and unhealthy)

I'm just kind of troubled as what to do here. I am currently
unemployed and can't afford to continuously replace these things she's
eating through - nor do I want to wake up and find her electrocuted! I
tried hot sauce, I tried Curry paste - Help!


I see you have several possible solutions. I have one more.Years ago, I had
a cat that chewed electrical wires. There was a product at that time, and I
hope they still make it...the name is THUMB. It is a pepper extract to stop
thumb sucking and nail biting of kids. I smeared all the wires with a piece
of cotton and it worked. I had to do it a couple more times, but in the end
the habit stoped. I had him for about 17 more years with no incidents. I
used to buy it in a drugstore. I hope it works for you.
Petey's Mom



  #19  
Old April 18th 09, 07:50 PM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cybercat
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Posts: 4,212
Default Cat gnawing on wires


"S.Smith" wrote
I see you have several possible solutions. I have one more.Years ago, I
had a cat that chewed electrical wires. There was a product at that time,
and I hope they still make it...the name is THUMB. It is a pepper extract
to stop thumb sucking and nail biting of kids.


My mom used that on me when I was small. I sucked it all off and asked for
more.


  #20  
Old April 19th 09, 04:58 AM posted to alt.pets.cats,rec.pets.cats.health+behav
news[_5_]
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Posts: 1
Default Cat gnawing on wires

well, rest assured that if your cat chews through the wrong wires...it'll only happen once
"jamina1" wrote in message ...
Thank you all for your recent help with my cat Sylvanas. But now my
problem lies with my current cat, Pagan. She's very spunky - and for
her health I have started feeding her holistic wet food - I've settled
on Merrick brand and she's happy with the flavors available.

My problem is that if I am not on the dot with her feedings (if I
sleep in on weekends, or if I am otherwise not awake) she will come
into my bedroom and start gnawing on things (for some reason she
prefers wires! - predominately the ones behind my computer). So far I
have lost 3 pairs of headphones to her and a charger for my Nintendo
DS, as well as the power cable for my cable modem.

Not only am I worried for her safety - what if she chews through an
actual higher voltage power cable? - I am annoyed at her behavior and
want her to stop. Luckily, I believe she only does this when I am
home!

Even if there is food in her bowl, but it is not a flavor she enjoys a
lot or if it has been sitting for a little while, she will come in and
start gnawing. I know that my behavior has only "trained" her to
continue - every time she does it I get angry, fed up, and end up
feeding her, so technically I'm rewarding her.

As I've pretty much always had her on wet food which requires smaller
portions more often, I'm wondering - should I sacrifice her ultimate
long term health with this natural food and get dry food that I can
put down in quantity? (Which then ultimately means she will overeat
and become fat and unhealthy)

I'm just kind of troubled as what to do here. I am currently
unemployed and can't afford to continuously replace these things she's
eating through - nor do I want to wake up and find her electrocuted! I
tried hot sauce, I tried Curry paste - Help!

 




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