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#11
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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
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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
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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
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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 |
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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