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Does anyone else's cat chew/bite, therefore ruin furniture?
Miles has ruined a leather magazine holder, bitten the wooden legs and trim of our bed frame, the barstool cushions, a nice leather armchair, and most recently, and hence the reason for this post-the brand new couch my husband bought for our house and ottoman.
I am hoping to find some solution to his destructive biting/chewing problem as we can't sleep soundly when we hear him downstairs and have to go check and make sure he's not biting the couch repeatedly.
We say NO very loudly when he bites. Or he sometimes gets put in his "time out room" for 10 minutes or so and we try to do it the instant he bites something so he knows why. I can't really put bite deterrents on the couch itself as it is a suede-like upholstery that would be ruined by oils or sprays. I know-its quite the Catch 22.
Any ideas on why our boy is doing this and how to stop it?? We are at the end of our rope and just want to live in harmony with our cat-son.
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Miles
on Feb 25th 2011
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in Behavior & Training
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Answers
Drape a blanket over the furniture and spray the blanket with the deterrent spray. Bitter Apple is a good type of spray to try. Sticky paws may be another alternative. It can be found in pet supply stores and is basically a big, thick sheet of double-sided extra sticky tape. Most cats don't like the feel of their skin sticking to the tape and will avoid the area after a couple of tries. Once they figure it out, you can remove the items from the furniture. If he's a biter, you can supply him with chew toys (smaller rubber dog gong toys work well) and encourage him to take it out on the toys instead. Spraying him with water when he chews the furniture or making a loud noise (bike horn, pennies in a can, etc) can help. You must only do it when he is in the action of chewing the wrong item. The goal is to make him associate the chewing of the furniture with the loud, annoying noise so that he thinks it occurs (& is coming from the furniture) when he chews. Good luck!
Dahlia
answered on 2/25/11.
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As usual, Daliah gives excellent advice. If you give your baby one of those "kong" toys, fill it with something that he likes. Wet food is messy, but you can try rubbing some tuna oil into it. Also, give cat-friendly plants like the cat grass sold in pet marts a try. Izzie LOVES chewing on them and I grow them all summer for him. Wheatgrass is wonderful-his favorite. I buy seeds at www.citzcatbiz.com but you can find other sites for seeds. Make sure that Miles oral health is OK. Sometimes dental problems cause cats to chew. I know they LOVE leather. My late Shizzie scratched the heck out of the arm of our leather chair-the scratchmarks are still there. They'll also go after things that smell like you. You can also try distracting him with playtimes with you-it will wear him out, at least. Good luck!
Izadore (Izzie)
answered on 2/25/11.
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