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My Cat Bites a lot & Chews Wired

This is a place to gain some understanding of cat behavior and to assist people in training their cats and dealing with common behavior problems, regardless of the method(s) used. Keep in mind that you may be receiving advice from other cat owners and lovers...not professionals. If you have a major problem, always seek the advice of a trainer or behaviorist!

  
Fluffy

1245738		 
 
Purred: Mon Apr 23, '12 4:54pm PST 
Hi all,

Fluffy is 9months old and he bites and chews wires a lot. (he already chewed the wires from: my laptop, cell phone charger, blow dryer, headphones, DS, etc several times, which I've had to replaced more than once already!) The vet recommended to get another kitten so he can play with, but, as much as I would love to, It's not possible for me to do that. The vet also suggested I should pinch him a little if he bites and scratches, but he gets more aggressive. I need more suggestions please.
thank you

Edited by author Mon Apr 23, '12 5:12pm PST

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Leo

purrrr		 
 
Purred: Tue Apr 24, '12 6:58am PST 
First, I would not listen to your vet's advice to pinch your cat. As much as we would like to think we could listen to anything our vet says about cats, sometimes they don't really know that much about behavior modification or nutrition. When our cats were younger and nipped us we would yell "Ouch" and redirect them to a toy.

I know it's a pain, but I would find some way to cat proof or hide the wires. They make covers for wires intended to shield them from pets. There are also other solutions, bitter sprays (but research thoroughly to make sure they won't harm your cat), motion detector sensors that spray a blast of air at the cat (called Ssscat), and other deterrent methods.

Also, there are toys made for cats that love chewing. Leo here is a chewer and likes the kitty kong toy we bought. If you google cat chew toys there are others, but read reviews for any safety problems.
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Fluffy

1245738		 
 
Purred: Tue Apr 24, '12 10:00pm PST 
Hi Leo,
thank you for the response. Yes, I have tried the wire covers, which helps sometimes (I covered my laptop battery charger with it, but there was a small part uncovered,which my cat decided to chewed on, or my hairdryer). I don;t like pinching my cat at all. I did get him a lot of mice toys, which he loves (but he ends up loosing them all the time). But I will get him more toys to chew. thanks for the idea. I was also told, that once Fluffy gets "older", he will "calm down", not so sure if this will happen.
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Smithwick

Tigger is my- favorite!
 
 
Purred: Wed Apr 25, '12 12:19pm PST 
It does get better. Smitty chewed through a phone cord, in several places!chew chew chew Then it just....stopped. You could try rubbing an orange peel on the wires. Cats do not like citrus smell - might help... They do indeed make quite a few chew type toys for kitties - I saw some that were catnip stuffed to encourage them to chew. Good luck!

Edited by author Wed Apr 25, '12 12:20pm PST

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Daniel

Rebel with claws
 
 
Purred: Wed Aug 8, '12 4:03pm PST 
Daniel's mama here.....
I know this is an old thread, but I could use advice in this area. My boy Daniel chews on the cords to my stereo system and I've had to replace the cords 3 times now. They are LONG cords and I've tried sprays, but he does it when I'm not around. What can I do?
Also I was wondering what and where to look for wire covers....or if it's possible to wrap the wires in something to cover them.
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socks

1270338		 
 
Purred: Fri Oct 5, '12 7:22am PST 
I have had immediate improvements using bitter apple spray.. Started using it 3 days ago and she doesn't bite them any more...
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Maizie Grace

Actually not so- graceful		 
 
Purred: Wed Oct 17, '12 1:12am PST 
Yes, Bitter Apple has worked for me. On the off occasion it hasn't, I redirect to a chewy toy.
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Samhain

1172733
 
 
Purred: Wed Oct 17, '12 5:12am PST 
We also used bitter apple spray, which helped - but as was mentioned, after a certain time the behavior just stopped. Maybe it's a teething thing like human babies?
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