My cat is chewing everything.. How do i get him to stop?

Question

My cat is about 2 years old and he is chewing EVERYTHING. The other day I found the plug for my Christmas lights not connected to the string of lights, he chews shoes, the plug for my computer... and then he goes behind the TV and chews the cords. I try and stop him but sometimes I am not home. One of these days he is going to get electrocuted. I dont want anything to happen to him. Anyone have any tips???

Answer 1

Hi there...consider using a wire loom, which is very inexpensive: http://cableorganizer.com/wire-loom/colored.html . Not only does it bundle all the wires within the loom, but tidies up the room too. For wires that cannot be bundled consider using Granick's Bitter Apple spray which is a safe deterrent for pets: http://www.grannicks.com/

Answer 2

The best way is with a spray bottle filled with water. This also works for keeping the kitten off the kitchen counter, couches or any other behavior you do not want becoming habit. Squirt the cat when the bad be havior happens and the cat will learn to associate this with that behavior and not do it. There are also foul tasting sprays that you can get at Petco or Petsmart to keep the cat from doing it. Another good way is to put your cat in a room (bathroom, laundry room) while you are away so he doesn't have run of the house. I put mine away in my largest bathroom at night and before I leave the house for anything. Then I come home and reward them with love and their favorite vitamins. Great for bonding and your home.

Answer 3

It sounds somewhat cruel, but my cat always chewed the ends of our curtains, so I dipped them in BBQ sauce on the tips where is wasn't very obvious to the eye and he quit fairly quickly (tabasco didn't work, he seemed to like it). I can say that cords are appealing to cats for some odd reason, but be careful I lost a nice TV one night when my cat actually made it all the way through the cord. It may be worth taking him into the vet and see if he is having any issues with his teeth or gums as they will chew on things when they are in pain.

Answer 4

Hello, I have a 3 year old female who does this. It's called pica. It's the voluntary ingestion of non-edible materials. The etiology of true pica remains unknown, although mineral deficiencies or psychological disturbances often receive the blame. For example, experts commonly describe wool sucking as an abnormal ingestive behavior in cats. However, this compulsive behavior, a misdirected form of nursing, technically should be distinguished from true cases of pica. Because pica can signal an underlying medical problem, a veterinarian should examine cats displaying unusual ingestive behaviors. Try to keep such items out of reach for your cat.

Answer 5

Constant training, is my advice. You need to be alert and tell him off whenever he's chewing (or looks about to) on something he shouldn't be chewing on. It could be that he's bored, and needs someone to play with. Something I've heard recommended, but that I don't know how effective/safe it is, is rubbing a thin layer of toothpaste on cables. It's got too strong a taste for cats to like, and they usually stay away from it (sometimes it's apparantly got the opposite reaction ^^; )

You don't really say how you try to stop him... We have a kitten who (of course) likes to look at things with her mouth (like all babies), and when she's gnawing at something she's not allowed to chew, we sort of hiss at her, and if she persists in doing it, we either push her away from the object, or stamp a foot close to her to scare her off temporarily, or push her down onto the floor (if that's where she is) and wait till she's calmed down (looking suitably upset, of course) before letting her go. So far, it works pretty well, and she's almost stopped playing entirely with the curtains after only a week.

Answer 6

They make stuff you can wrap your electrical cords into, just for this reason. It is a ribbed, flexible plastic tube and can be found in any electronics department. You slip your wires inside and a cat can't chew the cords.

You might want to consider that the cat is trying to amuse itself. Do you have some good play alternatives for the cat? Balls with bells inside, or rattles are good. The cat can bat them around and amuse himself a long time. There are tons of toys for cats out there. A visit to a pet store might help you find something he would rather do for amusement.

Answer 7

Too late I think my dear. This cat has been doing this since it was a kitten I bet! That is why I constantly tell pet owners not to take a puppy/kitten away to soon from the mother. A puppy/cat needs to stay for12-weeks with the nursing mother. Take the animal away too soon, and this is what happens. The only suggestion I can give you, is to safeguard your house, or confine the cat to a "carrier" when your out!.

Answer 8

THey don't usually like the smell of citrus oils, ie. orange. Such house hold sprays and cleansers can be sprayed in hazardous areas to repel him. Please also have his teeth checked, chewing behavior at this stage is not usual and may have a dental cause or a dietary need not met by his usual food. Like us, even a very good diet by the standard, may not be right if there is an allergy or genetic need for more of a trace vitamin or mineral.

Answer 9

When my cat does things I don't want it to do, I squirt it with water (you could use a little water gun or a spray bottle). I've never had to spray her more than twice for the same thing. They hate it, and it doesn't hurt them.

My cat had this awful habit of coming to my window in the middle of the night. She would claw the screen and meow persistently (sometimes for more than an hour) for me to let her in. After literally years of this, I dumped a cup of water out the window on to her head. I've had no night time disturbances in over 6 months! And she loves me just the same!

Answer 10

Buy him a toy and do your best to keep things where your cat can not get a hold of them