How can i stop my 8 month old kitten chewing my Christmas lights?

Question

Im getting worried as he chews the led bit on the lights.
I tell him no and after 5 minutes he comes back and has another chew!!!

I dont want to squirt him with water as the lights he is chewing is by the plug.
And he has got all his adult teeth i think!

Answer 1

Put in a water sprinkler a few drops of lemon and eucalyptus essential oils, and shake well. Spray around the lead with that. They HATE the smell of strong oils, but it's harmless.
You get a win-win situation: the place smells nice and the animal stays away.

If it doesn't work, just take a drop of pure eucalyptus oil and rub the lead with it. Also pepermint works great. They hate the smell and the taste.

Answer 2

I would take the Christmas lights down, no joking! This is a hazard!!! Or use an extention cord from the wall, bring plug & end of the string of lights half-way up the trunk & plug it into the extention cord end from up there. Have the connected plugs rest on some inside branches half-way up the tree. You may have to take the bottom row(s) of string off the tree if kitty can reach. Be safe & don't risk it! :)

Answer 3

I think you will just have to do without the lights this year. By next Christmas he will be less boisterous. Every cat I had used to climb the Christmas tree first time round when they were kittens-but never gave it a second glance the following year. Could you use cardboard tubes to cover the flex if you keep the lights? Have a happy Christmas.

Answer 4

Use a squirt gun or spray bottle (squirt guns have better range, you can get him from across the room). It won't really hurt him and he'll catch on soon.

Edited to add, I had not seen the above answer yet but do NOT use tinsel!!! That's a danger of itself, cats (especially young, playful kittens) will eat it and it may cause an intestinal blockage.

Answer 5

like most of the answers. i know water and electricity don't agree but if you squirt him before he gets near and he will get the hint! if not just keep picking him up and putting him on the other side of the room but I agree with a Squirty bottle even if you just put a small amount of water in it and go to spray the kitten they will soon get the hint and stop chewing! my 6mth kitten has climbed my tree 3 times and in the end i had to resort to putting him in the kitchen when i went to bed, the climbing has stopped.

Answer 6

My one year old cat does that too. My solution is to only have the lights on when I'm in the room. That way - if he does manage to chew them - he won't get a shock.

I am going to invest in some satsumas/oranges later though and hang the peel from the tree. I'll let you know if it works, cause if your cat's anything like my Basil he'll be knocking all the baubles off and swinging on the tinsel!

Answer 7

You can give your kitten the shock of its life by simply leaving it.. if it works well enough, it won't be chewing anything next christmas.:) Alternatively you can rub some aloe juice on the wires, very bitter. Also try training, great books are available.

Answer 8

You need to pick the lights up out of his/her way as best as you can. My husband works with computers and has alot of cable running thru the house. We read a trick: Ivory soap (rember getting your mouth washed out with it as a kid?). Get a bar of Orgional Ivory soap and cut a notch into it. Then rub a small amount on the entire lenght of the wire. It tastes so bad...the cat will stop chewing. worked with mine!

Answer 9

Put a cheap set on and let him chew through them...after it burns all the fur off his little face and you get rid of the stink from the room he wont do it again.

Answer 10

Take the christmas lights down. No, im joking, spray citrus around your tree and your cat wont go near it.