Cat problems! Help?

Question

My wife and I adopted a wonderful cat from a rescue society. His name is Truman and is a wonderful pet. He only sleeps on his back, likes to play in water and is very affectionate. We love him to death!
We've had him for 2 1/2 months now and some problems are starting to arise. Despite using Bitter Apple and Bitter Yuck, he eats the plants. We even used a hot pepper spray and he STILL eats the plants. Not only that, he is digging and eating the dirt the plants are growing in, despite more spray and slices of habanero pepper.
To top it all off, he has started to chew on cords and cables all over the house, the lamp shades, boxes, shoes and anything else he can get his mouth on.
And before you ask, NO, HE IS NOT TEETHING!

This cannot continue. We cannot go around the house every morning and evening unplugging and putting away all electronics, shoes, plants, boxes and everything else.

Any suggestions on what we can do? We love him and do not want to return him to the society!

Answer 1

I take it that dental problems of any kind have been eliminated by a vet?

Is he an indoor only cat? It sounds as though he might be bored, and in his search for something to amuse himself, he is inadvertently getting into mischief.

For the chewing problem, there are a few things that you can try to break the habit;

* I know this may not be easy, but wherever possible you need to deny him any access to those items that she's chewing. Buy some trunking to cover cables and electrical wires.

* The items that you cannot store away, put eucalyptus or menthol oil on them. Cats hate the smell. You can also leave "bait" pieces of cable or an old shoe on which a few drops of menthol or oil of eucalyptus have been rubbed, this deterrent will often reform the most ardent chewers. Sometimes denial for a couple of weeks causes the behaviour to stop.

* Shouting at the cat or squirting water at him when you catch him in the act, isn't advised as you may just find he resorts to chewing these items in secret or when you are not there. Instead use a favourite toy or food treat to distract him and focus his attention elsewhere.

* If it's the chewing sensation that he enjoys, then try providing him with tough chunks of meat to eat. This means he will have to spend more time focused on eating his meal.

Cats like digging in soft soil. Place small pebbles or stones over the soil and he won't be able to access it any more. Cats need to eat grass from time to time for health reasons (stomach ache etc), so providing him with his own pot of cat grass may keep him off your others.

If he is an indoor only cat, would you consider allowing him outside for brief periods, either under your supervision or on a harness? If he were allowed outside this will further his level of mental stimulation and will reduce the importance of home for activity. Make sure you set aside time each day strictly for playing games with him so as to focus his attention on things other than chewing. There is a theory that for some cats, an early interest in playing with cables or string has developed into predatory handling, the end sequence of which is to consume the prey. (Some cats make the mental leap straight from stalking to consumption). Try interactive toys, such as those that dangle off the end of a wandstick as they will keep him physically and mentally fit. They're ideal toys for playing the hunting games that cats really enjoy like chasing and leaping up high. If you and your wife are away from the home a lot due to work or other commitments, you might want to consider adopting a companion cat as a play mate for him. The web site below will give you advice on how to introduce the two of them.

http://www.tulsa-animalshelter.org/tips/intro%20cat.htm

There is a condition known as Pica (craving for non-edible items) which is most commonly experienced by pregnant women, but cats can suffer from this too. Keep an eye on your cat to ensure that he doesn't progress from simply chewing to actually eating household items. The web article below gives further information on this subject.

.http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/home/beh/feline_behavior/pica.html

I hope these suggestions help. Good luck.

Answer 2

Cats need other food in their system other than just cat food all the time, and often cats will eat plants and grass to assist with their digestion and keep their teeth sharp (teething has nothing to do with it, animals need to chew on things all the time to keep their teeth healthy). So, as much as you are trying to stop your cat from doing it, likely his body is screaming out for it and he needs something. What you can do is get a plant that grows quickly like an ivy where it doesn't really matter if he chews on it, the plant will always look nice. Go to pet stores and they also make products like pet grass (basically a non-impressive chiapet), that the cat can munch on. When I'm in a bind and can tell my cats are eating weird things (like they love to chew on plastic bags and do chew on wires, drives me nuts), I put out cat grass or even some of my guinea pigs hey cause at least it's edible.

Other reasons cats chew things they shouldn't: cause they know it gets your attention. Cause they don't have enough toys to chew on and play with. I am constantly buying cat toys cause my cats just go through them, or sometimes they are chewing on wires because they can't find their toys or they got trapped.

If you want to have cats and pets in your life, then there are other things you'll have to give up. I own very few candles and plants for this specific reason. How you find your sanity sometimes is set up non-cat zones: rooms closed where the cats are not allowed or only allowed when you are home. In my home, this includes the room where I have my guinea pig and our bathrooms, and our family room.

So, choose. Cat or plants.

Answer 3

Clove oil works miracles! Instead of bitter apple, use clove oil.
Also, when he does that, tell him no and put him somewhere else to play.
Finally, my advice to you is to be patient. Cats up to a year of age are very energetic and naughty. After that, especially if neutered, the begin to be calmer and just lay around, instead of biting things.
Oh, and you can put a platsic wire mesh around the plants and/or on the soil of the plants.

Please keep the cat! He sounds adorable, and frankly these little cute mishaps are not so bad to rejext a cat. A cat is a responsibility for better and for worse, it's not an item you purchase and take it back if it is "defective". Plus, as i said, you can't find a cat who has no bad habits at all!

Oh, and have a look at the aspca.com list of poisonous plants, many of teh plants we have at home are toxic to cats, maybe you should get rid of some plants if he doesn't stop eating them.

Answer 4

Try getting him some of those "kitty greens" that he CAN chew on.. and get him toys and stuff he can chew on.. things that are oki for him. sounds like you've got one bored, attention-seeking cat. Whenever we got a cat, we'd get them in pairs.. to keep each other company. It always seemed to work. We had Tilly and Baby, Minnie and Pearl, etc. Also go to your local library, see if they have Cat Fancy or another cat magazine, and look in back issues, they often have Q's and A's about cat behavior in there. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

First, you can start out by moving your plants to a place where he has no access to them. Then go to the pet store and buy him treats. Or this might sound weird but maybe you can get him a few dog toys that he can chew on. Try looking at some of this stuff: http://www.petsmart.com/global/search/search_results.jsp?In=Cat&N=2033745&Ne=2

Good luck!

Answer 6

you've already said that the pepper spray does'nt work and all i can say is to go further. everytime you catch him chewing something show him what he has done ( as in put it up to his face.) and soak him in water. make sure to do this every single time you catch him in the act. Yes it will take a long time but I assure you if he doesn't like water he will not enjoy being soaked. I understand you love your cat and don't want to return him so continue doing this repetitively and hopefully he will get through this stage without causing you and your wife more trouble.
Hope this helps!

Answer 7

Have you tried squirting him in the face with a water bottle when you catch him in the act? We used this method to keep our cats from scratching the furniture and from fighting with our dog. It only took a few times.
As far as the plants, you may need to put them up. One of our cats does the same thing, if we do have plants, we put them up on places he can't jump, other than that, we keep them out of the house.

Answer 8

Sounds like you need to buy him his own furniture. He needs something that is HIS and only his to chew on and destroy. He's bored. VERY bored, lol. Try one of these.... they are not that expensive and you can customize by tying lots of dangley things to it. That outta keep him occupied!

Every time you see him tearing something up, just pick him up and put him on one of these kitty towers. He'll understand that this thing is HIS and he will be a lot less bored.

Answer 9

US A SPRAY BOTTLE WITH A STREAM SETTING THEY GET THE HINT AFTER A COUPLE OF TIMES

Answer 10

Buy a cat kennel and put him in it when you are not able to keep him supervised...ex: at night, when ya'll leave the house etc..etc. He will get used to it and ya'll can be worry free when he is in the kennel.. Good luck!!