How can I keep my kittens from chewing on cords?

Question

How do I keep them from chewing on anything for that matter? They chew on my flipflops, they chewed the antenna off of my alarm clock radio, and just a few minutes ago I found that they chewed on an expensive pair of earphones. The only thing I can think to do is lock them away from everything with just their food, water, litter, and each other but if I have to do that, what is the point of having kittens. It'd be one thing if I could catch them doing it, but I can't. They are so destructive! They also wont quit getting up on the counter and destroying things. (They just broke a very expensive crystal vase that I recieved as a wedding gift) I've tried the water approach but it only works for a couple of minutes. Any suggestions?

I will try the bitter apple stuff, but the main issue is I'm always finding something that I would have never guessed they would chew. My house is also very electronically based... I've always got cords that just run across the floor for laptops of mine or my friends. Since this is the kind of cord you take with you it isn't practical to spray it. Same with my flip flops. Would the stuff come off on my fingers and is it sticky?

They have more toys than any other kittens I know! They have mice, balls, condos, catnip toys... you name it, they have it. They just still insist on the cords. The thing with keeping things out of their reach is that nothing seems to be out of their reach and they dont seem to understand the water thing. They manage to get places that you'd never guess they'd reach. I'm hoping the will grow out of this... I'm starting to wish I had adopted an adult cat. Thanks again for all your help!

Answer 1

Having kittens is alot like having monkeys :D They get into everything and nothing is left untouched. I would suggest hiding all breakable objects until they are a little older. For the wires and cords that they can reach I suggest Bitter Apple. I know it says it's for dogs but it worked wonderfully for our kittens to stay off the t.v., stereo, phone cords, etc. At night we did keep them in one room to reduce the area of damage, so to speak, with food, water, litter box and toys. http://www.1800petmeds.com/pdetail.asp?SK=10575
Your local pet store should also carry it. Good luck :)

Answer 2

The best way to keep kittens from destroying your house is to child-proof it as if you had a 3 year-old. In addition to that, make sure the kittens have plenty of toys and shut them in a room when you're asleep or when you're gone. It's less frustrating to remove the temptation so they don't get in trouble. Trying to teach them NOT to do something is almost impossible.

For the cords, purchase some Tygon tubing with an inside diameter that will fit over your cords. This is available from big-box home stores and medical supply stores. Slit one side of the tubing and press the cord into the tube. It is clear, so won't be noticeable, and it's too tough for even adult cats to chew through. It doesn't stain anything and is what I call "passive", meaning that once you put it on the problem is over.

As far as the kittens are concerned, you can put your stuff away so the kittens can't get at it and only put the kittens away when you're not there to enjoy them. They'll sleep anyway. So do you get more enjoyment out of something like your crystal vase (which you could put away for now or get a cabinet to display it) or do you enjoy your kittens more? Sometimes they're mutually exclusive.

Answer 3

You don't mention how old your kittens are, but it sounds like they might have to new teeth coming in or they are bored or both. On cords: bitter apple works the best, but must be reapplied - I used to apply it every day for the first few days and then decreased over time. On locking them away: you answered yourself, but you might want to put out of reach (in a cupboard) or lock away things that are important to you. They also sound like they need some directed play. Bored kittens are distructive kittens. Do they have a cat tree or condo to climb on? Are there toys around? A paper grocery sack is one of my cats' favorites. The counter is a problem for most of us. We have interesting stuff on the counters and cats don't understand why we don't like them up there. See if this works - put a number of empty pop cans along the edge of your counters, about 1"-2" from the edge, close enough together that the kitten will knock some down when it jumps on the counter. I have not tried this, so I won't guarantee it will work - mine don't mind all the time, but at least they stay off the counters most of the time. (mine are all adults) and they get down when I catch them generally before I get to the water bottle. I had really good luck with double sided sticky tape to keep them from scratching the furniture, although my Mom's cat had done a lot of damage before I moved in with her. Most cats settle down as they mature, although there are some, like Abyssinians who tend to keep that kitten activity level well into adulthood. purrs

Answer 4

There is a product called bitter apple that you can get at the petstore. You spray it on the item you want them not to chew and when they attemp to they get a VERY nasty taste and do not chew. Cats do not like sticky surfaces. So you can put some two sided tape on the counter for a while they will not like how it feels on their paws and will stay off. Some people I know have used a water bottle to spray the cat with when they are on the counter or doing some other undesirable activity but that requires you catching them in the act.
Best of luck to you

Answer 5

My adult male cat does this still. He hasn't been a kitten in almost 2 years. I pop him on his little rump or talk to him in a very stern voice when he starts to chew. I know hitting him doesn't sound nice or very helpful, but to think of the alternative (electrocution) it is a lot better. I don't have to do it so much anymore b/c he has learned what is right and what is wrong, just like a dog. He does have his moments of backsliding though, he chewed a cord on an expensive pair of trimmers that I had just bought for school almost in two. But I did not pop him then that wouldn't have helped. Only do it when they are caught in the act not after the damage has been done.

Answer 6

You can just squirt them with water from a water bottle if you catch them in the act, but until they grow older and mature a bit, it would help to "cat proof" the house. i.e. put all the expensive vases and electrical chords out of reach for them. Get them plenty of cat toys to play with, little jingly balls to chase around and maybe a cat condo for them to climb on. Just keep a close eye on them and if they get into mischief, tell them a stern "NO" and squirt them with the water bottle. The water won't hurt them and they will hate it. In time they will learn to leave things alone and stay off things they aren't supposed to be on.

Answer 7

you're able to do considered one of two ordinary steps to guard your cords from the gnawing of curious kittens. One is purchase a sprig referred to as apple bitter (at maximum better puppy shops) and spray the cords. Please unplug them previous to spraying in case of small exposures to the wires from previous gnawing. the 2nd element you're able to do is pass to Staples or comparable type save and purchase the twine corral tubes. those appear as if skinny hoses particularly much like what's on your vaccuum purifier different than they are chop up down the completed length. they are used for corralling mulitple cords so it would not appear as if a rats nest. putting the twine corrals over your cords will preclude your kitten from even achieving the cords.

Answer 8

There's something called Bitter Apple that makes cats stay away, but there's other things you can do as well. Put pepper on the cords, or sugar. (Cats hate both) It's cheaper than anything else and it worked for my cat.

Answer 9

Bitter apple I saw mentioned is useful. Really thats about it. They are going to chew, they are getting teeth, so in reality they are teething like babies. Keep everything you don't want them to chew safe away from them. Hide cords, put up stuff you don't want chewed. Kitten proof your house. You can keep them safe by putting them somewhere kitten proof and letting them out when you can supervise them so you can watch them play since there is no greater fun then playing kittens!

Answer 10

As a professional dog trainer for over 16 years, I have to tell you my strong opinion that you need these group classes for obedience training. http://OnlineDogTraining.enle.info/?XoER

Other pet warehouses are there to get you to buy their products and hang around their strore. And their trainers are their employees...never forget they have an agenda. Most of the trainers have very little education--if they had actual training and skills they wouldn't be there making just over minimum wage--trust me on this. But even if they did have experience and talent...a group setting is a terrible place for learning to take place. It's distraction training and it is the LAST phase of training not the first. You wouldn't have your child try to do their homework in a toy store, would you? Of course not...the level of distraction would be too high! It's the same with dogs. Having said that, these classes can be an excellent way to socialize dogs...but not to train them. And while they appear to be cheaper than a professional trainer...you have to attend many more sessions to get the same results because of the poor learning environment--so you wind up spending MORE money for less training than you would with a professional. Save your money and go to someone who actually knows how to train dogs. OR, read books and try to train your dog yourself. There is nothing they train at a Petsmart or Petco that you can't do yourself with a couple of hours of reading.