[Ikrit42]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys There's a spray you can get at any petco, or animal supply shop that's called "bitter apple" It's not hot sauce and it works to repel. My cat HATES mint. I've used some peppermint oil to do the same with him.

Really? My cat LOVED mint. We'd give her peppermint teabags and she'd play with them for hours.

 

[Naris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmilhan That's funny, one of my Cats treats the bitter apple as a freakin' condiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ikrit42 Really? My cat LOVED mint. We'd give her peppermint teabags and she'd play with them for hours.

Lesson is: Cats are as messed up as humans. There is no one completely proven way to teach them (or discourage them) to do or not to do something.

 

[buttboone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvin So one of my cat has gotten in the habit of eating cables. Anyone know of a good way to get it to stop? I've tried the usual disciplinary methods and spraying the cables with supposed cat repellant (active ingredient: methyl nonyl ketone), but it still gnaws on them.

Please get your cat to the vet, preferably a holistic one, and do a blood chemistry panel to make sure the cat is okay. This is a form of pica and could indicate a serious medical condition. To ensure that the cable passes comfortable out of said cute cat, try Veterinarian's Best Cat Lube and Digestive Aide-it is a tablet that my finicky cat loves to eat straight or mixed in with the food. It does not contain petroleum so is much safer that products that do. If you can't get it locally, you can order from their website www.vetsbest.com. They are great.
On cat misbehavior - They are usually trying to tell us something important after all, we are just staff. For example, spraying on your significant other's clothing may mean he/she is spending an inordinate amount time with someone other than you. Not using the litter box in general always indicates a health problem as cats instinctively cover their body waste to prevent predators from finding them. Hope all is well!

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvin As for the second cat suggestion, already done. I got them both from the same litter in a sort of "Take one defective cat, get another defective cat free!" deal. Cable chewer has defective vocal cords, the other is missing 3/4's of it's tail. The other cat doesn't chew cables, but it does shreds toilet paper and wake me up in the middle of the night.

You are a good person for adopting runts rather than purchasing "boutique" cats. I also just don't get the "just get rid of the cat" suggestions. You adopted them and you seem to want to do whatever you can to work with the situation - very commendable. That said, what about tubing over your cables to protect them? You can still have neat bundles that are protected.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swt61 I had a cat that used to do that too. I used hot sauce. I put it on a rag and whiped the whole cable with it. Worked like a charm for me.

I was about to suggest the same. Good luck.

 

[Absorbine_Sr]

I think I got in on that same "buy one defective cat, get the second free" deal. We picked up two kittens from the Humane Society that were darn near feral. But the wife loved them. Go figure. They were psycho for a long time. They tried chewing all of the electrical cords in the bedroom. I ended up buying foam pipe insulation similar to this: http://www.tundrafoam.com/tundra/pipe_index.html
Available at any Home Depot, it did the trick and eventually they went on to chewing different stuff (like the dogs) and I could remove the pipe insulation.

A_Sr.

 

[Edwood]

Our previous dog, Maddie, the toy poodle, was very well behaved and never chewed on any cables.

Our current dog, MoMo, the Havanese, is well behaved when she is supervised, but turns out she is quite mischevious when she is alone. Hence we crate her when we are not at home. Her favorite chew treats are bully sticks. We ran out of them before, and she tries to chew other things. I found recently she chewed up a cheap RatShack headphone extension cord. I have my expensive cables that are low enough for her to get to covered with split loom tubing. Fortunately, MoMo is not really a good climber like a cat is.

I ordered a whole bunch of bully sticks so her chewing instinct is satiated.

-Ed

 

[buttboone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood Our previous dog, Maddie, the toy poodle, was very well behaved and never chewed on any cables. Our current dog, MoMo, the Havanese, is well behaved when she is supervised, but turns out she is quite mischevious when she is alone. Hence we crate her when we are not at home. Her favorite chew treats are bully sticks. We ran out of them before, and she tries to chew other things. I found recently she chewed up a cheap RatShack headphone extension cord. I have my expensive cables that are low enough for her to get to covered with split loom tubing. Fortunately, MoMo is not really a good climber like a cat is. I ordered a whole bunch of bully sticks so her chewing instinct is satiated. -Ed

Momo is adorable! Does anyone know of a good cat chew toy? I've tried small dog ones with no interest. Of course with a cat, it's the free toys, like paper bags, that they love consistently. Giving a cooked bone is an invitation for it to sprinter and do intestinal damage.Has anyone tried a raw diet for their cat? I make healthy but cooked prescription meals but am too chicken to give put out raw bones.
Marvin, you are wonderful human to take in your two cats. Sometimes cat misbehave to get attention, or they are bored or stressed. Pam Johnson has written some great cat behavior books, like "Twisted Kitty." Sometimes extra attention and playtime with them and a stern "NO" maybe all you need. A diet change might help. After I switched to a home cooked diet, Slick, my hypercat who could not stand to be petted, now comes to me frequently for rubs. He's a chewer, too, and that has improved. He was three months old when we first got him from the Humane Society. He consumed pieces he chewed off a foam mat then bloodily excreted them...OOPS, TMI.

 

[KYTGuy]

Change to Electrostatics - the ones with 2400v in the cables... two problems with one solution!

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buttboone Momo is adorable! Does anyone know of a good cat chew toy? I've tried small dog ones with no interest. Of course with a cat, it's the free toys, like paper bags, that they love consistently. Giving a cooked bone is an invitation for it to sprinter and do intestinal damage.Has anyone tried a raw diet for their cat? I make healthy but cooked prescription meals but am too chicken to give put out raw bones. Marvin, you are wonderful human to take in your two cats. Sometimes cat misbehave to get attention, or they are bored or stressed. Pam Johnson has written some great cat behavior books, like "Twisted Kitty." Sometimes extra attention and playtime with them and a stern "NO" maybe all you need. A diet change might help. After I switched to a home cooked diet, Slick, my hypercat who could not stand to be petted, now comes to me frequently for rubs. He's a chewer, too, and that has improved. He was three months old when we first got him from the Humane Society. He consumed pieces he chewed off a foam mat then bloodily excreted them...OOPS, TMI.

Try small Bully Sticks. They work for dogs, cat's should like em too.

-Ed

 

[Gaughtfried]

My cat used to love to munch on my computer's cables.

Then I got into gardening and now he eats my windowside plants. On the upside, he doesn't chew on the cables anymore. Maybe he needs a houseplant to "play" with?

 

[technobarbie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buttboone Does anyone know of a good cat chew toy?

Straws. They are especially good for teething kittens.

 

[markkr]

I finally broke down and ran all of my exposed cables in flexible metal conduit. Its ugly but it works.

I'm sad to say that the cat eventually ended up at the pound. He didn't like my new G/F (now my wife) and would attack her. THEN I took a ski trip to Colorado 2 days after purchasing $5k worth of leather couches. I came home to $5k urine covered and ripped up leather. He just cost me too much at that point and none of my friends wanted him since they knew his history. One of the hardest things I've had to walk away from, poor little guy

 

[TheMarsVolta]

My 4 month old kitten loves to attack my MS2 cable when I'm at the computer. It's come to the point where I have to kick him out of the room when he's frisky (which is most of the time). Luckily he ignores the IC's and computer cables.

Speaking of chewing pets, my yellow lab is a champion chewer. Some things he's eaten or chewed:

- eats bars of soap
- various baby toys
- ate 2 pairs of leather baby slippers ('robeez'), whole
- leather gloves and various shoes
- chrome toaster (at least he unplugged it first)

He gets a lot of leeway from me though 'cause it usually happens when he doesn't get enough excercise, and he's a good boy otherwise and great with the baby.

 

[Samgotit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarsVolta He gets a lot of leeway from me though 'cause it usually happens when he doesn't get enough excercise, and he's a good boy otherwise and great with the baby.

My "awww... that's so cute-o-meter" just exploded and set my house on fire. I was ejected from a second story window, but I am safe. Apparently there is such a thing as too cute.