cat chewing wires

[Deborah L.]

Hi,

This is my first time posting here. I have had cats my whole life and have never encountered a behavior problem I couldn't fix. However...

My sweet little kitty "Fawkes" (about 1 and a half years old) chews wires. Luckily, she's never been shocked. So far, she's stuck mostly to thin wires, such as phone wires, speaker wires, expensive cell phone charger wires , etc. Needless to say, I try to keep them out of her reach or covered. But, obviously, this is not feasible for every wire in the house.

Now, a bit of a background on Fawkes and the what I've done to discipline her. She came from a shelter along with my other cat, Hedwig. They get along very well. She goes to the vet regularly, has all her shots, eats a well balanced diet and displays no signs of physical or mental problems. In fact, except for this, she's perfect. Fawkes is a rather "needy" cat. She loves to be carried around on my hip, almost like a toddler. (Don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.)

The last few weeks I have awoken (very early, I might add... nearly every day) to her about to chomp down on my bedside lamp and alarm clock wires. Luckily, I'm a light sleeper. I tried putting her out of the room, with a firm "no!" However, she started crying to get back in and scratching the rug. I've tried squirting her with water. She seemed to think that was funny and ran up onto the bed to show me she was wet. I've tried a tap on the rear or nose. Again, no effect. She immediately goes back to chewing. I've tried praising her when she stops and cuddling. But, the second I go back to sleep, she's back at the wire.

I keep the bedroom door shut while at work and she doesn't bother the TV wires in the living room. I've never noticed her doing this at other times. Always late at night or morning. She has plenty of toys.

Does anyone have a suggestion? I have some of that yukky smelling stuff, which I've asked my mom to bring when she comes for Thanksgiving. I tried that with one of her cats, though and she seemed to think it tasted good. I've just never had a cat that after a year would not change her habits.

Sorry to make this so long, but I wanted to be thorough. Thank you very much for any advice!

Deborah

[davet]

try coating the wires with etiher bitter applle or tobasco sauce...you have to do this daiyl for a while, if that doesn work will send some other hot sauses but just saturate a cotton and rub it along the wire and repeat as neneded....leave dish of water nearby---doesn't take long ..i have had mqany a cat and dog come in with scorched mouths and some dead so try this

[Deborah L.]

"some dead?" Uh... what exactly do you mean by that? Just curious before I try it. Sounds like a good idea, though. (Besides the line I probably misinterrpreted)

Deborah

[guest]

Don't panic; he means scorched or dead from chewing the wires, not the wire treatment.

I have a MEGA wire chewer who's now about 3 and has slowed down a little. I've tried wiping the wires with dish soap (it's VILE), which helps a little, and all the other stuff. The best idea I had was to cover the wires in clear plastic tubing. It's not ugly, and, apparently, it ruins the whole mouthfeel of the wire. I've caught her chewing on a wire, put the cover on immediately, she goes over, tries it, and never touched that wire again. Presently, my biggest headache is the curly cord on the phone (she ate 1 of them last week). I haven't come up with a good solution to that yet, and it's always been a favorite.

[davet]

correct

Don't panic; he means scorched or dead from chewing the wires, not the wire treatment.