What can I do about a cat that likes to chew on electrical chords?

Question

Is there something I can put on the chords that will make him want to avoid them?

Answer 1

try buying it chew toys.

He'll forget about the wires and focus on the chew toy.

Answer 2

We put some rubber hose around ours, there was only a couple he could get to but that helped and now he leaves them alone.

Answer 3

A combination of some of the previous answers is your best bet.  Using bitter apple or lime in a paste or spray, or using pepper sauce is fast and is something you can do immediately to break the habit and keep you from losing your kitty.

I think an often overlooked root cause of this kind of problem is a lack of roughage.

I owned a pet supply store for a number of years and this topic in various forms came up often.  Almost all of the time the cats are indoor cats and eating premium foods that are highly digestible.  We would sell them cat grass or seeds to grow their own and well over half the time this solved the chewing problem.  Cats, although carnivores, crave roughage.  In the wild they get it through first eating the digestive system of their prey.  In our homes they resort to washcloths, pen caps, rubber bands, plastic bags, and lots of other fun stuff.

Of course, not all strange cat chewing and l*****g can be attributed to a lack of kitty grass, and once a habit is started it can be hard to break, but for their health benefit, ALL indoor cats should always have a grass plant.

Oh yea, one other thing.. I have found that a can of compressed air let off not too close to your cat works even better  than a water spray, and won"t get your wires wet.  Be careful though, I find its so effective there is often only a crater left where the cat once was.

Good Luck

Answer 4

try bitter apple spray :]] or hot sauce. it will p**s it off and it will never chew on them

Answer 5

Please check this link:

http://www.crittercord.com/index.html

It is a product that specifically deals with pet safety by preventing them from chewing cords. The link contains a link to contact the company to find a retailer.

I hope this helps. You are dealing with a dangerous situation! I have heard from people who use these and it should solve the problem.

Answer 6

wow................first I would unplug them. I would use a brush and paint hot pepper sauce on them. I would also get the wire covering that they use to cover wires that are sold in bed bath and beyond.

Answer 7

Chewing on these cords poses hazards to your cat, from minor shock to death. Cats primarily chew on cords out of boredom, especially if left alone during the day. Try to provide plenty of "play-alone" toys for your cat or kitten, including wall or door mounted toys they can swat or bat around, cat towers to explore, with attached toys for added interest, even an arrangement of cardboard boxes on the floor to form a tunnel, with holes cut through the sides.

To handle the cord situation itself, you need to devise a way to cover the cords, discourage access to them, or make them unpalatable for chewing.

- Cover the cords: Many computer supply stores carry pre-split hollow tubing for covering cords and electrical wires, as well as kits for managing computer cords. If you're handy with a utility knife, you can purchase flexible poly tubing in several diameters, in most building supply or hardware stores. Slit one side of the tubing, then cut it to length for each cord. You might also try larger "corrugated" tubing to run several wires through, if that works for you.

- Discourage access to the cords: Try applying several rows of double-sided sticky tape to the floor surrounding a large cord tangle (such as frequently happens with computers). Cats will be reluctant to walk across the tape. Another excellent tool for keeping cats out of any undesirable area is the SssCat! cannister by Multivet. This product is a three-pronged training tool which works with a motion detector atop the cannister which triggers a high-pitched alarm and a quick spray of harmless material. It's a lot more expensive than bitter apple spray, but well worth the cost in its versatility for training purposes.

- Make the Cords Taste Bad: By far one of the best training tools for any kind of destructive chewing is bitter apple spray. It is guaranteed to leave a bad taste in your cats mouth, one that he won't long forget.

Answer 8

My cat occasionally tries to chew on some cords, and every time I see him approaching them, I spray water at him. It only took once. Just make sure you don't spray the wires!

Answer 9

if you have a carpet put the cord under  or buy a rug and put it over the cords

Answer 10

If you can't hide them then I can suggest this.  We used this trick when we had our little house rabbit.

Go to your local hardware store and purchase the smaller diameter PVC type pipe.  Tell someone that works there what you need to use it for and I'm sure they can help you get the right size if your not certain.

Here is a link showing you the type of pipe I'm speaking of (the straight pieces not the pipe elbows of course) And you can get it in clear or solid white.

http://www.clearpvcpipe.com/

Purchase enough so that you can cover the cord as high up as you think is necessary depending on how high your cat is chewing.

Make a slit from end to end in the pvc pipe using a saw (may have to enlist someone that knows power tools if your not handy) or you may even be able to have the pvc pipe cut at hardware store.

Work the power cord into the pipe.  You may need a flat head s***w driver to pry the pipe apart just enough to fit it over the cord.

Once the pipe is over the cord the cat can't chew it anymore.

The plug head will be the only thing exposed at that point.  If you have more than one power cord going into an outlet, get a piece of pipe large enough in diameter to accommodate both cords.

Hope this helps.