How to Stop Your Cat from Chewing on Electrical Cords and Other Objects

Chewing on electrical cords can burn or shock your cat causing respiratory problems, cardiac arrest and even death. Cats' sharp teeth and their inquisitive nature can put your cat at high risk. This is especially an issue with kittens.

Here's what to do to:

1. Tape cords to the wall with electrical tape to help prevent your pet from gaining access to them.

2. Stow excess lengths of cord behind furniture or appliances, hidden from your cat's view. Cats are attracted to dangling cords and may think they are toys.

3. Block access to visible cords by wrapping flexible safety cable (available at hardware stores) around them. Tin foil works well too, or even a thicker model or extension cord (that is too big for a cat to chew on)

4. Place contact paper, sticky side up, in the general area of electrical cords to discourage your pet from approaching them.

5. Apply unpleasant-tasting substances to exposed cords. These could include bitter apple spray, menthol, toothpaste, mouthwash or lemon juice. Experiment with different flavors, since cats' taste aversions vary. You can also use Crittercord... It's a cord cover with a deterrent infused in it. Be sure to use a product for Cats though- similar products are available for killing rats so be careful what you buy!

6. Have favorite toys available to distract your pet from the cords, and rotate toys every few days to prevent boredom.

7. Keep your pet out of any room with exposed electrical cords until your furry friend loses interest in chewing on them.

My favorite solution is rubbing the cords with a bar of soap.

Moisten the soap, it makes application easier. The soap will last longer than the Bitter Apple sprays and is more effective than hot sauce (even habanero, which incidentally can get in the cat's eyes and be really painful). This works so well that you will probably see a reluctance to even reach for untreated cords, like a mouse or keyboard cord, where the same cat consistently would bite these before.

You need to understand that cats are smart creatures though they are also creatures of instinct. If you have something dangling around, such as a cord for a fan, your cat will naturally want to swat at it. She may even chew on it as it moves (literally moving your cat around like in old cartoons, just a bit slower).

Every interaction with your cat trains her. If she does something you don't like, and you pick her up and tell her she's naughty and put her in another room etc she's actually learning that if she does that bad behavior, she'll get attention from you! Which means she'll do the bad behavior more and more.

It's far better to ignore bad behavior and reward good behavior. To stop bad behavior interrupt her pattern with a squirt of water or use the above methods to make the experience not as pleasant as she thought it would be. (For example, chewing on cords might look like fun, but if they taste terrible, she'll soon learn that it's better to chew other things).

You should also know that problem behavior in cats is often a sign of stress, boredom or bad socializing when they were a kitten. To deal with stress and boredom provide lots toys, perches and places she can get away and relax and remember that love is the best medicine so give her plenty of attention.

If your cat is out of control due to bad socializing when she was a kitten, you can fix her behavior, though it may take longer. For example, giving her attention needs to be on HER terms...you may only be able to pat her for a small amount of time in one go, though over a few months she'll gradually allow you to pat her more and more as she gets used to it.

It's better to give her some attention and leave her wanting more then over doing it and only stopping when she scratches you and runs away.

Cats are amazing creatures, and once you understand their psychology, you'll get along with them like never before, enjoying perfect behavior from them and an even deeper bond.

Make Your Cat an Internet Superstar - Give Him His Very Own Webpage

Nowadays, just about everybody's "connected", as the internet spreads in popularity. Every interest has its own niche on the worldwide web, including cat fanciers. Catster.com is a website that will allow anyone who loves cats to admire others' pets, or show off their own. Here are a few highlights.

First of all, sign up for a free account at Catster. This enables you to set up your own webpage, or pages (you can have multiple pages for more than one pet). Take a look around the site to get accustomed to it. There are a large amount of cat themed groups you and your pet can join. Also, look at other members' beloved cats. It is fun to see the variety of shapes, sizes and personalities. It also gives you ideas on how people write their pet pages.

Make your pet pages, using your favorite photos of your cat doing funny things or just posing. You will be assigned a web address for this page, so you can give it out to friends and family to see. The prompt for the page will guide you to explain your cat's age, favorite toys, likes and dislikes, among other things. Your kitty can even have its own diary (written by you).

Notice the virtual cat treats you can give to yourself and other peoples' pets. The cat corral is to bookmark cats you find interesting, so you can see them again later. Inviting another cat to be friends will allow you to get to know other pet owners and tell them that you admire their cats. You will recieve emails there at the site from others wanting to be friends with your cat as well (unless you turn the email off in Preferences).

Also, if you have a cat you need to find a home for, make sure to mark your page to say so. There is an area you fill out if the kitty being profiled needs a new home. This is great exposure to other cat lovers and rescuers. Also, participate in the groups that are active in finding pets new owners, post the kitty's photo on there for all to see. The more you expose the cat's photo and tell his story, the faster you'll find him a forever home.

In general, this is a large site with many participants, and they are a dynamic group of cat lovers. They have a virtual cat show every year. along with other cat competitions. It's all done in good fun, and there is even another site for dog lovers called Dogster.com owned by the same people who own Catster. Give it a try and begin showing off your furry friends to the world, who would love to see them.