Comments on: Cables and cats and chewing, oh my!

Some ideas for safeguarding your cables from inquisitive kitties.

[markntravis]

Our neutered Orange Tabby "Oscar" likes to chew lamp cords and speaker cords. I purchased Critter Cords to protect my netbook power cord before he got the chance to chew it.
http://www.amazon.com/D-W-Innovations-crit-Crittercord/dp/B000EH2I5O/ref=pd_sim_dbs_hg_2

[lgrunin]

Wow--never saw that before. I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

[MadLyb]

The easiest solution. The cat lives outdoors and only comes in for supervised visits.

Might not work for everyone. ;^)

[Lerianis]

I've had my cats chew on wires before, and it was easy to get them to stop. Just give them something else to chew, like a toy mouse, squeaker toy, etc. and they won't chew your wires. This is also usually covered under warranties, so it's not a real problem.

[dvon1981]

just rub a little hot sauce on the cables, the cat will quickly learn not to chew on them

[AmbientShadow]

some theorize that cats are attracted to the higher current field between adapter and laptop.
others theorize that the cat is merely telling you it is hungry - without endangering itself.
others, like myself, think that cats are just delightfully evil and do it to increase their total cost of ownership, thereby increasing their resale value.

[umbrae]

I have had at least 4 cats at any one time my entire life and I have never had any of them chew on any cords. I have tons of electronics and never had a issue with cord chewing.

Maybe people are accidentally spilling tasty stuff on them....

[alawaiblowfish]

My cat loves apple power cords for some reason. She'll occasionally eat at the USB cords, but mostly if they move on or around her. She never did that to my old gateway laptop adapter, however has single-handedly (or pawdedly?) taken out a mac mini, a MBP, and my cousin's macbook. Her love for Mag-safe power connectors has been unrelenting and happens daily. I think she likes the resistance that the magnet provides. Cats are weird.

[playadel2001]

That cat looks like it is plotting the destruction of more electronics as we speak.

[danil34]

Get a $5 bitter spray from walmart in pet's section. Spray it on stuff you want to protect.
Bet ur cat or dog wont bother to touch them.

[Notsuchageekygeek]

I've lost 4 or 5 sets of headphones,

Maybe there is some cat plot here to take over our electronics.. that or just to get more human time.

[allend26]

I've lost an HDMI cable, component video cables and xbox360 headphone cables to my cats. A laperm and a skookum if you were wondering. I think the reason is they can abide no other distraction in the house. Certainly none that takes the focus of attention from them. They certainly spend enough time eying the mess of cables behind my entertainment center like a smorgasbord. Really, I'm just glad to hear it's not just me. Misery does, after all, enjoy company. The company of cable devouring cats.

[nothingsacred]

get rid of your cat!

[nothingsacred]

just kidding...take a cotton ball,dip it in vinegar or lemon juice and wipe down any cord you don't want Tabby chewing on.That usually will keep most cats at bay.I've also heard of people using beef grease,but that may attract the family pooch instead.

[Austin Quirk]

Well, I can certainly appreciate this problem. My cat, Olivia, chewed through two cell phone charger cables and the power supply cord to my Yamaha 88-Key Portable Grand, I still haven't come up with the dough to do anything about that one.

After talking to her vet about it when I took her in for her rabies shot, the vet noticed that Olivia had a lot of gingivitis and some gum inflammation as a result. She theorized that she may be biting on cords in an attempt to alleviate pain from it. So, we switched to dry food (wet food is really only for older cats or cats that need more water in their diet) and had her teeth cleaned by the vet (a procedure where they actually have to put them under) and TADA! No more cord-biting! Some cats just have a tendency to have dirtier teeth. If that's the case for your *****, you might have some luck with this suggestion. :-)

Otherwise try charging things like computers and phones in rooms you can shut-off from kitty.

[DaveMcLain]

My girlfriend's cat likes to do this sort of thing but her cat also likes to chew shoe laces and stuff like that on occasion. I heard a story one time about a utility company that was having trouble with squirrels chewing on telephone cables so they switched to a variety that included hot sauce or some other ingredient to deter them but there was a problem. After a while some of the squirrels developed a TASTE for the doctored cables and chewed them even more than before! Cats are fun!

[workshopmusic]

We have an orange tabby with a penchant for the tender cable varieties, like those on the hardwired end of a power adapter, or headphone wires. I bought rolls of split cable duct, also called wire loom; and also spiral cable wrap. Every cable in the house is routed through and bundled up in this stuff.

[jture]

I guess I've gotten lucky - I've never had a cable-chewing cat, and this post was the first time I've heard of the phenom. Mine are more interested in sitting on the keyboard, or on the keyboard tray (pick one), in order to keep me from working - er, I mean, in order to make sure I pay attention to them.

[justin_jackson]

well, in a perfect world the electricity would cut off when the insulation is pierced and therefore you would never have a problem with this again. darwinism at its finest

[AFCSC]

We use a product called: "Bitter Yuck!" manufactured by NaturVet, It is a no chew water based spray. Wipe or spray it on the cables and your cat will not chew on them. The active ingredient is 5% Rosemary. It is harmless to cats and people.

[iff2mastamatt]

That cat would make one tasty sandwich. Yummmm.

[mistermuggs]

ZOMG! I just bought three snake plants today, big enough for the floor. All of my other ones are hanging because of my neutered 9 year old cat wanting to chew them up! Then went out, and when I got back checked and they were all fine. :-) Then I turned on my computer and went to put on my $60.00 gaming headphones and just as I reached for them I saw that he had chewed the cord! He's done this to a phone cord and a mouse so this was it! I thought he was telling me something like, "No, I don't fancy your new plants, but I've been wanting to get at these for awhile." I just had to see if other people were having problems with this as well, and sure enough I am not alone, though my heart goes out to one and all. I will definitely not be splurging on my next set of headphones, because eventually they will be toast as well. I have a lot of inexpensive wires that he could have chosen as well, however from some of the previous posts, he was drawn to the most expensive one. AHHHHH!