Cat likes chewing zips, cables, flip flops...

[luciafernanda]

My one year old cat really likes chewing things. I'm sure it's a texture thing. She likes chewing flip flops, which I thought was harmless until I found she'd thrown up one day and it contained bits of pink foam, so now I hide them. But she's started chewing on cables. This is a recent thing. Like my Macbook charger, my phone charger, plugs, anything with zips. I try to hide and unplug everything before I go out but she'll just find something new. Right now she's chewing on an old make up case (the corner where the zip is), but she's right next to me so I can supervise. She's an indoor cat and I've bought her cat grass (but she ate it all so now it's growing again hehe), I bought her a chew toy for dogs (she wasn't interested). Any suggestions?

I thought maybe anxiety, but she doesn't really have any other symptoms of it, and there haven't been any changes at home that could trigger it, but it's getting worse. Even though I hide things, she finds new things to chew, and I'm worried one day I'll come home and she'll have choked on something whilst I was out :/

 

[vball91]

Try putting bitter apple spray on things that are dangerous for her to chew. I don't know why some cats do this, but it is a dangerous habit and should be discouraged immediately.

 

[luciafernanda]

Thanks, I'll do that.

Are there any chew toys that cats are interested in? I got her a rubber one for dogs. I thought she'd like the rubber because it's similar to my flip flops and the material on the plugs she chews but she's just not interested.

It seems to be getting worse. She always liked flip flops but never cables :/

 

[Kat0121]

maybe some catnip spray on the rubber toy will spark her interest in it

 

[southern belle]

I too have a one year old chewer.  Actually, he had abdominal surgery at 3 months of age to remove the 10" of shoe string with the plastic tip that he ate out of my sneaker.  Luckily, even after 12 hours, it was still in his stomach and had not moved to his intestines, the real danger zone.

If your baby is like mine, all of his toy birds, mice, etc. are tail-less. When my husband takes him out for his evening walk (yes, my big 6', 200 lb. man is led around by an 11 lb. cat), Java will eat with glee every bird feather he finds!

Java is more interested in strings and thankfully, not cables. However, we have "string proofed" the house.  This includes stuff as basic as not throwing super dangerous dental floss in an open waste basket and cutting off the handles of all paper bags he might find.  But try as we may, stuff happens.  I dropped a suede string bookmark on a patterned Oriental rug. Java found it before I did.  For two weeks, I found, piece by piece, all 15" in his litterboxes. 

As I have heard, "once a chewer, always a chewer".  Here's some ideas to start your hunt for safe alternatives because you won't know what "trips his trigger" and what doesn't:

1.  Regular drinking straws

2.  Pet Store:  a.)  I found a 50 cent cat toy at a pet store that is made of fine weaved plastic and looks somewhat like a wide straw or a Chinese finger trap toy. Java has already frayed the ends from chewing but none of the toy is missing. b.)  At another store I found chew sticks just for cats. He has batted around and ate a couple so far but I supervise since he does chew and swallow.  c.)  I've been looking for a cotton weaved/braided, thin, tug/pull toy for dogs but have only found too thick ones.  d.)  Real bird feathers but not so big that they're a choking hazard.

3.  Hardware Store:  Go to the rope/chain section and see what's available to purchase by the foot or yard. I bought sisal rope to wrap at 4"x4"x3' scratching post.  You should also see the "almost indestructible" bright yellow or orange rope that probably made of some type of weaved plastic or fiber.  Other type of rope may be also be available.

The key is to think "outside the box" for alternatives that are cheap, non-toxic and unbreakable or non-choking because very little is made for specifically for cats.  And, what is made for cats, has yet to satisfy my Java's fetish!

 

[luciafernanda]

Ahhh, thanks Southern Belle! Those are some great suggestions. Lucia doesn't seem to throw up that much - she has short hair and doesn't shed much so not many hairballs, and she's only thrown up worrying objects twice - one bits of flip flop, the other time the plastic strip on the edge of the bottle cap (whatever that is called). So I do worry about what's in her stomach that she HASN'T thrown up. I try to throw away or hide everything she might chew, but it's easy to miss things when she'll be interested in ANYTHING.

Just out of interest, what were his symptoms when he'd eaten the shoe string? Or did you just see he'd done it and took him to the vet straight away?

And yeah, if her toys have a feather on it, she'll chew it off in seconds!

I found those things in the cat shop!! I bought some but they've all disappeared (I think under the bed, not in her stomach). She didn't chew them but she did love them. I'll get some more. I'll ask them if they have any chew toys for cats. Or go and try some different dog chew toys. She likes chewing toys with plastic sticks on them which I think are generally pretty safe - she's mauled the plastic handle on fishing rod toys but I've never noticed bits missing.

Would cats like a dog bone? Would it be safe for them?
 

And Kat, the catnip spray is a good idea, I'll try that.

I'm wondering if maybe she's chewing so much because she's bored? We live in a studio apartment with a terrace that I used to let her out on, but she kept getting into trouble. I feel bad she doesn't have much space to run around in but we're moving to my parents' house in a couple of months and there she'll have tons of space, plus two brothers to play with. So I'm hoping she'll relax her chewing then :/

I never heard "once a chewer, always a chewer" before, but it's a little concerning :/

Anyway, thanks for your help.

 

[southern belle]

Sounds like you're trying very hard to make her happy. She's one very lucky and loved girl!

The night Java ate my shoe string, I had just come home, removed my shoes, and found the string gone 20 minutes later. I called the vet's after hours emergency number and was told to bring him in the next morning. They x-rayed him but the string couldn't be seen. So, we had to make a very difficult decision. We could "wait and watch" for him to pass the string and hope that it didn't bind his intestines (cutting off blood supply) or that the plastic end didn't puncture his intestines (causing internal bleeding and all kinds of nasty bacteria to be released). If either happened, he would need immediate emergency surgery (and still might not survive). Or, we could have the surgery done that day and hope that the string was still in his stomach since intestinal surgery is more difficult and carries more risk. Because we didn't know if he swallowed it whole or in bites and because of the hard plastic tip, we had the surgery. Very successful but my poor little boy will forever have a "spay swag". Even though he was only 3 months, the muscles never tightened. Once he hits his teenage years, I bet he's going to ask "Mommy, can I get a tummy tuck? The other toms tease me."

After Java ate both the shoe string and the suede string bookmark, I saw absolutely no change in behavior or appetite and he never threw up. That's the scary part! Our vet told us that they don't give cats anything to make them vomit after eating a foreign object because of the potential damage to their throat and possible obstruction of airways.

However, we did "wait and watch" after the suede bookmark because it was very soft and because from the shoe string nightmare, we learned that he chewed and swallowed in bites instead of all in one piece. And like I said, I did eventually search and find all 15" in his litter box stools. (Oh boy, that was 2 weeks of fun!)

As for dog chew bones, I don't. I read something somewhere about them being a choking hazard. However, I give mine raw, NOT cooked, chicken bones. Search the Raw and Home cooked forum for bones and you'll get a ton of information.

Java's chewing drive isn't from boredom. He'll start chewing on my shoe strings while they're still on my feet! But your concern about boredom is valid especially since she lost her terrace. That engaged her heightened senses of sound and smell.

Do you have any floor space to give her? If so, take a few shipping boxes and some long pieces of brown craft paper or non-toxic wrapping paper and pile them up randomly on the floor. Next, take 5-10 treats and hide them in and around the boxes and paper. Then, watch her hunt! Java was scared at first but now he loves his noisy paper and boxes. I've seen him hunt for the treats for an hour at a time. Even when there's no treats or toys to be found, he still runs and jumps in his playhouse. Some mornings I find 4' long pieces of craft paper in another room and boxes pushed 10' away. I call that cheap entertainment!

Do you have anyone who could loan you a dog cage until you move? Sitting on the terrace was hunting for her. Now that our kids are in college or have moved for jobs, Java is our baby. He even has his own outdoor tunnel and tent available 24/7 through a garage window. And if we forget and close the garage door, uh oh! He WILL hunt us down and demand obedience!

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• southern belle
• Jun 30, 2014

All hail the king, Java! We are just his lowly servants.

 

[catmum22]

I will also try the non toxic paper as they have a large cardboard box under the stairs it can go in

 

[luciafernanda]

thanks southern belle i don't have a ton of floor space but i'll do the box and paper thing, think she'd love that

java looks so cute sat in his little tent, haha.

 

[catmum22]

Where can you get bird feathers from, and my cats are enjoying the straws

 

[southern belle]

Catmum, I've never bought feathers since we find plenty during Java's afternoon walks through the woods. But you might be able to get a pet store to save you the ones they find when cleaning the cages of the birds for sale. If you live near a zoo or aviary, it wouldn't hurt to ask. Also, do an internet search. You never know what you might find.

Did you try the boxes with paper? As you can see, Java and his neighborhood buddy Tom (who has adopted us) love their "playroom"! Who needs a dining room these days? The banana box (in the middle; free from the grocery store) is the best because it's sturdy and has holes for little paws. The kraft paper is almost in shreds but I found that I can order a roll of shipping paper on Amazon for less than $10.

The boxes and paper were originally from shipments received for Christmas presents that were left on the floor while wrapping. Fast forward seven months...I'm restacking them 3 times a day.

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• southern belle
• Jul 9, 2014

 

[catmum22]

My cats have taken on my style and have came a lot more snuggly and lazy I still need to try paper and probably out holes in the box they also love bottle lids, my hardest part is knowing it's good to rotate toys but there's a lot they don't like and in worried that if I take away something and they miss it they will act out or not have enough to keep them entertained although it's winter so their even lazier