Cord chewing remedies?

[ataraxia]

I don't want my almost 2 year-old cat Dixie to get electrocuted, but at the same time, I can't live in complete darkness and without an alarm clock.

Any tips on deterring her from chewing/playing with electrical cords?

She chews everything including me and her pal Georgia, so it's hard to discourage her.

I give her paper to chew and toy mice and scratching posts. I either pick her up and physically move her to another location or clap or loudly say "NO!" when I observe her trying to play with something potentially dangerous. Unfortunately, she actually seems to gravitate towards loud noises.

I let my hand go limp and then take it away and ignore her for about a minute if she bites me when I'm petting her.

What more can I do?

 

[hissy]

http://home.flash.net/~stpshock/ for her chewing

For biting, push your hand gently towards her instead of relaxing it or trying to pull it away. This will confuse her and she will stop what she is doing, as well as disengage her teeth from your hand. Give her a substitute to bite, I use a beanie baby or a snugglekittie for my biters. Blow on puff of air gently in her face and tell her sharply one time NO- then ignore her for 5 minutes.

 

[ataraxia]

Thanks!

She does sometimes enjoy playing with a cat stuffed animal I leave out for her which is about her size. She enjoys wrestling with my other cat Georgia more, though.

I'm actually a bit afraid to blow in her face. Sometimes, when I pick her up, if she sees my face, she bites my chin hard. I assume this is because she just doesn't like being handled, so I try to do it as little as possible. I also let her sniff and lick my hand before I try to pet her, or she'll grab it and bite while rabbit-kicking.

Any tips on getting her to warm up to me? She's yet to sit on my lap (I've had her just over 2 months) and though she seems to like following me around, as I described above, she is ambivalent about affection.

I guess I mention this because her cord-chewing proclivity seems to be one of many manifestations of wild/destructive behavior. I think she's probably just a really active, mischievious cat who was raised feral and isn't as comfortable with people. We've made some progress though, so I'm hopeful that one day she'll sit on my lap.

 

[lotsocats]

Some cats just are not cuddlers. Of my six cats, only two like to sit on my lap! The others sit next to me and follow me around, but just don't like cuddling. So, Dixie may not ever be more cuddly than she is now.

Regarding the biting, have you read this thread which is chock full of ideas on stopping biting?

 

[momofmany]

Koko and Muddy were feral orphans. At 6 months old, Muddy is the most snuggliest kitten you ever wanted to meet. Koko won't sit in your lap for a minute. Same litter, same manner of raising them and opposite behaviors. Yep, some cats are just not snugglers.

 

[ataraxia]

Yeah, I figured that might be the case.

Oh well, she's a beautiful and entertaining gal, and we enjoy each other's company, even from a distance.

Her pal Georgia is my snugglebug, so I don't miss out on that aspect.

We're doing better with the cords today. I lock her out of the bedroom where most of them are when I'm away, and I think maybe she just needs more toys in here.

I'll check that thread about the biting. It's weird...She'd done a lot better on the biting until the last week or so.

Thank you all!

 

[superkitty]

In addition to the excellent suggestions above, I'd also suggest spraying the cords with something bitter tasting. I found several products in the pet stores that you can buy like natural 'Pet Botanics Indoor Bitter End' spray. That worked for me in addition to the verbal/physical removal of kitty from the cords.