Using foil to teach kittens where not to go

LeafyLizzie

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Hey all! We have adopted a new kitten! Her name is Shelby and she is about 6 1/2 weeks old now. We have started allowing her to explore the house. We would like her to stay away from the TV & playstation, as she likes to tug the wires and we're also nervous she could knock something over. Our living room is open floor plan, so unfortunately we can't really use cat gates to keep her out of the room. However, we have started putting aluminum foil around the edges of the coffee table and other electronics we don't want her to touch. It seems to be working, as she seems to dislike the sound it makes when she touches it. I read that eventually the cat will learn and you can take the foil away. I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried this and might know how like it might take for her to learn to stay away? Or if anyone has any other tips for keeping a kitten away from certain areas? As she gets older, will it be easier? Thoughts?
 

Mr. Meow

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Bubble wrap can be a good deterrent, along with citrus scented things (air fresheners, cleaning products etc).
 
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LeafyLizzie

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Thanks everyone for your assistance. We have tried everything, but to be honest nothing seems to be working :confused2: The foil worked for a few days, but then she seemed to figure out it's not a threat and she was no longer scared of it. We tried bubble wrap, lemon juice, nothing seemed to deter her. We have now set up a foam barrier around the TV and sprayed it with cat repellent spray. It worked for a few days, but now she has discovered she can jump over it :bawling:Does anyone have any other thoughts are are we just doomed to have our cat forever inexplicably attracted to our TV and maybe we just need to accept it :runningcat:o_O

Would value any advice from the community. Thanks!
 

LTS3

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With kittens you need a lot of patience to teach them what is ok for them to touch / explore / etc and what is not. Keep it up with a firm NO and redirection to a toy. Kittns are too curious for their own good but will eventually outgrow the behavior. This TCS article has tips:


If cord chewing is a problem, this article has tips: How To Stop Problem Chewing In Cats – TheCatSite Articles Tuck cords away as much as possible and use cord protectors for cords that are exposed.

Is the tv wall mounted? If it's just sitting on furniture, you need to add safety straps so the kitten doesn't get injured (or worse) if the tv somehow topples over while the kitten is messing around with it.
 
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