Kitty Bad Habits - cord chewing

Humans have bad habits, so do pets.
Lets check out ...



First off - cord chewing can lead to electrical burns, electrocution, singed whiskers, singed fur - I may joke about the annoyance of having to replace cords but the animals safety is much more important.

My cats are very good, they do not chew on cords.
The foster cats...well, considering the amount of different felines that spend time in this house - there have been a few chewers.
Don't worry! None of them have hurt themselves. 
 We also inform the people adopting.

While they are in my care I try and help them stop - they learn to do it when I am not around.

I wonder if the phone cord and laptop cord companies are in cahoots. 
Do they lace these damn things with catnip????
Hey Apple, why not create a cord that repels felines?

Why?
Why do these furry jerks chew cords?

Good question.. yet so far I can not find an answer. Just suggestions.
Geez google... can't you read!

I found - Boredom, and Pica

I will speak in regards to the current meow causing issues - She shall remain nameless.. just kidding - It's Coda.

Boredom I can understand - except these meows are not bored.
I asked.
I have a plethora of toys, scratching posts, tunnels, wands, treats, catnip, oh and there are two 9 week old kittens in the room with them - boredom is unpossible.

Pica - that is basically eating non food things.
A dog will at times eat ...well anything. It may be hard to distinguish dog behaviour from Pica.
I think one way would be noticing if there are certain things they eat over and over...like socks.
Yes, there are dogs who feel the need to eat socks! This can be very serious because of blockage issues.

Cats generally are not random object eaters.
Yet, there are many incidences of cats with pica.
What the hell did I just say?
It would be simpler to tell if a cat has pica because they are not known for eating random things.

Except she isn't eating the cord.. she is chewing it!

I will have to go with my go to response - because cats are weird. 

Okay, so how can this be stopped? 
Or, how can we make the cords less tasty. 

There are actually many ways to deter a cat from chewing on cords.
Face it, it's your own damn fault. You could have stopped this..before having to replace your laptop cord.
Truth is, I saw her doing it.. I just never got around to doing what I was suppose to.. until my laptop cord was visually mangled.

Then I found my printer power cord... it had met the same fate.
It had to be stopped.
She was crossing over into plugged in territory.
Oddly enough... someone had unplugged the power bar which had the printer plugged in. 
Could they be that clever?
Or did they fall off the dresser and manage to pull out the plug on their way down.
I will go with the second option. 
I am glad she was not hurt.
Not so happy about my cords.

Options:

CritterCord

Basically it is a tube sliced down the side - you cover your cord with it - it is infused with a citrus scent that should help deter the cat from chewing.
They do not like citrus.
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I found a site that may possibly have an economically sound way to cover cords.
Buy in bulk!
Find something that works.
Many different items that can be used to cover cords of any size.
Cable ties and more
If you like the braided sleeving - keep in mind that these are very similar to a cat toy.. which makes me want to buy this to make cat toys.
The stainless steel sleeve may be rather difficult to work with, and the ends would be pokey.
If you are interested in a product I suggest emailing the company and asking if these would be usable for 'baby safeing' your home office.
I think they would be more inclined to consider certain hazards that may not come to mind when thinking about a pet.

*****

AliExpress carries these cord covers.
They look like the old telephone cords.

Not old enough to remember phone cords.
WHAT? PHONES HAD CORDS?

Yes they did. 
People use to sit and talk.. or if they walked, they had a leash. 

Cats like those phone cords too.
So.... not sure if that would work.

Anyone else see the irony is covering our iphone cords with what looks like old telephone cords?

******
Today I bought Braided PVC Tubing.
I sliced it down the side myself.

So far it has been effective
I need to find a smaller size for my phone cord.

It may be available in other colours.
Look familiar?

It is basically a hose.
.49 cents a foot.
 Got it at Home Hardware.




They may attempt to chew it...but it's thick.
You will know long before kitty can work its way though.
Unless you have Cujo kitty.
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Other methods include:
Spraying the cord with Bitter Apple - you can find these in pet food stores.
Spraying with some sort of citrus - though I am not sure what.. and I am not sure if would be safe.

You best bet is to hide the cords.
Don't trust a previous chewer to just stop cold turkey.
Sometimes they can't be trusted.

Keep your cats entertained. Play with them.
They will get in less trouble if they are sleeping.

Sebby just happened to lay down beside an extension cord... he wanted nothing to do with it... but it made for a good picture.

Next up - Kitty lid thieves.