Question Of The Day, Sunday, June 24, 2018

[micknsnicks2mom]

good afternoon!!

as some of you may have read about here at TSC, our two girls are chewers... they love to chew things. i leave cardboard scratchers and boxes (that things have come in) around for them to chew bits off of, and they do enjoy that, find it very satisfying. but given half a chance, they'll chew on 'naughty' things, like cords/cables, plastic , and one of the girls shredded the shoelace on one of my slippers (i actually use inexpensive and two sizes up from my shoe size sneakers as slippers -- better arch support).

so we have literally a few hundred feet of wire loom in use, no plastic anything is ever left within their reach, but i still haven't found a solution for the shoelaces.

with these thoughts on my mind, for today's Question of the Day......



What 'naughty' things do your cat(s) do or get into? and, Have you found any solution(s) for them?



i'll start!

yup, wire loom is wonderful stuff! everything new here that has a cord, must have the cord 'wire-loomed'.

plastic bags or plastic films of any sort are carefully stored away here, and used ones are thrown in the trash -- the two small (like 3-4 gallon sized) trash cans are kept in the under sink kitchen cabinet, with the sugar canister in front of the cabinet doors (my little Snick was very smart, and could open cabinets with magnetic closures -- and i still keep kitchen canisters in front of the kitchen as well as bathroom sink, cabinet doors).

the shoelaces are something i'm still working on finding a solution for, though. i've tried silicone shoelaces, the 'no tie' ones. those weren't durable enough, snapped within a few weeks or so. so i had been pondering what i might try next. and a couple weeks ago, i thought of ball chain! you know, the chains that 'dog' tags are put on, and are also used for keychains and lighting/lamp 'pulls'. so i'll try ball chain, with connectors, as shoelaces. i'm fairly sure that the chain will be strong enough -- i bought #3 ball chain in yellow brass, which has an average tensile strength of 20 lbs. and the 'balls' aren't loose on the chain, so should the chain break there's no (well, with my girls...very little) danger of my cats ingesting them. plus it'll be strung through the shoelace holes in my (sneaker-) slippers, so it would be very unlikely to end up laying loose on the floor. we'll see how the ball chain works out!


How about you? What 'naughty' things do your cats do or get into?

 

[Katie M]

Funny you brought this up today. I've just had to buy yet ANOTHER cable for my iPod charger. Selene just won't leave the darn thing alone

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Funny you brought this up today. I've just had to buy yet ANOTHER cable for my iPod charger. Selene just won't leave the darn thing alone

your Selene was 'naughty' again, and chewed up another cable for your iPod charger!!! oh my!!

you might consider trying some wire loom. something like 3/8" or 1/2" diameter, to make it less...satisfying to chew on. those diameters are large enough that they'll fit in the cat's mouth, yet not leave much if any room to chew.

in my experience with my two dedicated chewers, once one cord/cable has been wire-loomed, they tend to move on and find another 'target' to chew on.

 

[mightyboosh]

Oliver loves to eat thin, clear and crinkly plastic wrapping. His favourite is the plastic film covering cigarette packets.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

Remy loves to chew on my blanket yarn that I use to make stuffed toys. I bought about 18 skeins of the stuff the other day and it is now in my closet to keep Remy from it. Remy also chews on the corners of my furniture, so when I tell him to stop he attacks my legs because he doesn't like being told what to do. He's such a brat sometimes.

 

[kashmir64]

The big one for Onsa is cabinets. So the double cabinets are bungeed and the single ones have a gallon of water in front.
Samai likes wires. I have a lot of wires. Between 3 computers, printers, tv's and the 50' internet wire running through my house (the wireless usb doesn't give me the mps that I need) I only had one option. A spray bottle. Don't hate me, it was either that or she got electrocuted. I don't have to use it anymore and she definitely isn't afraid of me. It was the lesser of two evils. Also paper. Anything paper (like sweetner packages, letters, etc..). I had to move my bedroom garbage into my bathroom and make sure there is no paper where she can get it. (but my cat ate my homework...honest)lol

 

[bodester413]

Bodhi loves to chew things. If I take my shoes off and don't stuff the strings back inside the shoe it's guaranteed they'll be cut into pieces within a few hours. LOL A few weeks ago he decided the little wooden plugs that cover the screws in my coffee table base needed to be removed. So I thought ok, I stuck them in when the varnish was still wet so they're kind of glued in there. Nope. He went around to every one of them and found 3 that were loose enough to be chewed out. I've covered any electrical cords he can get to with plastic tube. I replaced my computer keyboard and mouse with wireless ones after loosing a few of the wired kind.

 

[cassiopea]

Morgana has a bit of a history....chewing chargers to the point of needing to be replaced, opening cupboard doors to get into the food inside, exploring inside fireplaces where she would get completely covered in ash, knocking bottles down from counters for fun/to summon me, stealing the dogs chew bones etc

And I suspect some other things, like a mafia kingpin or owning a secret lair somewhere in the house in order to take over the world.

 

[Jayflower]

Hotaru will sometimes chew on paper or cardboard.

 

[DreamerRose]

Mingo has given up on the cords and cables because I put Chewsafe on all of them. I used close to 20 feet of it.

Due to spinal problems, my left leg is now almost a half inch shorter/higher than my right, so I use heel lifts to equalize the length of my legs. The ones intended for this are too expensive, so I use pads that are designed for heel spurs. Mingo loves those, and if I leave one in my shoe, he will chew it up during the night.

 

[debbila]

I'm really fortunate that Chicqui doesn't chew cords, wires, the mail, etc. However the little angel has a habit of licking everything, especially smooth things. She licks the outside base of the step-in shower, the top edge of my laptop, the side of the tray table, and of course my arms and hands. If I pet her when she's not expecting it she licks my hand, even reaching out a paw to hold it down if I move to stop her.

Her vet was right when he said he never saw a cat that's so much like a dog.

 

[MeganLLB]

I think both my cats are probably bored. They both push things just to watch them fall, Artemis chews plastic grocery bags, Luna used to chew my coffee table when I still had it, and both stick their heads through the blinds on the windows and have broken them.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Oliver loves to eat thin, clear and crinkly plastic wrapping. His favourite is the plastic film covering cigarette packets.

your Oliver loves to eat plastic wrappings, his favorite being the plastic film covering cigarette packets!!! that can be a tough thing for us to deal with!!

a ways back, i bought some large bottles of light/dark corn syrup and molasses. they came with a plastic tape around the tops/lids -- i assume, to help prevent leaking during shipping. as i was opening the shipping boxes, and in the process of storing them away properly, i set a couple of the large bottles on the kitchen floor -- with the plastic tape still on them. i went to get the bottle of molasses, and returned to the kitchen to find our Punky chewing on the edges of the plastic tape. i swear, my girl must have radar, that lets her know when anything plastic is within her grasp.

 

[mightyboosh]

i swear, my girl must have radar, that lets her know when anything plastic is within her grasp.

Yup, Oliver must have bought the very same radar.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Remy loves to chew on my blanket yarn that I use to make stuffed toys. I bought about 18 skeins of the stuff the other day and it is now in my closet to keep Remy from it. Remy also chews on the corners of my furniture, so when I tell him to stop he attacks my legs because he doesn't like being told what to do. He's such a brat sometimes.

your Remy loves to chew on your blanket yarn as well as the corners of your furniture!!! uh-oh!!

that's smart, to store your blanket yarn in the closet!

hmmm......kinda like the termite in the old Pink Panther tv show --

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

The big one for Onsa is cabinets. So the double cabinets are bungeed and the single ones have a gallon of water in front.
Samai likes wires. I have a lot of wires. Between 3 computers, printers, tv's and the 50' internet wire running through my house (the wireless usb doesn't give me the mps that I need) I only had one option. A spray bottle. Don't hate me, it was either that or she got electrocuted. I don't have to use it anymore and she definitely isn't afraid of me. It was the lesser of two evils. Also paper. Anything paper (like sweetner packages, letters, etc..). I had to move my bedroom garbage into my bathroom and make sure there is no paper where she can get it. (but my cat ate my homework...honest)lol

your Onsa is very good at 'breaking into' cabinets , while your Samai has been a dedicated wire chewer !!! oh dear!!

you've done really very well with teaching your Samai not to chew on wires!

and using bungees and a gallon bottle of water are great ways to prevent your Onsa from gaining access to cabinets!!

 

[raysmyheart]

Speedy is attracted to elastic bands or some strings. I am very careful to never have these lying around at all.

She does like to claw fruit and bread on the counters, never eats it, just leaves a little claw mark through the packaging or bags. Her mark of inspection.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Bodhi loves to chew things. If I take my shoes off and don't stuff the strings back inside the shoe it's guaranteed they'll be cut into pieces within a few hours. LOL A few weeks ago he decided the little wooden plugs that cover the screws in my coffee table base needed to be removed. So I thought ok, I stuck them in when the varnish was still wet so they're kind of glued in there. Nope. He went around to every one of them and found 3 that were loose enough to be chewed out. I've covered any electrical cords he can get to with plastic tube. I replaced my computer keyboard and mouse with wireless ones after loosing a few of the wired kind.

your Bodhi is a 'dedicated chewer', who loves shoe strings, electrical cords, and even the little wooden plugs that cover the screws in your coffee table base!!! oh my!!

*sigh*......they sure do keep us 'on our toes'!

 

[kashmir64]

your Onsa is very good at 'breaking into' cabinets , while your Samai has been a dedicated wire chewer !!! oh dear!!

you've done really very well with teaching your Samai not to chew on wires!

and using bungees and a gallon bottle of water are great ways to prevent your Onsa from gaining access to cabinets!!

When Samai first started chewing wires, I could usually distract her. But then she started on the plugs at the outlet and that's when I got scared enough to use drastic measures. I felt bad, but would have felt worse if she'd have died.

 

[bodester413]

your Bodhi is a 'dedicated chewer', who loves shoe strings, electrical cords, and even the little wooden plugs that cover the screws in your coffee table base!!! oh my!!

*sigh*......they sure do keep us 'on our toes'!

Yea it was weird. The table has been here since day one and all of a sudden he noticed those pegs and became obsessed with them.