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Chewing Cat

post #1 of 5
1/1/10 at 7:15am
Thread Starter 
We have a new rather young cat named Abby. She has been getting rather naughty lately. She's chewing on bags, boxes and books. Is there anything we could do to discourage this behavior? I've read articles about spray bottles, sticky tape, and so on.
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post #2 of 5
1/1/10 at 3:28pm
Boxes are one of the favorite toys for cats. I suggest you don't leave them out in the open. Do the same with books and bags.
Does Abby have enough toys to play with? Boredom could be a reason for her "naughtiness".
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post #3 of 5
1/1/10 at 3:56pm
Chewing on things is not naughtiness, it is normal behavior. Your kitten needs stimulation and appropriate things to chew on.

Give her her own cardboard box to chew on. When she chews it up, give her a new one. A sisal toy is a good chew toy, too. A thick rope of leather, like an old purse strap can be popular too, as can cat nip mice toys.

Make sure you are giving her plenty of interactive Game time, between you and her, every day. At least a half hour two or three times a day. Play string on a stick Games, throw and chase games, pounce and attack games (never use your hands, always some kind of toy)

She should have a cat tree of some kind, furniture of her own that she can leap on, climb and scratch on.

Keep things you don't want her to ruin put away, and put bitter apple on, or cover, wires.

welcome! what's your kitten's name?
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post #4 of 5
1/1/10 at 4:26pm
Welcome to TCS - hopefully you're in a slightly warmer part of MN than I am!

It is fairly typical for kittens to get into what we perceive as "trouble" or be "naughty". To them, it's all fun & games! It's up to us (the people) to keep them safe & happy. Sometimes when you have an only kitten, or a kitten with a not-so-playful adult, the kitten gets into trouble more due to boredom.

I suggest looking into some different types of toys for her to re-direct her from the bags, boxes, & books. My cats love Ba Da Beam. Interactive wand toys like Da Bird are great, too. I've never tried it, but there was a recent thread on how much someone like the Cat Dancer (or rather their cat liked it). I've also picked up some toys in the local Dollar Store that my cats love, I am a bit picky about Dollar Store toys as I want to be sure they'll hold up & the kitties aren't able to ingest any parts.
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post #5 of 5
1/1/10 at 4:31pm
Someone on here, I think it is LDG... suggests bendy straws... redirect the cat's chewing energy to something that is ok.
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