Is this seeking attention?

Sophie has a habit of trying to get my attention by biting on a cable and it works!!.

She only does this if i'm in bed reading and as soon as i call her she stops, but the minute i start reading again she starts biting the cable again.

I then distract her by chasing the laser pen around the room and she's fine then even though she's had a runaround and a night time feed.

Can they be attention seekers?!

Definitely!

Nano does a couple of small nuisance behaviors to get my attention -- it is actually an invitation to play or a request to share "quiet time". (Quiet time is where I sit on the couch reading a book, and she can be in my lap or lick/groom my arms or do headbumps into my legs.) So she will misbehave in minor ways to get my attention and let me know she feels neglected.

I agree, they can put two and two together and get that if they do A - you will always do B - and to them that is a good thing!

Yes, definitely, as the others said. But not something you want to encourage. She might start favoring power cables and bite through and electrocute herself. Cable ties and duct tape are a couple ways to discourage cable chewers.

I've just stuck double sided sticky tape around it, so that should stop her!, now i'll see what else she has in store for me

Gandalf is horrible about seeking attention. He has a small list of things he does that he knows tick me off so he gets attention. First is running his paws down the blinds in the bedroom. Clack Clack Clack. Second is thumping the living room lamp against the wall. And third is walking through the apartment meowing as loud as he can. I knows where I am but since this normally happens when I'm in bed it wakes me up from a dead sleep.

I am getting rid of the lamps he likes to play with though. So I'm sure he'll figure out something else to get attention.

Originally Posted by rosiemac

now i'll see what else she has in store for me

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Ha ha --- yeah, that's what cats are really good at!!

I had a terrible time when I first got Billy and his sister with him chewing cords. I think it might have made him feel safe, but it was horrible! He chewed through a lamp cord, telephone wire, a mouse cord and started working on our broadband cable! We actually took the mouse back to the store and said it was deficient and got it replaced! We didnt notice the kitty teeth marks until we were in the store--we didnt realize how bad his chewing habit was!

He would work through coverings like duct tape, so we used a combination of foil and jalepeno juice mixed with cayenne pepper to keep him off. He stopped pretty quickly after that, and he has since gotten very comfortable and turned into a lovebug!

Originally Posted by rosiemac

I've just stuck double sided sticky tape around it, so that should stop her!, now i'll see what else she has in store for me

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As long as she isn't like Ophelia who actually LIKES the sticky side of tape. Seriously, she had a BALL when we have unpacked from our moves, and she definitely prefers the tape balls from the boxes sticky-side-out. Oh yeah, and if we leave packing tape on a roller out...she will chew on the exposed part. Silly girl!

If the tape doesn't work, try Bitter Apple, or a touch of lemon juice or vinegar on the offending cord.

Wow mine just yells mommy... till i find her and hang out.. I to say bitter apple or lemon juice if the tape doesnt work..Do you girls have a toybox they can get things out of??

I've heard my vet talk about that bitter apple!. I take Rosie for her yearly checkup next week so i'll ask about it, but so far the tape has worked


Do you girls have a toybox they can get things out of??

Pfffttt i could set my own cat toy shop up! They have two toy boxes that i keep switching toys around.

LOL! Aren't they just brats!?? Mine do various things like that. Such stinkers! lol

Little Sophie sounds like she is turning into a little madam! Yeah, it does sound like attention seeking! Guinness will insist on climbing on top of the fridge freezer and then hang over the top to tap on the fridge magnets until I tell him off! He will run off then 5 mins later, he will be doing exactly the same thing! lol

She's been up to mischief since she was born!

I'm waiting for that jug to go next!

I love it when they c ock their head like that and tap their paws on the object of desire! hahaha

Sophie rocks!

(it wouldn't let me type c ock as one word! haha )

Sierra also practices this attention seeking behavior! Any time my attention is diverted from her for even a short time, she begins talking, talking, talking! Then, she'll get up as high as she can, usually the refridgerator and yowl as loud as possible! She also will find something to shred, one of her boxes, a tissue, a napkin, and will shred it all over the place or will go around strategically knocking items off the table, the cabinet..
Our babies just must have our undivided attention at all times!

Gilly i have that jug filled with pot pourri, so in that picture she's pulling bits of it out and watches them drop to the floor

Originally Posted by rosiemac

Gilly i have that jug filled with pot pourri, so in that picture she's pulling bits of it out and watches them drop to the floor

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Without even seeing all of her face, I can tell that she is concentrating! awwwww!

I have these pebble stones on the top of a large plant pot in the living room - Guinness does exactly the same thing to get them out! Once out, he bats them all over the place!

btw, is that a wine rack inside your fireplace? I was thinking of doing something similar with the "hole" that I have in mine!

It is!. With it being an old house, they must have had a fireplace there at some point, so they blocked it off and built a small cupboard inside it so the wine rack fits nicely on top

Heres a better picture of it

What a clever idea! Thanks for the pic

I am either going to fill the hole with logs or get a wine rack made (by my dad, Bob the Builder )