Chewing on brushes?

Hi!

I just adopted two 10 month old kitties- who were by all accounts well taken care of by their former owner. They're long haired, so we immediately went out and bought a wire slicker brush for them.

But they won't stop chewing it! I've known cats to chew brushes before, but is it safe for their gums to chew wire brushes? And is this maybe a sign that they're used to having their teeth brushed, and want that feeling again?

It's adorable, but I don't know if I should stop them from doing it.

Help please!

Rowan chews on his brush, but it's plastic, not wire. And he's actually stopped since he finished teething.

I suppose spraying it with sour apple is out of the question, though. Is the issue that they'd rather chew on the brush than be brushed, or that they treat the brush as a toy after brushy time? Rowan likes to sniff the brush, and he'll nip at it a bit before he lets me brush him, and both Bella and Rowan play with it as a toy after.

I wouldn't let my kittens chew on a wire brush. Even if it isn't making them bleed, it can't be good for their gums or the enamel on their teeth.

They actually don't seem all that interested in being brushed. Maybe I have the wrong brush? They're long haired- which is why I got the wire brush. This is my first time with long-haired cats.

I don't know about hair brushes, but Alfie has a tothbrush he uses as a teether! The brush has a pliable rubber handle and he can really bite hard withour hurting himself, he loves it

It seems like it may be potentially dangerous. If one of the "bristles" should come lose it could be swallowed and poke into something inside the kittens.
My Toby wants to chew on the plastic bristles of my broom....so when i`m not using it,( where I can control him doing that) I keep it in the broom closet out of his reach. I think I`d keep the brush safely away from them when you are not using it, and tell them "NO" when you are brushing them and they try to chomp.