In any case, it's worth figuring out why your cat chews on wires. This will help break your pet's bad habit.
Main reasons
Most often, there's no hidden purpose behind chewing wires. The animal is simply playing, especially if it's a young cat or kitten.
For young kittens, biting everything around them is another way to explore the world. The main thing is to ensure this innocent curiosity doesn't become a habit.
Please note that felines not only catch their legal toys but also chew them. Each pet has its own preferences: some prefer balls or mice, others fishing rods or balls of yarn. Many cats enjoy playing with objects not intended for this purpose, including wires.
However, in some cases, a cat's desire to chew on a cable may indicate problems:
- Lack of attention. Like small children, animals that lack affection sometimes attract their owner's attention in negative ways—by knocking over flower pots, scratching furniture, or chewing on wires.
- Dental problems. If your pet is constantly fed only soft food, they may develop a tendency to chew on everything to clean their teeth.
- A deficiency of certain substances in the body. In the wild, animals compensate for vitamin deficiencies by eating grass. In apartments, they search for minerals in the most unlikely of objects. Cables have a distinctive odor that some pets may find attractive.
A cat chewing on cords is dangerous not only to electrical appliances but also to itself. If the device is plugged in, the animal can receive a serious electric shock.
What to do
First of all, let's figure out what you should never do:
- Scaring and punishing. Hitting a cat isn't just cruel. It's far worse—it's useless. While carrots work well with felines, sticks don't work at all. Your pet will associate the punishment not with the wires, but with you personally, and will fear you.
- Repel them with a spray bottle of water. This advice can be found on cat-owner forums. But simple common sense dictates that using water near electrical appliances is not the best solution.
Methods for combating wire eating arise from the causes of this phenomenon:
- Provide your pet with a sufficient number and variety of toys. Gently discourage any attempts to chew on wires and immediately distract them with a fishing rod, light pointer, or mouse.
- Diversify your animal's diet.
- If you have a kitten or young cat in your home, try not to leave hanging wires within easy reach.
- To speed up the weaning process, use special deterrent sprays. These can be purchased at a pet store. These are easy to use on Christmas lights, headphones, and so on. Essential oils of lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, or any citrus peel (rubbed on the cable) are also effective.
- If repulsive odors don't work, it might be a good idea to make the cord tasteless. Cats don't tolerate bitterness, so you can rub the offending toy with bitter aloe vera juice.
If your furry friend has found a new hobby and started chewing on wires, you can always train them out of it. However, cat owners should be vigilant, as this dangerous habit could indicate underlying health issues.
