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Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Penny Gnaws Wires

She has already rendered one mouse unoperational. We are scrambling to cover and disconnect cords and trundle them off into drawers and such but some things seem permanently exposed to her eager little kitten fangs, perfect kitten-proofing looks to be an unattainable ideal. Hoping she'll outgrow this, but will gratefully take any advice any fellow kitty lovers out there may have about felines who adore gnawing wires.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chewing is very common in teething kittens. Their gums are sore, and chewing is the only way to relieve the pain. Kittens should only be permitted to chew on toys, however. Ignoring chewing of furniture, wires, or other household items can cause the behavior to continue past the teething stage. Bring home a variety of toys in various textures to give a kitten plenty of options. If the kitten seems disinterested in the toys, try rubbing catnip on them to stimulate interest.

Some kittens will chew on items that smell like their owners. This is often an indication that the cat was separated from its mother too early in life.

Spraying an offensive-smelling substance in the areas where a cat chews can be extremely effective. There are several smells that cats dislike that won’t stink up your house.

1. Biter apple spray – available at most pet stores
2. Cayenne pepper and water
3. Orange oil – mix one part orange oil with three parts water
4. Mint
5. Rosemary



Dale Carrico said...

How very nice you are, anonymous! Yes, we've gotten Penny quite a few toys to chew on and to distract her with, and we were thinking of orange oil in one particularly problematic furniture spot (she seems to rather like mint, as it happens). I do wonder if she was separated from her mama too early, we got her at 3.5 months but the pet rescue folks had her over a month before we scooped her up ourselves. Thanks for all the tips.