A cat that likes to chew on electric cords is just asking for danger. Biting live electrical cords can not only burn, shock or kill a cat, but exposed wires caused from a cats chewing can also be a dangerous fire hazard in your home. As a cat owner, it’s up to you to try and reduce the temptation for your cat to bite into cords lying around in your house.
To help prevent your cat from chewing on cords try implementing the following:
- As a precaution make sure you don’t have an electrical cords where the insulation has been broken and the wires are exposed. If you do spot any cords that are badly chewed or damaged, make sure you stop using the cords immediately and replace them.
- Try to hide any cords from your cat so they can’t be enticed into chewing on them. Dangling cords are sure to draw the attention of your cat and it will probably think the cord is a toy and want to play with it.
- Secure cords to a wall or leg of a table using electrical cord covers or cord clips. If you have a bundle of cords from your computer, then you may want to use a flexible corrugated wire loom to provide full protection for your all wires. If you’re looking for something a little more attractive to hide all your cords then you may be want to go with a cord concealer from the likes of Belkin. If you’re on a budget then try using PVC pipe found at your local hardware store.
- Any cords that can’t be concealed should be coated with a substance that your cat will not like the taste of. Bitter apple spray found at your local pet supply store or a hot pepper sauce like Tabasco can work well. Depending on your cats taste preferences, one may work better than the other. I’ve used both and can say that they each have been good taste deterrents for stopping my cat from chewing on cords. Use gloves when handling bitter apple spray to avoid getting it on your hands and prevent it from getting into your mouth, trust me it tastes awful.
- Train your cat to understand that chewing on cords is bad by using a verbal queue such as "NO" whenever you see him starting to chew or bite on something he shouldn't. If “NO” doesn’t grab your cat’s attention then try smacking your hands together while issuing the verbal warning. If that still doesn’t work then get a water spray bottle and squirt your cat when he starts chewing on something. Cats don’t like water so this will most likely get your cat to stop.
- Make sure you give your cat attention, it may be that your cat is really just looking for someone to play with it. A laser pointer or a little furry mouse toy can be a great way to keep your cat entertained and help distract him from chewing on cords.