Conference misery::feline_v1

What we do with our cat is we tap him on the butt everytime he tries playing
with the cord.  He's learning.  I guess we're lucky though, whenever he
does something he's not supposed to do (like scratch up the couch or some
other inanimate object), my 16 month old daughter yells "NO!!!" at him.  He
promptly goes scampering away.

				*** Kristy ***

The humane society suggests using a squirt bottle filled with water to
train cats not to do things.  When the cat tries something, you splooch
him/her with water and they're supposed to not like it.  Never put anything
else in the bottle, like soap, though.  I haven't tried this yet...not sure
how much faith I have in humane society wisdom after yesterday (see note 2).
Also, it might not be the best thing to do around power cords.  I wonder
what they do when I'm not home - is all this "bad kittie" stuff a show
for the humans?

No, I don't think the 'bad kitty' act is for us, I usually find my
apartment torn apart when I get home from work, I figure I got a
'brat'.  (He managed to get the tablecloth off the kitchen table 
yesterday.
					/robin

	I would suggest using a combination of the two approaches. That is, if 
you see her chewing on the cord, yell "NO!!", and spray her. (I think that if 
you aim so that you don't hit an outlet you'll be okay.) Eventually just the 
"NO!!" will be sufficient. I used this approach with my pair and it worked for 
them. 
	(BTW, I am sure that cats do have a conscience or some notion of right 
and wrong. If I hear something going on in the next room and go in, one of the 
cats [not always the same one] will slink out as fast as possible and hide 
behind the bed. [Their equivalent of standing in a corner.])

   Yeah, my cats have a conscience too.  They just don't use it.  

   Something else to try is to throw something at them while yelling no.
the thing you throw should be something that won't hurt them but will make 
noise to startle them like a magazine (its pages flap) or a set of keys.
   The rationale behind this is that it will discourage the cat from doing 
whatever wi thout making him associate you with the discipline.  (Squirting 
water also has that effect but if you've got bad aim or a cat that likes to 
play in water (Like mine do), you could have a very wet home before too long.)
Read the book "You can Train your Cat" by ...argghhh!!(I'll have to look it up)
It's got all kinds of discipline ideas for cats even ones that work while you 
are gone.  The authors are behavior consultants with a high success rate that
do work with bigs cats as well as domestic ones.  I'll look it up.  (I promise!
Really!  *some*day I'll will remember to bring it in and tell you about it.)

tlh

When Pepper was a kitten and did something she shouldn't, I would start
by taking a swat at her (I would normally miss) and SCREAMING "BAD CAT BAD CAT
BAD CAT . . ." as I chased her around the apartment acting like a complete
mad man. When (and if) I caught her, I would swat her on the side (not very
hard), put her down on the floor, and ignore her for a little while.

The cat decided that it was better to stay off the kitchen table, and not
chew cords than it was to put up with a raving human. After a while only
the words "bad cat" spoken in a soft tone were enough to make Pepper stop
whatever she was doing.

Steve

I also recommend a double approach.
	1. The proverbial Cat Adjustment Tool (sold as a plant sprayer)
	2. Loud noises at each offense that you can catch them at.

In addition, for the particular problem of electrical cords a bit
of advance thinking is in order. The best technique is to take a
paper towel and douse it liberally with lemon juice concentrate.
Then carefully wipe each cord with the dampened cloth. They will
(usually just once) sample the cord and immediately spit it out and 
lose interest.

    Robin,
    
    I didn't know I had that problem until my Buffy was treated for
    electric shock.  He had a bronchial type cough when I brought him
    to the Vet.  The XRays showed tearing - symptom of elec. shock.
    As to cures: I wrapped all my plugs up with the ties you get with
    freezer bags or trash bags.  I hid cords under rugs, under fixtures,
    etc.  You might try sprinking ceyenne pepper around the cords. 
    It probably won't stick unless you use vaseline or something sticky.
    Good luck!           .....Denise

I've heard warnings to never put an electric cord under a rug.

Probably because friction of walking over it wears out insulation,
and then a fire can start or someone can get electrocuted.

/Eric

    My cats had a tendency to play with the phone cord occasionally,
    but I didn't realize that they were chewing "real" electrical wires
    until one day I was rearranging some furniture and found really
    chewed cord.  Someone suggested smearing Tabasco sauce over the
    wires.  My guess is that it has worked, because now I never see
    them even try to touch the phone wires.  I also tried to hide the
    wires as much as possible, but it's mighty near impossible to do
    that.  Contrary to what I expected, the Tabasco sauce dried invisibly
    onto the wires.
    

    read about this and tried it.  It works.  Take the liquid dish washing
    detergent and lightly coat the electrical cords.  It dries fairly
    non-sticky and invisible and the kitten/cat stops chewing the cord.
    Now I need to stop the plastic trash bag munching.  The usual array
    - cat adjustment tool, a loud shout, or a tossed slipper - only
    end the current session; do not modify the behavior.
    
    Frank

    Re: .11
    
    plastic trash bag munching?  Where are these trash bags?  Being
    used as trash can liners in the kitchen?  My neighbor uses a couple
    of layers of aluminum foil to line the bottom of her kitchen trash
    can -- not quite as effective as plastic all over the inside, but
    it has the added advantage ofbeing better environmentally, as most
    plastic lasts forever.
    

    Robin,
    
    Try rubbing vasoline on the wires.  It leaves an awful taste in
    the cats mouth but it won't hurt them, and they will stay away from
    the wires.  It worked for me!!
    
    					Kathy
    

    re .13
    
    Wouldn't work in my house.  All my kittys love that stuff.  Lucky (?)
    for me my crew ignores wires.  They save their energy for bigger
    things such as the destruction of book shelves and plant stands.
    
    Marion
     

    In our house we save empty paper towel tubes and string the cords
    through them.  Works well for us.  The kittens don't even know that
    there is anything under there worth chewing on.  Of course it doesn't
    add much to your decor...
    
    Jo