Conference misery::feline_v1

    doesn't look like anyone knows what this I guess.  Oh well.
    
    Holly

    How old is the kitten??  Usually, they teeth at 3-5 months, or so.
    If the baby still has those incredibly sharp kitten teeth, then
    it might be teething.  Otherwise, you might just have a chewy kitty
    on your hand, just like Jan's Bailey the Chewy Kitty.  She might
    just enjoy chewing, and I guess I'd get her some chew toys, like
    the ones available for dogs.  Then starts the training of when she
    chews on something forbidden, correct the behaviour by re-directing
    her efforts to her toys.
    
    Does she chew on things like blankets and sweaters??  Honey loves
    the taste of wool and will still chew on these things if they are
    left around.  Dry cleaning of the article usually leaves a taste
    he dislikes, so he leaves those alone.  You might also look at the
    note called Bailey the Chewy Kitty (I can't remember which number).
    
    Maybe Samantha and Bailey could get together!
                               
    Mary

    Thanks Mary,
    
    	Samantha is about 4 months old.  That is why I thought it was
    teething.  But I have never seen a CAT do this.  My Dogs have but
    never our cats.  I'll tell my sister to get her a chew toy tonight.
    
    Holly

    Sweetie and Holly both like to chew on the corners of books.  (There's
    nothing wrong with their teeth or diet.)  The advantage of this
    is if I lend a book to someone and they're forever getting it back
    to me, I can say, "[cough, cough] I believe that's my book, isn't
    it?  Notice the tooth marks in the corner...."  I seem to recall
    hearing that Siamese in particular tend to chew fabric, but I don't
    recall hearing of a "cure."  I vote for sacrificing some chewed
    object into a safe chew toy form.
    

    I had the same problem with my Siamese when she was a kitten. I
    accidentally stumbled on a technique that worked to stop her biting.
    I can't tell you why she did it exactly but it seemed to be that
    she was working off energy....so...try this...take one of those
    fuzzy slipper socks and stuff it real tight with polyester stuffing.
    Get the large size so that it will stretch into a long tube shape
    and is long enough for her to wrap her paws around and "play fight".
    Then using strong thread sew the top tight. Then gently tap your
    kitten with it on her chest or belly and generally she should get
    the message that she can play fight with it. Also keep catnip away
    from her as my Siamese gets very hyper around it still at three
    years of age.
      good luck, let me know if it works
       FG
    

If the kitten is teething, a very good toy to make, which is soft so it
won't hurt the gums, is to braid an old pair of pantyhose.  Not only is it
soft and squishy, but it's long enough to drag around, and it stretches.

Regards,
J.

    My siamese cat loved to chew things also when she was a kitten.
    She loved all my plastic flowers in the house and consequently,
    I had to remove them.
    
    She also chewed on my electric blanket cord.  The way I found out
    was one night after I had put on the electric blanket, I jumped
    into bed expecting to find it nice and warm.  However, due to
    Selina's chewing on the electrical cord, it never got warm.  We
    were lucky that the blanket didn't start a fire and that she didn't
    get hurt.  
    
    She also chewed off the plastic cord that attaches the telephone
    handset to the base.  I went to answer a phonecall one day and
    picked up the receiver to find that the phone was still ringing.
    
    She went through this phase for about 2 months.  After that she
    seemed content that she had chewed on everything that was plastic
    in the house.  She doesn't do it anymore.
    
    We just had to mark it down to trials and tribulations in being
    owned by her.

    Well, better late than never with this reply.
    
    I talked to a Cat Behaviorist at the Vallejo show March 5-6.  She
    says that they don't know what causes the chewing problem.  This
    problem is a vet's nightmare if kitty is swallowing what he/she
    chews (like Bailey).  The Behaviorist thinks that it may be
    hereditary, if the mom cat did it the babies pick it up too.
    
    The only advice she could give me is to keep everything picked up.
    
    In case you're wondering why I asked about this...Bailey is my chewy
    kitty.  We've made some progress in her chewing.  In other words,
    I'm better about picking things up and knowing where she is and
    what she's doing.
    
    Bailey has preferences on what she'll chew.  Her list of items keeps
    increasing.  She started with shoe laces and moved on...bra straps,
    underwear, nylons, tights, my grandmother's afghan, washrags, the
    flannel I used in the bottom of her carrier.
    
    I used to get soooo frustrated and yell at Bailey all the time.
    Giving her the chew things didn't work, she batted at them but never
    chewed on them.
    
    We've come a long way.  Now when I catch her chewing something I
    very calmly pick her up, disengage the material from her mouth and
    calmly put her in the cat carrier (there's a piece of carpet in
    there now so she won't chew it).  I walk away and leave her there
    for a while.  When I come back I let her out but still ignore her.
    After a little while of this or when she comes to see me I'll pet
    her and talk to her and tell her how good she is.  I've noticed
    since I've been doing this that she now responds to "NO" when I
    catch her heading for something to chew.  In fact, we're getting
    so good at this that now when I say "NO" she goes and puts herself
    in the carrier.
    
    I try very hard to keep everything out of her reach.  I've had to
    modify my behavior.  The other day tho' Amelia let Bailey into my
    closet and I heard some noises and checked the closet...there was
    Bailey on her tiptoes with each front paw hooked on to the sleeve
    of one of my sweaters chewing on the end of the sleeve.  Luckily
    it was a sweater I haven't worn and didn't intend to wear anymore.
    Now I'm going to get childproof closet closer things (what ever
    those are called).
    
    Spraying "Bitter Apple" on the things your sister's kitty decides
    to chew will work for a while.  That is until it wears off and needs
    to be resprayed.  I may darken the color on some fabrics though.
    
    Hope this helps your sister.
    
    Jan
    
    

    > In fact, we're getting so good at this that now when I say "NO"
    > she goes and puts herself in the carrier.
    
    This reminds me of a story in a recent issue of Cats or Cat Fancy,
    about a lady who trained her cat not to scratch the furniture.
    Whenever the cat started scratching, the lady would put the cat
    outside.  Now, ten years later, whenever the cat wants to go outside
    she walks over to the couch and gently puts her paws on it.
    

    Re:  .8
    
    That last line should read:  It may darken the color... not I may.
    
    Jan