A few weeks ago I posted this rant, aimed at Dell for a series of failing laptop power adapters. 'Twas an impotent rant, as I discovered soon after that there were multiple tooth marks in said adapters, indicating that it was, in fact, one of my cats who had done the deed.
I bought a new adapter. Several Dopers suggested buying stuff to rub on the cord to make it unpalatable; I procrastinated on that, but made sure to keep an eye on adapter and kitty, and never leave the thing in a room unattended. Then I went to Blockbuster; my wife was in the room, so I figured it was safe. But kitty is clever and hid under the coffee table and chewed away unseen.
New adapter: this time I made sure to buy “Bitter End”, which I can say is extremely icky tasting. I sprayed it down regularly and was even more careful to keep kitty away; this time whenever I stop using the thing, away goes the adapter, even when I’m still in the room. Until last night, when I turned my back for five seconds; in darts kitty, one chomp, the screen goes dim; yet again, one new adapter.
So, kitty will not be allowed in the room at all with the laptop. And, since it’s summer and we both have summers off (mostly), that means kitty will be spending a lot of time alone in the bedroom.
If I may piggyback onto your rant, one of my cats, Ollie ( I also call him “bitey” ) had methodically destroyed one of my blinds and crippled a second. He’s been chewing through the tied off draw cords. They’re those big three-cord numbers and he has severed all three on one, such that it can no longer be closed without the cords disappearing for good. He cut one on the other and it is now precarious and difficult to manage. He also has cut two headphone cables since I’ve had him. Bastard.
I’ve tried coating everything with Rosemary-based ‘Bitter Yuck’ and as far as I can tell he’s developing a taste for it. sigh May have to switch to hot pepper, which was the only thing that kept a Chesapeake puppy I once had off of the power cords ( even AFTER he damn near electrocuted himself ).
I’m fond of him and his biting ways, but he is pissing me right the hell off. He is also the one with the disgusting habit of retrieving dried feces and batting it around as a toy, forcing me to be extra-diligent in my catbox cleaning duties. Which, granted, isn’t such a bad thing.
You can buy Tygon tubing at your local hardware store.
It’s flexible, and comes in sizes large enough to fit over your cords endplug.
Spray it with catnip oil to satisfy yourself that kitty cannot chew through it.
Probably true. I’ve already owned up to not adoring her enough. Unfortunately, she is the adorablest cat ever (see linked threat for cites).
She’s destroyed at least five. The sixth I’m pretty sure burned out on its own, but I’m not entirely confident about that. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt, however.
I did just shove a couple of round-worm tablets down her throat, which is probably punishment enough, although it was equally hard on me.
I don’t own a cat, so I don’t know if this will stop the cat, encourage its behavior, or even cause damage to its teeth, but did you consider giving her the damaged cords to chew on like toys?
I will never understand what makes certain things attractive for critters to munch on. I remember a rabbit of my daughter’s that chewed through lamp cords twice. Wouldn’t you think one 110-volt sizzle would be enough to teach the lesson?
As for your particular power adapter problem, I’d recommend wrapping the cord with double-stick tape. Cats generally don’t like chewing on sticky stuff.
I’m not a cat person, but I’ve been told not to give my dog old shoes to chew, because then he’ll develop a taste for shoes as chew toys … and he can’t tell the difference between old (discarded) shoes and new (fancy expensive) ones.
I would imagine it might be the same deal with cats and cords. Although, compared to conniving cats, dogs are pretty simple, so who knows how their motivations vary.
Try something sharp smelling instead of necessarily bad tasting. Cats seem to be really motivated by how food smells, moreso than dogs. Try something citrus, like orange oil or citronella, or something pepper. You can also try wrapping the cord in something annoying, like tubing (as others have suggested), tinfoil, or fly paper. Though the last one would be annoying to you too.
Our old tabbycat Elvis Pussley loved all kinds of electronic equipment, especially computer stuff. Not only did Elvis like to chew on such things, he would often sleep in, on, and around computer parts.
Personally, I’m so sick of my two cats that I’d gladly give them away. Trouble is that I feel responsible for the little beasties. I adopted them and I can’t just get rid of them.
Now, even though they’re indoor cats, we’ve got fleas. I’m not exactly sure when or how but there’s a flea problem. They’re biting the hell out of my husband.
And, maybe because it’s almost summer, they’re shedding more than ever. There’s freaking cat hair everywhere.
And don’t even get me started on the state of my couch though I blame myself for that because I haven’t been diligent about keeping the softpaws on the one who still has claws. He’s shredded the arms of my couch and is working on the back.
And this thread just reminded me that I need to scoop the cat box. Great. :smack:
