As DKnight's Christmas present to me, we went to the local animal shelter last week to get me a cat. I chose an energetic six month old calico and named her Suki after the Avatar series for her adventurous and sweet personality.
We were about to leave when a cat decided to hypnotize DK with her beautiful eyes. He was not going to leave without signing her adoption papers. (He was actually more of a dog person, even I was suprised that he would fall in love with a cat). Kendra is 2 years old and definitely knows she is no longer homeless.
It was challenging at first. They have been infected with Upper Respiratory Infection (tends to spread easily in animal shelters). They gave me antibiotics and the advice that stress is the worst thing to trigger the infection. We did our best to minimize as much stress as possible. Suki and Kendra didn't like each other at first. Now they are happy and healthy and they chase each other around at the most random times. This is the first time I've chosen to adopt a cat (previous cats came to me through my siblings) and it's a really great feeling.
So Suki's getting a bit obnoxious over (I think) the less attention I've been giving her in the last serveral day due to the severe cold/virus I just had. She's been caught chewing on electric cords. How can I discourage her from risking herself into electric shock?
*edit* tc, that's a funny video! Thanks for sharing!
We've had over a dozen cats in my lifetime. None now unfortunately and the one thing that will stop them from chewing the cords is when they actually make it though. I've witnessed it first hand.
You should get one of those 'scat mats' and put it under the cord she likes to chew. They are electrified with a non-lethal, but uncomfortable current of electricity that won't hurt the cat, but still teach her a lesson. You can get these at PetSmart or other pet stores. Great for keeping kitty off of the kitchen counter too.
You can wrap the cord in aluminum foil, they don't like that stuff. Or saran wrap (my cats don't like that) You can spray the cord with something non-toxic but bad tasting. You can also re-route your cords so they can't get to them.
Was Suki trying to hide in that pic? All I see is one leg poking out
Getting two cats is a good idea. Especially if they get along. They keep themselves occupied when you're not around. I picked up two sisters, their second birthday is in a few weeks. One is a black Calico, the other a grey/black/white tiger stripe. The oddball thing with these two is the black one doesn't have that much orange on her fur, but wherever it's missing the sister has it. A really awesome pattern.
Canuck wrote:Rub Paprika on the cord... not so yummy now.
I'm almost tempted to use that!!
Throw down an old towel or blanket on the floor and sprinkle paprika around the area. The feel of it and one taste of it and she probably wont go near it. Had a landlady that had a cat shredding her stairs for years. I showed her that trick and I tell you Harry was wrinkling his face when he was licking his paws to get the paprika off... the shredding stopped too.
I'm almost tempted to use that!!
