File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
so cat owners out there, lemme pick your brains.

i just got a kitten (she's about 3 months old) and when we first got her, the lady i got her from said she likes to fuck with cables. at first, she didn't really play with them too much, so it wasn't an issue. recently, she has taken an interest in fucking with the various computer cables beneath my desk.

now, i have a fairly large desk, but it's got my music equipment on it so i can't put my computer up on my desk. there's no room. i did bundle the cables together to deter her wanting to play with them, but she crawls in there and claws at them anyway.

flicking water at her works to keep her out of places we don't want her to be in, but i obviously can't flick water at her when she's laying next to a power strip with about 5 or 6 things plugged into it.

i can't cover up the cords, my computer already has terrible airflow as it is, plus i don't want to create a definite fire hazard. i can't just keep her out of the room, i live in a one bedroom apartment, and my desk is in the larger area. i can't move my computer & desk, my bedroom has no room for it.

i know it's probably impossible to teach her not to fuck with the cords given the situation, but is there any reasonable solution any of you may have used for a similar situation to either keep a cat from fucking with computer cables or teach them not to do it?
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
she will almost certainly get over it in time when she's not an overstimulated crazy happy baby.
In the meantime, if she's just happy about the smell or texture of the cords (I had a cat who LOVED PLASTIC), try distracting her with an owner-approved toy the minute she gets in your cables.
My cat was really obsessed with those "livestrong" bracelets, the rubbery plastic was amazing or something. She would carry them all over the house and shred but not swallow them.

Bundling is a good idea, she certainly just wants to get into the cave-area and chew on the fun teething cables. If you can find a suitable replacement and make it seem moar fun, she'll take to it.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
that's the thing, she's not biting at the cables, not that i've seen anyway, she's just clawing at them. and she is definitely a high energy kitten.

before i got her, i was considering buying some bubble wrap or foam to put around the majority of the cables after bundling them up, but i guess my main concern is that even doing that, i'd have to leave the ends exposed, which she'd still potentially claw at/chew on. plus i'd have to buy new wrapping material every so often.

i'm not so much concerned about her ruining the cables, though i still don't want her to do it. but none of them are particularly hard to come by or expensive. i don't want her on the power strip in the off chance she gets electrocuted on the exposed slots (which i guess i could get those null plastic caps for that) also, i don't want her to claw/chew through a cable and get electrocuted that way. maybe that's an irrational fear? i am kind of overprotective.

btw these are pics of her.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>291834
>off chance she gets electrocuted on the unused slots

fix'd...they're not exposed, just not filled with something.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
also, thank you for the suggestion of trying to distract her with a more interesting toy. i know of at least two we have that she'll go for instantly.

if the toys don't keep her out of the cords for more than a few seconds, is there anything else /an/on would suggest trying?
>> Anonymous
>>291850
I'd recommend against using water as a punishment, whether it's near wires or no. No need to teach your cat to dislike water.

There are a lot of animal deterrents like bitter apple, boundary, etc, that you could spray or wipe onto shit you didn't want your kitten getting into. It won't work for all animals, but if your kitten is really turned off by the smell and the taste, she'll learn pretty quickly not to do it.

Also, pvc pipe is good for hiding wires from animals.
>> Anonymous
Another suggestion would be to make a loud noise whenever you catch her with the cables. Distract her, she'll associate the noise with batting at the cables and will eventually decide it's not worth it.
>> Anonymous
>>292636
This. I've found that yelling NO or something like that really loud will deter an animal from doing what it's doing, regardless of whether it understands the word or not.
>> Anonymous
BAP
>> Anonymous
Smell of oranges. Cats can't stand it. Try making the wires smell like oranges, or simply laying orange peels around.