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Protecting Your Gear from Pets?
EvilJoven asks: "About a month ago I spent quite a large chunk of change on a new system only to have my cat chew through the VGA source cable of my brand new display. Over the course of the last few years my cat has cost me nearly $300CDN in repair and replacement costs due to chewed cables including a few power cables which are not only a pain to replace but potentially fatal to the animal and a fire hazard. So far the best solution I've found to stop this is wrapping all my cables in Snap-On Wire Protectors (about $6CDN for 3m at Canadian Tire in the Automotive section) but this is a rather unsightly solution. Due to the fact that I live in a one bedroom apartment restricting my cats access to my hardware is not an option. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on a better way to protect gear from animals."
When I was young, my parents experimented with
putting stuff on my nails to stop me from biting
them. It tasted terrible. Perhaps the same could
be applied to cables in your apartment?
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
eat your cat.
Dialectician. Archology.
There's only one solution to this: Place some cat food on/over one of the power cables connecting your PC. Problem solved.
Ladies, form queue here -->
Hang a few up, coil a few around it's cat box.
Exactly. If these cables are connected to a high tension power supply, your cat will soon learn to stop chewing cables.
If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
Suggestion: Your cat is trying to say he or she is not happy. Get another cat so that he will have something to do while you are at work. They will chase each other around and make noises like a herd of cattle, but they won't chew cables.
Wrap you cables in double-sided tape? Cat hate the sticky feeling on their paws. It worked when our cats were getting in the habit of clawing our screen windows...........
This is a rather low-tech solution, but cover your cables in tape. When my cats figured it would be a good idea to gnaw on the 120VAC power lines running through our (not yet finished) walls, we stuck some tape on them (sticky side out) and it promptly stopped. Double-sided tape would work well for this.
;)
I guess it loses all its fun when your face ends up stuck to what you're chewing on. Though maybe if I just let them bite through the cable would've stopped the chewing as well.
A buddy of mine has a cat that loves to attack/claw/chew wires. He put a little sprinkle of lemon juice on the wires, cat doesnt go near them anymore.
And it just may make your office area smell nicer.
I suppose you could pee on all your cables and the like. You know, "marking your territory" so to speak.
If you choose to go that route, you might want to make sure you unplug the stuff first. It would give a whole new meaning to "fire in the hole" if you know what I mean...
Another option is to make them inaccessible- run them through cardboard tubes. Of course, if your cat shreds cardboard, this won't work. So maybe taping something around them- plastic panels or something?
The options are simple:
render them unappetising
render them inaccessible
render them indestructible
i put them in the order that i thought most likely to work- my cat hates the pet repellent, so the area under my desk gets treated.
let us know what works!
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.
Did you read the post - he's only lost 300 CDN. That's only about $2.50 USD, so what's the big deal?
TWAJS
Popisms.com - Connecting pop culture
Cats usually don't chew on cables, so this is an indicator that something is wrong. And it's not your cables.
It might be an indicator that the two of you have a relation problem. The cat may want more attention. Especially if the cat does not go out of the house, you are the only one "social contact" for the cat. Play with the cat, pet the cat, crawl the cat. Or if you don't think that you have the time to do so, give away your cat to someone who cares for it; and get your self a cat doll.
Maybe your cat is a real hunter but has no other prey than those dangling cables. Get or make some cat toys. Remember: "Everything not nailed down is a cat toy." You just have to make sure that your cat toys are more attractive than your hardware.
A last idea, to cure the symptoms but not the disease: place your cables in flexible tubes. IKEA has flexible tubes in black and white that can be wrapped around the cables without disconnecting them. Unless your cat can look onto your table while standing on the floor, it will have a hard time chewing through those tubes.
Tux2000
Denken hilft.
This is exactly right. The problem is that your cat is trying to communicate with you. Its basically saying, "You spend a lot of time in here, so therefore I should destroy what is taking you away from me--so you can play with me instead!" Getting another cat will undoutedbly take its attention away from the cables behind your computer, and instead focus on the other animal in the apartment.
The other solution is to (gasp!) actually play with your cat. I mean, how hard is it to get a laser pointer and send your cat tearing about the place like a nitro-funnycar? Might I suggest the Green Laser Pointer from Thinkgeek.com?
Or you could always call Confuse-A-Cat LTD...
We now have a cat that shits in flower boxes, plant pots, anything that looks like a plant pot, and anything with a picture of a flower on it.
Double sided tape is definitely a solution. I have some friends who had a cat that was in the bad habit of knocking stuff off of shelves. They had a couple of things they didn't want to have to put away, but at the same time couldn't risk the cat destroying. Double sided tape worked perfectly and the cat eventually learned to stay away.
However, other posters who have pointed out that your cat is bored and or otherwise upset are on the mark. Get some cat toys, including some catnip toys. Consider getting another cat, opposite gender and read pet advice sites for how to introduce a kitten to your adult cat.
One thing though - don't try to punish the cat. The cat is doing this because it's unhappy, bored, frustrated etc. If you punish it, you just add something for the cat to be upset about. Oh, and I personally had great luck with my bored indoor cats by installing a bird feeder outside and keeping it stocked. It was like the cat version of television - they sit there for hours watching the birds.
a Bonsai Kitten
Cut a small chili (the smaller and greener, the better, habaneros are particularly fiery) in half and rub it on your cables.
I swear to $DEITY that your cat will not forget that one. Or he will start demanding curry dinner, in both cases, you win.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
Worked for me when I had the same problem with my cats. Just dilute it 1:1 with water and use a little paint brush to cover your cables. It also works to keep them from chewing the leaves on your potted palm tree.
Bah... Tell ya what... Come over and establish dominance with my cat, and I'll give you a ride to the emergency room when he makes you his bitch. =)
I have to disagree...My cat has bitten through live power cords any number of times and still continues to do it.
I think electrocution has just made him dumber.
[Sorry -- formatting got fouled up on first post. Here's the full post.]
:)
:)
I had the same problem with my golden retriever when he was young (8mos). Among other things, he chewed through:
o The power adapter for my laptop
o An AC computer power cable (luckily, it wasn't live at the time, though that might have broken him of the habit)
o Several sets of $100 USB headsets
When animals chew on inappropriate things, it can mean one or more of several things. [Caveat: my experience is largely with dogs, though I expect some of the insights will apply to felines too.]
o They are teething or have a dental problem. This is normal when they are young (and new teeth are coming in).
o They are bored or feel abandoned -- inappropriate chewing, marking, etc. can be a compulsive disorder for dogs, kind of like ADHD. Sometimes it is an experssion of anxiety (particularly separation anxiety) or lack of attention. There are resources available for training this out of dogs (and cats, too, I assume)
o In the case of both cats and dogs, it can mean they are pissed off at you, either for leaving them alone, not playing with them, or whatever.
o Finally, it may indicate that they are hungry (is your cat *eating* the wire or just chewing it to bits?). If they are eating what they are chewing up, you'll find... evidence... routed though their South end in a couple days...
Deterrance and correction. The best course of action is to catch them in the act and correct them, usually with a loud "DON'T!" or something similar. In the case of dogs in particular, this is a good opportunity to establish dominance -- e.g., roll the dog on his back, pin him down (primarily by the neck or mouth), and hold him there until he stops struggling. He'll understand that you're the Alpha and that he's done something unappropriate.
[Note: this is a fight that you absolutely have to win -- if he escapes, catch him; if he tries to get away, restrain him. If you don't win the engagement, the dog will conclude that the's the Alpha and behavior problems will persist. Also, I'm not advocating *hurting* or being violent with your pet. The technique I described mimics, at least for dogs, actual dominant dog behavior, but does not inflict injury or physical pain. It sends the right message with a minimum of violence and a maximum of effectiveness and is a well-accepted training technique.]
One thing that is not effective is correcting the animal after the fact -- dogs and cats have short memories. If he chewed up your cables and you yell at him even 5 minutes later, he won't understand -- most animals don't have the sophisticated reasoning system to connect the correction with the past event. You have to catch him in the act and issue the correction post haste.
One way to ensure that you can catch them in the act is to set up a "trap" -- leave a cable on the floor and keep an eye on the animal. If, or when, he goes after it, nail him then and there. If you do this a couple times, then hopefully he'll get the idea that cables are not food/playthings
Another technique is to use a product such as "Sour Apple", which you coat on surfaces (such as cables) that the animal tends to eat. The product is non-toxic, but tastes quite nasty to them (very bitter/sour) and will deter them. Your local pet shop should have a selection of such products. I never had to use them with my dog, but I have friends who have used it with great success.
The behavior problem may also be due to the fact that the animal does not have any or enough appropriate toys to chew on. Go to your pet shop and buy a selection of animal- and breed- (read: size) appropriate toys. If the problem is chewing, then get chew-toys. If the problem is scratching, get scratching posts or similar products.
Introduce the toys to your pet and praise or reward him when he chews on them and plays with them. This will build a positive association between playing with the appropriate toys. To
This is some good advice. I want to stress the possibility that the cats might not get along unless they are integrated properly (and even then they might not get along).
One thing I've found that can solve a host of cat problems is excersize them HARD at least 15 minutes everyday. Find a toy on a string that your cat loves (shouldn't be too hard!) and keep it out of their reach and site except for excersize time. This will ensure your cat gets real excited about the toy.
I would come home from work and walk around the room, half-absentmindedly tossing the toy around while I watched TV. The cat would burn off all it's excess energy.
Once I started doing this with a problem cat that circumstances lead to my possession the cat became much more social, stopped over eating (poor thing was bored and seditary), got in shape and generally put the spark back into its personality.
As an added plus if you have a cat that keeps you awake while you're trying to sleep do the excersize thing with them just before you go to bed and feed the cat after the excersize. The cat will soon be ready for a nap itself.
Good luck.