🚀 go-pugleaf

++++++++++++++++++++
++ bugs keep out! ++
++++++++++++++++++++

   If you think cats are bad in this respect, try rabbits. It's not easy to
stifle a natural grazing instinct combined with the need to keep those big
incisors ground down. We used to let our two albino doe bunnies out of the
cage regularly for exercise, but soon started to discover toothmarks in the
lamp cords, unauthorized carpentry in progress on the lower rear parts of
furniture, and finally a big hole in the carpet. The simple solution: end
of playtime privileges except at such times as they can be thoroughly
supervised and kept out of mischief. I should add that these are big-mama
rabbits, about 4 years old, weighing in at about 18 pounds each, and not
easily intimidated. When they thump, it's about -4 on the Richter scale.
   BTW, if the question should ever come up: It's been established that
rabbits and hares belong to a separate mammalian order (Lagomorpha) and
they get very insulted if you refer to them as rodents.

> In article <345@muddcs.UUCP> uribe@muddcs.UUCP (Lydia Uribe) writes:
> >[....purrrr....]
> >     Bernie, my 3-year-old domestic shorthair, has taken to chewing on 
> >electrical cords.
> >
> >     Does anybody out there have any comments, suggestions, etc. as to why
> >Bernie might be doing this and what I can do about it?
> 
> Don't let your critters gnaw cords!
> [...]
> Take some HOT peppers.  Soak them in cooking oil (or just buy chinese
> "red oil") till the oil tastes pretty potent.  Wipe every cord in the
> whole house with this nasty taste experience.  Renew the coating every
> so often, especially if you see teethprints.  A cat who has just
> gotten a taste of hot will make delightful expressions, so if you get
> the chance, watch Bernie in action.  Since cats don't like being
> laughed at, you could giggle and point at him too.
> [...]
> 				STella Calvert
> 
> 		Every man and every woman is a star.
> 
> Guest on:	...!decvax!frog!wjr
> Life:		Baltimore!AnnArbor!Smyrna!<LotsOfHitchhikingAndShortVisits>
> 			!SantaCruz!Berkeley!AnnArbor!Taxachusetts
> Future:			...	(!L5!TheBelt!InterstellarSpace)

Briefly, my cats seem to avoid any cords that i've swabbed with denatured
alcohol.  They sometimes get to ones i forget to treat (new phone
cords and modem cords seem to go quickly if i neglect the
treatment).  I suppose the toxin they use is sufficiently noxious
to the cats, and i'm certain it's not harmful since they avoid it
so rigorously.

If anybody else has tried this (or tries it) please let me know how
it goes.

(it goes...)

Ken Manheimer	...!seismo!nbs-amrf!manheime or manheime@nbs-amrf.uucp

(Everything leaks.  Not excessively; just enough.)

The funny thing about my rabbits was that they chewed on dark electric
cords but not on white cords. Since they used a litter box I let them
run and didn't notice the chewing until a fuse suddenly blew. I
replaced the fuse and it blew after about 10 minutes. Since it
obviously was an intermittent short I went searching and found that
one of the rabbits had chewed the insulation off of the cord going to
the refrigerator. Then I noticed that a lot of cords were chewed
through, but not completely, and the white cords where not damaged at
all.

The rabbits were then banished to the bathroom (no electric cords,
tile everywhere (they chewed furniture and wood trim too, I gave them
little blocks of scrap wood to chew on).

The first winter was really interesting. I had steam radiator heat.
When the pipes would start banging, the rabbits would thump. The
rabbits were trying to communicate with the other rabbits (pipes) in
the building. They would get up on their hind legs and listen and look
intently over the board that I used as a barrier to keep them in the
bathroom.


-- 
----------------
  Marty Sasaki				net:   sasaki@harvard.{arpa,uucp}
  Harvard University Science Center	phone: 617-495-1270
  One Oxford Street
  Cambridge, MA 02138

In article <473@faron.UUCP> dhf@faron.UUCP (David H. Friedman) writes:
>The simple solution: end
>of playtime privileges except at such times as they can be thoroughly
>supervised and kept out of mischief. 

We also were the proud owners of a 'big-mama' white rabbit who just adored
chewing electric/phone cords.  Try a little tabasco sauce on the cords . . .  
Worked great for us.

GayLynn McManus
{akgua|akguc|ihnp4}!sortac!happy 

	Our second cat developed an interest in chewing on electric cords.
We noticed that he only chewed on cords which happened to be in spots
he was (lying, sitting, playing) in.  Our solution was to put potted plants,
throw rugs, etc.  over the cords so they were out of harm's way.
The only ones we didn't do that with were the speaker wires, and Clyde
did chew them up.  We replaced those with heavier wire and (eventually) ran them
under the carpet.  Fortunately, he grew out of that stage...
	By the way, we have two cats and a dog, all strays, who live
and play together happily.  (It's funny to watch our first cat, who acts
like he owns the place, taking food away from a dog five times his size...)
	Vickie Klick ihnp4!ihuxa!klick
	AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, IL