Cord-chewing is a challenging behavior to manage in cats. First, take some time to figure out why your cat is chewing on cords in the first place. Then, try the following solutions to end the behavior once and for all, while keeping in mind that a visit to the veterinarian should never be ruled out:

• Offer chewing alternatives
• Use cord covers
• Secure cords to the walls or furniture
• Put your cords away
• Consolidate cords to one area
• Use a citrus-based deterrent
• Ignore the chewing behavior

Why Your Cat Shouldn’t Chew on Cords

Chewing on electrical cords should never be viewed as a funny or cute behavior. It is not safe and should be stopped immediately. Speaking from personal experience, it’s also ridiculously annoying!

Cats can electrocute themselves if they chew on a cord that’s plugged in. They also run the risk of inflicting themselves with horrible electrical burns in their mouths… Can you imagine the trauma and the veterinary bills this would cause?

When a cat chews on something, they’re also subject to potentially ingesting the item. The same goes for cords. You definitely don’t want something like that hanging around in your cat’s digestive tract. 

Why Your Cat Chews on Cords in the First Place

Here are some reasons why a cat would want to chew on your precious chargers and wires:

• Boredom
• Pica
• Missing something from their diet
• Anxiety
• Dental issues

This list is not comprehensive, so please make an appointment with your vet to chat about why your specific cat is doing this behavior. While some of these reasons don’t necessarily point to any dangerous underlying health issues, you don’t want something to go unnoticed. 

Solutions for Cord-Chewers

After your cat has had a visit with your trusted vet and all health issues have been addressed, here are some things you can try to get your cat to stop chewing once and for all:

Offer chewing alternatives

You have a chance of redirecting the chewing behavior if you give your cat something safer to chew on. In the same way that you can redirect a cat from scratching on your furniture by offering them a scratching post nearby, you can offer chewing alternatives to redirect unwanted cord-chewing. You can try silvervine sticks, cat chew toys, or chewy treats to see if any of those meet your cat’s desires. 

You can also try my favorite chewing alternative for cats – live cat grass. The seeds are super affordable and easy to grow, even if you have a brown thumb! 

Use cord covers

There are a couple different cord cover products you can use to protect your cords from the wrath of your cat’s tiny teeth.  

You can try flexible plastic covers that wrap around the cord. You can find them online and cut them to whatever length you need, and some of them have a cat-deterrent scent. There are also hard plastic cord concealers that are designed to help organize your cords and disguise them along your baseboards or walls. If you used this type of cover along the entire length of the cord, your cat wouldn’t be able to chew on them at all. 

Secure cords to the walls or furniture

This option is great for keeping your cat from being able to move the cords around in an exciting way. You can use anything from tape to command hooks to keep your cords attached to the wall or the back of a TV stand where your cat will likely have no interest. 

Put your cords away

If the cord can be put away, do so. Things like phone chargers, wired video game controllers, and camera cables are convenient to have on-hand. However, they’re also the easiest to put away out of the reach of your cat. It can be tiring and frustrating to constantly take cords out for daily use only to put them away right after, but if you’re persistent your cat should stop chewing.

Consolidate cords to one area

Neatly bundle the cords together and feed them through something as simple as a lidded shoe box. This trick makes the most sense in areas such as behind a TV stand or near a computer setup. Loose, dangling cords are way more exciting to most cats, so having them grouped together can help your cat lose interest. 

Use a citrus-based deterrent

Most cats hate the smell and taste of citrus. You can buy cat-safe deterrent sprays, but if you go the DIY-route, avoid the use of essential oils. Essential oils can be harmful to your cat’s health if inhaled or ingested. Instead, lightly mist or rub a cat-safe spray on the cords while avoiding electrical outlets. 

Ignore the chewing behavior

Only try this if you can do so safely. This usually only works if you know without a doubt that your cat chews on cords to get a specific reaction out of you. If it works for you and your unique cat, you might be able to put an end to the behavior by ignoring it and limiting their chewing opportunities. 

Schedule an appointment with your veterinarian

If you have tried everything, but your cat is still obsessed with chewing on cords, it’s time to see the vet again. Update your vet on the most current situation and make sure there aren’t any underlying health issues that were missed the first time. 

Minnie’s History with Chewing on Cords

My silly girl, Minnie, took months to gradually get over her cord-chewing obsession. In the thick of it, we all but lost our minds. 

It all started when we realized one of our TV’s functions wouldn’t work. After troubleshooting some settings on the remote, we took a look at the cords and cables. To our horror, one of them had been chewed almost entirely through.  

We immediately checked Minnie’s mouth for signs of injuries or burns. Thankfully she came away from this unscathed, and we hoped it was a one-off situation. 

Unfortunately, this behavior of hers continued. She chewed on any cord she could get ahold of, and she would wait patiently until she thought we weren’t looking. She wouldn’t swat at the cords or even try to play with them; she would just walk over to a cord and immediately start chewing. 

We lost lamps, more TV cords, and speakers. Minnie especially preferred chewing on Apple product chargers, making me go through several laptop chargers and USB cords. Ugh. It was finally time to schedule a vet checkup and see what was going on. 

The vet and I discussed her diet, her preferred ways to play, and what her day-to-day behaviors were like. He performed a head-to-tail exam and decided that testing wasn’t warranted. I walked away from the appointment feeling thankful that the vet wasn’t concerned about her health, but I had no idea how to keep her from putting herself in danger. I was almost to the point of always keeping Minnie in one room where no cords were kept and never allowing her to spend time in any other room in my apartment. 

After doing some searching online and chatting with friends, I started to compile a list of things to try. We gave her silvervine sticks and new cat toys to chew on, just in case she simply needed safe access to a chewing option. That didn’t do the trick.

We also tried giving her fresh cat grass. This seemed to satisfy her for a while and served as a nice dietary supplement. She would sit there and gnaw on the grass until she decided she’d had enough, and her cord-chewing behavior seemed to decrease a bit for the rest of the day.

Next, we spent hours getting creative with how we organized, taped, and covered every cord we could think of. At the time, I didn’t know that products like cord covers existed, and they were immensely helpful. However, Minnie still tried to snag every charger or wired headphone set she could sink her teeth into. 

As we got more creative with hiding and protecting cords, Minnie became less and less interested in them. It took a long time and a lot of trouble-shooting, but we finally arrived at the point where Minnie has free access to our entire home when my fiancé and I are at work. We’re still mindful about where we add new cords in our home, but more often than not, Minnie pays no attention. 

Cord chewing is such a frustrating behavior to deal with. Take a few deep breaths, chat with your vet as soon as possible, and try out some of these options!

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