You want to charge your phone and suddenly you realise that your phone charging cable broke into 2 pieces. Your cat looks at you with an innocent look on his face. “It wasn’t me, no idea how that cable broke in 2 pieces.” If your cat chews on cables, this can have various causes.

Always store your chargers when you are not using them. And offer your cat plenty of other toys. If your cat chews through a cable that is not plugged in, it is annoying but not harmful to your cat. If this cable is plugged in, it will  become (life) dangerous for your cat. Has your cat swallowed a piece of cable? This can be dangerous, in that case, contact your veterinarian.

Fortunately, you can do some things to minimize chewing cables by your cat.

Do you not use a device often? Then store it and take it out again if you need it.

Do not leave devices that you do not use and cannot store plugged in, only plug them in when you use them.

Be extra alert for things that you occasionally use such as Christmas lights

Try to get rid of the wires that are necessary, cable ducts are super nice to hide them . Your wires are nicely concealed whatever looks nicer in your interior and most importantly your cat can no longer chew at the cables. Cable ducts are plastic covers and are available at the hardware store.

Do you not want to use cable trays? Then you can also stick your cables with tape. This way they dangle and move less. And that movement is precisely what made the cable attractive.

Slide with furniture, sometimes you can hide a hanging cable behind a cupboard. Tidy is neat! Please note that your cat cannot get behind the furniture. Is the bottom of the furniture open? Then close this to prevent your cat from chewing on the cable.

You can also place a cabinet for an electrical outlet and use one of the drawers of the cabinet to charge some smaller electronics such as your telephone. Let the charger go directly into the cabinet and the drawer from the socket so that your cat cannot reach it. 

You can also charge your phone in a room where your cat is not around at that moment.

Causes of cable chewing by cats

Your cat may have a problem with his teeth, causing him to tend to chew things. (Let your cats teeth check by your vet).

Your cat can feel bored or frustrated.

If your cat still finds a cable to bite into

Most cables are now neatly concealed. But it may not be possible to get rid of all cables. If your cat still finds a cable and chews on it, don’t punish him but try the following:

Distract your cat, if your cat thinks the cable as a toy, give him something else to play with.

Give your cat an alternative to chew on, such as cat grass.

Try to find out where the boredom or frustration comes from. Maybe your cat is frustrated because he is inside and wants to go outside, or he is hungry. Try to reduce his frustration or boredom.