I have to find a new home for my cats

[Eireann]

One of my cats loves to chew. He just loves it. He loves it so much that he has chewed through my Ethernet cable twice. And through the cable of my brand-new webcam. And now, through the cable of my replacement webcam.

I just can't take this anymore. I've tried everything, and nothing works. He will never stop chewing, and I don't live in a big place where I can keep all chewables safe from him. My other kitty never does anything like this, but she needs a LOT of attention.

I'm just one person. I thought that having two cats would mean that they would keep each other company, but they both cause all kinds of problems. I hate having to do this - I've never done it before - but I'm going to have to find another home for them. They have to go together, because they're devoted to each other. She would be looking for him if he weren't here.

I'm so upset over all this. I thought I had found two good kitties after my baby went, but I've had so much trouble. So much. And this is so hard.

[Kristev]

Oh my, I'm so sorry. Sometimes, things just don't work out.

[Eireann]

I posted on a Facebook page that I have two cats for sale, and the response was unbelievable. A few people were helpful. The rest assumed that I was an irresponsible pet owner who simply got bored with them and decided to get rid of them. One asshole posted a video of a man using cats to bait dogs. They were all high and mighty in their views of me, never stopping to think why I was taking this step.

I told them all to go to hell.

I still don't know what to do here. I really don't. It's hard enough even thinking about finding a new home for them, without this shit being heaped on me.

[dbuzman]

I'm not good with words, but I think you are doing the right thing. You are NOT doing anything wrong.

[Eireann]

Thank you so much.

I'm working on giving them more attention. Several websites say that cats do things like this because they're bored, understimulated, etc. I also read that they like to have climbing trees, which mine don't have. I'm going to see what I can do about that.

Even if I did manage to find them a new home with really good people, who's to say that I wouldn't have the same problem with a future cat? There are just no easy answers here.

[Android Kaeli]

I, too, think you're doing the right thing with your kitties. If I didn't need to cat-sit my aunt's cat sometimes, I'd take a few days off of work and adopt your kitties -- I miss having one [or two] in the house all the time.

[Pixelated]

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this ... both the kitty problem and the assholes-on-the-internet problem.

Do you have any rescue operations in your area? They might have some helpful suggestions to offer. You might suggest to them that they look upon you as a "foster parent" until a new home is found for the kitties.

I have one cat who likes to use his claws, but luckily (so far at least -- and he's in kitty mid-life) his shredding is confined to my office chair (they have particleboard in the middle of the backrest! Who knew??)

Please don't give up on cats entirely. I have owned cats all my adult life and never, ever had a cat that chewed through my cables (or anything else). If you think about getting a cat in the future, you might want to look at getting an older cat. They are (usually) a lot more placid. My one cat (the shredder) does like to be around me, but for the most part it involves lying atop my Mac Mini (a/k/a his personal bun warmer ) because he knows that at some point he will get skritches and head pats. )

[Eireann]

Now that I'm a lot calmer, I'm looking at the situation differently.

I've been reading about cats, why they do what they do, and what can be done about it. Chewing can be a sign of periodontal problems. I picked up the little boy last night and took a look in his mouth, which wasn't easy, because, like all kitties, he doesn't want me to look in his mouth. I couldn't tell if his gums were problematic, though they might have been a little red. I noticed that he was drinking a fair amount of water, which is much more significant; that can easily be a sign of gum problems.

I may need to go through the rodeo of taking them to the vet for a checkup. I strongly suspect she has a recurring worm problem, even though I gave them both worm medicine some months ago. I hope that whatever their problems are, they're easily fixed.

[Pixelated]

Wishing you and the kitties all the best. Please keep us updated!

[Mental_Mouse]

Wishing you the best, with luck the vet can help. Have you already tried bitter apple and/or chili oil?

The first pet I got for myself was a rabbit, and I called the 6 years of his lifetime The War Of The Wires... And then there was the time he undermined my bookcases to the point of collapse! It was over 10 years after his death (from old age) before I'd purged/replaced all of the stuff he chewed.

Later, I adopted a dog, but it turned out she was a hunting breed that was bored out of her skull in my apartment. I lasted 2 years before the many, many walks she insisted on gave me foot problems, at which point I regretfully brought her back to the SPCA. (I was told that within a couple of weeks, she was adopted by someone who had another dog for her to play with....)

[Eireann]

I spray my desk before going out, and again before going to bed, especially the cables. I also plan to get cable covers so that he couldn't fit his mouth around them even if he wanted to.

I think part of the problem is that these kitties remind me that my baby isn't here. They're so unlike her. My girl kitty is nice and sweet and doesn't get into things like he does, but she's still not much like my baby.