Cat Care Clinic

Posted on: 9 June 2015

Is your cat destroying your furniture or causing serious injury to their own body by excessive chewing, biting, and licking? While there are many causes of this problematic behavior, boredom is perhaps the most common. Keep your feline friend entertained with these activities and watch their destructive chewing problem disappear.

Take Them for a Walk

Have you ever noticed that your cat stares out the window for 10–12 hours every day? That's because they're bored of being indoors and instinctively long to explore their natural surroundings. Take your buddy for a walk on a cat leash and harness to alleviate their boredom.

It's probably hard to imagine getting your cat to walk on a leash, but it can be done. It requires a lot of patience and positive reinforcement. Remember, cats don't respond well to behavioral modification techniques that require punishments. But, they will quickly learn to tolerate a leash or harness if you repeatedly reward them.

Redirect with a Chew Toy

One of the major factors that influence cat boredom is your 6–8 hour daily absences at work. These periods are probably when your cat's chewing issues become their most severe. However, healthy chew toys can help redirect their behavior in a constructive manner.

Redirecting your cat to a chew toy not only helps avoiding damage to your furniture and their body, but can improve your cat's dental health by eliminating soft tartar and massaging their teeth and gums.

Vary Your Cat Play

Cats are naturally playful and enjoy engaging in a wide range of fun activities with their owners. However, repeatedly focusing on the same games can bore your cat and cause them to lash out with destructive chewing. That's why it's important to regularly entertain your cat with new activities. Pet360 said the most important ways to keep your cat entertained is by adding "variety" and "randomness" to your daily play.

Add play variety to your pet's play life by

• Building a maze of cardboard boxes. Your cat will love exploring this brand-new environment for hours. Make sure to change it up at least once a week.
• Adding new play items to their environment. Try to buy at least one new toy for your cat a month and throw away any in which they no longer seem interested.
• Playing the radio while you're away. A little background noise will engage your cat's imagination and stave off boredom.
• Scattering paper bags throughout the house. If cats simply can't resist the fun of investigating paper bags, imagine how much joy they'll have exploring 10!

With these basic tips, you should be able to stop your cat's problem chewing for good. However, if your cat keeps destroying your furniture or injuring themselves with excessive chewing, there might be more at play with them than boredom. A visit to the vet can tell you if there are any other underlying problems causing your cat to chew. For more information, visit a veterinarian website like http://www.1stPetVet.com.