In which the cat is in the doghouse

[zeborah]

I have just bought a new microphone and a new set of earplugs. Also I have booktape around part of my laptop powercord. To say nothing of the hearth tiles under the mantlepiece that are still cracked, but at the moment I'm more concerned about Boots electrocuting herself.

You see, there are two things she likes doing; yea, three things that entertain her vastly. She likes scratching the carpet; she likes biting tacks out of the noticeboard (and leaving them point up on the floor for me to walk on); and she likes chewing on anything that bears a passing resemblance to a mouse's tail. She used to do this latter only to get my attention and therefore I was in the room to dissuade her by whatever means necessary; but the microphone and the earphones were on successive nights after I'd gone to bed

Short of never leaving her alone with a powercord again (this might be feasible but it'd be a blasted nuisance and would, for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, increase my heating bill) how on earth do I dissuade her from biting through the rubber which is the only thing standing between her and 240 volts of alternating current?

Comments

[via-pigeon.livejournal.com]

Boots 2: RETURN OF THE CONE

[kiya]

Can you run major wires through bits of unbiteable piping/moulding?

[pariyal.livejournal.com]

how on earth do I dissuade her from biting through the rubber which is the only thing standing between her and 240 volts of alternating current?

If you can get citrus-oil cleaner (mine comes from the organic-stuff shop) rubbing the cords with that might discourage her. Most cats hate the smell, and will flinch away from anything tainted with it, let alone bite it.

[zeborah]

Heheh. That'd be *evil*. What a shame I threw the thing out.

[zeborah]

Hmm, impractical for the laptop since I do use it mobilely, but would definitely be worth looking into for the phone.

[zeborah]

And as a bonus will make my dirty old Apple laptop shine like new! --Well, actually I don't know if anything's capable of that, but still. <hunts in cupboard> There: Ajax spray 'n wipe with baking soda, citrus extract, 27 essential vitamins and minerals, and a Ginsu knife. I shall report back in Due Course.

[poetrychook.livejournal.com]

We have gallons and gallons of citrus oil cleaner here. It probably has a greater citrus content than Ajax spray 'n' wipe

[zeborah]

Cool - I'll see how the Ajax goes and otherwise pick some cleaner up from you Sunday. (So far it's made my computer whiter, and though Boots hasn't bitten the cord again yet, she did lie on it last night as if to say "I'm not afraid of it and I shall bite it if and when I feel like it.")

[aquaeri.livejournal.com]

Another smell to experiment with is vanilla essence. That seems to get our cats running away.

[zeborah]

I have vanilla essence! I'll see how the lemon goes. Currently she's more or less behaving because I'm preventatively paying her more attention and playing with her a bit more. We'll see how long that lasts.