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Page General » Pets
Posted: 4/3/2017 9:12:47 PM EDT
My girlfriend and I have got a 1 year old male cat that likes to chew on metal. For example, my gf has a table lamp that has a bunch of metal leaves hanging off of the base, and he's chewed one off. He doesn't actually swallow it, just likes the taste I guess?

Anyway, my girlfriend is freaking out that he's got some sort of nutrition deficiency, but he's eating the same stuff our two 2 year old females ate when they were his age. I think he's just bored, because he's got endless energy and always wants to play. More often than not he wears me out whenever I try to get him playing and running around.

Anyone have any experience with this? Why does he do this?
Link Posted: 4/5/2017 8:50:09 AM EDT
[#1]
They make chew toys for cats, believe it or not.  It's an instinctual dental heath thing I think.  It's odd that yours chose metal.  It's usually cords or wood.
Link Posted: 4/5/2017 9:03:42 AM EDT
[#2]
My female gnawed hinges. It's normal kitty stuff.
Link Posted: 4/5/2017 10:39:04 AM EDT
[#3]
Cats are weird.  I had one that wouldn't stop chewing electrical cords.  Another that disassembled every artificial plant I ever brought into the house.  And now I have two cats that never chew anything but their food.

Honestly, I think that having two cats solves (prevents) a great many of the neurotic behaviors that cats can develop, since they can play, fight, play, groom, and snuggle with each other, which maintains so many of their natural instincts.  Too many people think that cats are solitary creatures, when in fact they are pack animals.
Link Posted: 4/5/2017 10:45:42 AM EDT
[#4]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Cats are weird.  I had one that wouldn't stop chewing electrical cords.  Another that disassembled every artificial plant I ever brought into the house.  And now I have two cats that never chew anything but their food.

Honestly, I think that having two cats solves (prevents) a great many of the neurotic behaviors that cats can develop, since they can play, fight, play, groom, and snuggle with each other, which maintains so many of their natural instincts.  Too many people think that cats are solitary creatures, when in fact they are pack animals.
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Yep, best kept it pairs.  They can become extremely needy when there is only one.  I had a female Siamese when I was in College.  Every winter my parents would go South and she would drive me nuts with neediness.  When they came back home and there were more people around she would go back to normal.
Link Posted: 4/5/2017 11:19:40 AM EDT
[#5]
Yep, they're social animals but don't cooperate in the hunt like dogs do. The more the better, as long as they all have places they can go to be alone when they need it. It's actually very interesting to watch them work out their social standings, it rarely involves more than a little hissing and a smack or 2. And it often isn't the biggest, strongest one that comes out on top - for a while, anyway, cat society is very fluid. I have 8 so it changes on about a weekly basis LOL.
Link Posted: 4/5/2017 2:29:11 PM EDT
[#6]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Yep, they're social animals but don't cooperate in the hunt like dogs do. The more the better, as long as they all have places they can go to be alone when they need it. It's actually very interesting to watch them work out their social standings, it rarely involves more than a little hissing and a smack or 2. And it often isn't the biggest, strongest one that comes out on top - for a while, anyway, cat society is very fluid. I have 8 so it changes on about a weekly basis LOL.
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I hunted with my cat pack as a little kid, somewhere between 2 and 4. We'd corner a mouse and make a circle around it and one cat would move in and take it out. I think my dad has a pic of all our butts sticking out of the circle.
Link Posted: 4/5/2017 2:32:27 PM EDT
[#7]
My male Bengal has an oral fixation with all things metal. Maglites, stripper pole, sockets. He will 'mouth' them. He's gay.

He also had Pica I think, because he fuckin loves chewing on cotton. Only cotton. Synthetic blend shirts are always left alone. 
Link Posted: 4/5/2017 9:35:29 PM EDT
[#8]
So the verdict is that cats are fkn weird. Sounds about right, haha.

Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Cats are weird.  I had one that wouldn't stop chewing electrical cords.  Another that disassembled every artificial plant I ever brought into the house.  And now I have two cats that never chew anything but their food.

Honestly, I think that having two cats solves (prevents) a great many of the neurotic behaviors that cats can develop, since they can play, fight, play, groom, and snuggle with each other, which maintains so many of their natural instincts.  Too many people think that cats are solitary creatures, when in fact they are pack animals.
View Quote
We have two others that are a year older than he is, but they sort of tolerate him. He wants to play with them so badly, but they just hiss and run away whenever he tries.

Oh well, at least they don't fight....
Page General » Pets
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