Hello, I'm Dr. Jane Matheys, from the Cat Doctor Veterinary Hospital and Hotel in Boise, Idaho. Today I'm going to be answering a question on Pet's Best Facebook page. This one is from Nick and he says, "I have a cat that likes to chew on stuff. Mostly when she's bored. It's not so bad as to be a serious problem, but are there any chew toys that are safe for cats?"
Well Nick, most cats aren't chewers like dogs are, but every once in a while, I do run across a kitty who just really likes to chew on everything. Of course you want to make sure that the things she's chewing on are not dangerous for her. So make sure you go through your home and really cat- proof it. We don't want her chewing on things like electrical cords, or certainly things especially like strings, ribbons, anything that has a linear shape, kitties can get into really big trouble if they swallow those and they go into the intestine and get stuck there.
And as far as inanimate objects that she's chewing on, what you can do is use a spray deterrent for her. There's sprays and gels that don't taste good. You can put it right on the object, and that should keep her away from those objects, and teach her not to chew on them. Probably some of my favorites can be found at some of the larger pet stores. These are named dental chew toys for kitties, because they do a couple of things. Usually they are either made out of catnip, or sometimes even mint that the cats really enjoy chewing on.
In addition to that, they're surrounded by a little piece of netting so that when the kitties do chew, that soft netting is supposed to take care of some of the softer plaque and tartar on the kitty's teeth. So we're helping them with two things, both cleaning the teeth and giving the cat something to chew on. Send any of your questions about cat health to the Pets Best Facebook page and I'll be happy to answer them.