How to stop a cat from chewing on wood furniture?

[CathyA]

DS is having a problem with his cat. Its is chewing all the corners of various pieces of furniture.
Any suggestions to get it to stop? His girlfriend has sprayed stuff around (bitter apple?), but it doesn't help.

[Dhiana]

Aspercreme! Yes, that nasty smelling stuff for arthritis sufferers. This stuff kept my cat from scratching anything I put it on. Their little noses are sooo sensitive they can hardly stand to be in the same room.

It dissipates fairly quickly to our noses but I know I wouldn't have to reapply for almost 6 months, it was still that strong to my cat. It comes in a cheap, generic, fabric safe formula that didn't do any damage to anything I applied it to.

What worries me most is that the kitty has a dog-like chewing habit? Never heard of a cat doing this, I hope it is ok otherwise. Or is it a kitten getting it's adult teeth in?

[puglogic]

Very weird. Some cats do chew, but not many.

Is this a kitten? Does it have enough other stimulation? Do they pay any attention to it? Have they talked to a vet about seeing if he/she has some sort of nutritional imbalance?

Citrus turned our cats off almost everything they thought about chewing. A furniture polish with a good percentage of orange oil might do the trick.

[Wildflower]

Is this a teething kitten? If so, the chewing should pass... Does kitty has cat safe toys to play with and chew on?

[Rosemary]

I was able to break my cat of clawing on some woodwork in my house by applying double-sided tape to it. Later when I removed the tape, peanut oil safely removed the excess adhesive that stuck to the wood. I don't know if there is tape that is safe for the finishes on wood furniture, though. They had already damaged the woodwork so I was planning to sand it anyway, in case the finish was removed with the tape (but it wasn't). I bought wide, double-sided tape for this purpose at the pet store, and one application was all it took.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone,

The cat is probably 2 years old. They would love to get a friend for it, but the landlord doesn't allow 2 cats. It had some crystals in its urine about 2 months ago and they changed the cat's food......which I'm wondering about. DS is home most of the time working on the computer and the cat has access to him all the time. They're thinking of getting one of those big play stations for it, but I'm not sure that will help. I, too, am thinking about some deficiency. I told DS to grow some of that oatgrass for the cat. They play with it alot. It bugs the heck out of them at night and disrupts their sleep. If they close their bedroom door, the cat scratches on the door all night. The cat is really cute and affectionate too!
We had a cat that died of hyperthyroidism a couple years ago. We miss him alot, but I don't want another cat because of all the constant meowing, scratching, etc. And our cat had a doggie friend, and I was home all the time.
I had bought an oat grass kit for my cat, but his disease progressed so rapidly, I never had time to grow it.
Maybe this type of behavior is just what happens if you never allow a pet outside?

[Simplicity]

Peppermint oil or Vicks Vapo-rub is supposed to work too.

[pinkytoe]

We adopted a stray male Siamese about 2yo and discovered right away that he loved to chew on plastic. We didn't know until I discoverd my flip-flops chewed into bits in the back of the closet. To this day, we have to put plastic things away so he can't get into them-especially cellophany type food packaging. He will pop open the pantry door and chew on them when we forget to latch. He also scratches furniture. So far, putting clear packing tape strips over the areas he scratches seems to deter him as long as he doesn't pull them off to chew.

[Glo]

We have two maine coon cats and they chew on wood some of the time. They are over 2 years old and are in good health. When I catch them at it, I just firmly say "no" and it ends until the next time. They haven't damaged anything; its mostly my wooden spoons that they like.

[citrine]

My oldest chews and scratches when he wants our attention...usually to let us know he is hungry and wants to be fed :)
Our youngest chews on the plastic toy sticks! I would make sure the little guy has toys and your son plays with him so he does not get bored and into trouble.