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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / August 2005will 110V kill a 1 1/2 pound kitten?
Hi, I have seen some discussion here on how to stop cats chewing electrical cords. I have a slightly different question on the subject. I have a 6 week old kitten, 1 1/2 pounds now, and he loves to bite and scratch electrical cords. I sprayed lots of some bitter-tasting deterrent from a pet store, I tried to taste it, it is awful, but he seems unfazed by it. I tried educating the kitty, but there are simply too many cords for him to "get it". OK, I personally don't really mind have cords chewed through and have to periodically replace some of them. What I do mind having a dead cat from 110 volts of electricity. So, my question is: can biting on an electrical cord, if he touches both wires at the same time that is - there are carpets on the floor so he is insulated from ground, so the only way is to touch both wires..., can that kill a 1 1/2 pound kitten? The electricity will presumably just go from one tooth through the mouth to the other. Will that kill? Thank you, Mark > Hi, I have seen some discussion here on how to stop cats chewing > electrical cords. I have a slightly different question on the subject. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Thank you, Yes, it can kill. Some people have had success with bitter apple. I don't know if that's what you tried, or not. You could also try threading your cords through the type of flexible protectors that are sold in computer stores, and there are some flat protectors to use if the cords have to stretch across the floor. I even visited one home where the had used very thin PVC conduits for their cords. MaryL > Mark >> Hi, I have seen some discussion here on how to stop cats chewing >> electrical cords. I have a slightly different question on the subject. [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > MaryL >> Mark On another group an adult cat was just electrcuted biting into a 110v cord. Her hip was dislocated and her mouth burned. What I did when my cats were kittens is duct taped down all cords on the floor and bound together any hanging ones. You could also get some flexible tubing and split it down one side to cover cords. It's pretty important to get this under control if your kitten is really fascinated by cords. > Some people have had success with bitter apple. Bitter apple spray worked for my cat for a while, but she's recently decided that she doesn't mind it so much. Brought my laptop home last week - the cord had never been sprayed. Within 30 minutes of plugging in, I got a "Save your work and shut down your computer or change power sources" alert. She'd completely ruined the cord already - I didn't even see her come into the room. Luckily I had a spare, which I completely coated with bitter apple spray before plugging back in. I turned around 5 minutes later, and there she was, happily gnawing away at the just-sprayed cord. Essence of Orange is next, I guess. I don't want to wrap every cord in the house with tinfoil, but I will if I have to. She's been really lucky so far, but that can't last forever. I tried a skinny little rawhide chew this weekend, too, just to see if it would interest her in any way. She did chew on it, for about 10 seconds. Maybe if I plugged it into an electrical outlet, she'd find it more interesting ;) -- Jennifer >> Some people have had success with bitter apple. > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > -- > Jennifer Have you tried one of those flexible conduits (not sure of the correct term) that are sold in computer stores? They come in various diameters, so they can hold one cord or the larger ones will contain several cords. The cord(s) are inserted in a slid in the side of the conduit. They are actually designed as a way to organize the many cords that come with computers, but they also work very well to protect cords from cats (and cats from cords). They are inexpensive. MaryL > Have you tried one of those flexible conduits (not sure of the correct term) > that are sold in computer stores? We have some of those for out larger bundles of cords, like behind the desks in our office, but it actually winds up being really awkward (cords from the peripherals into the power management block, from the block to the UPS, from the UPS to the outlet. Cords from the machines to the router, from the router to the walls. We run some of the cords through holes, but it's a real pain any time we need to plug and unplug or more anything, and parts of the cords alway stick out anyway. Scout is particularly adept at fishing out slack. Plus, power cords are not the only problem. Keyboards and mice are perpetual targets as well. We have a ridiculous amount of cords in ones and twos and threes and tens all over the house, including ones in weird locations that only a cat can get into, like between the aquarium and the wall, behind the stereo components, and running up beside a doorframe. Training hasn't worked, sprays haven't worked, and cord managers only sort-of work and are really awkward. If/when I ever find a complete solution that works well in all situations, I will post :) We still have orange essence and chili pepper/vegetable oil to try (though the last one sounds sticky and unpleasant). Working on it... -- Jennifer > > Have you tried one of those flexible conduits (not sure of the correct term) > > that are sold in computer stores? <snip> > Training hasn't worked, sprays haven't worked, and cord managers only > sort-of work and are really awkward. If/when I ever find a complete > solution that works well in all situations, I will post :) We still > have orange essence and chili pepper/vegetable oil to try (though the > last one sounds sticky and unpleasant). I've seen people use cayenne pepper and Vaseline. I would think vegetable oil would be too liquidy. OK, thank you everybody for the replies! It seems I solved the problem by brute force. That is, I bought 2 big cans of BitterApple and BitterEnd, and unloaded both of them on all the cords in my apartment, all at once. The cords were literally dripping. At first the cat would still bite and grimace, but after a while he gave up, and has not resumed. He walks around the cords, just does not touch them with his mouth. By the way, I did ask 2 vets, and they both said, that no, if the cat is on carpet, the electricity will not kill him, he will just get a burn in his mouth. Thank you again, and maybe the solution is as simple as just apply A LOT of BitterEnd! Mark OK, thank you everybody for the replies! It seems I solved the problem by brute force. That is, I bought 2 big cans of BitterApple and BitterEnd, and unloaded both of them on all the cords in my apartment, all at once. The cords were literally dripping. At first the cat would still bite and grimace, but after a while he gave up, and has not resumed. He walks around the cords, just does not touch them with his mouth. By the way, I did ask 2 vets, and they both said, that no, if the cat is on carpet, the electricity will not kill him, he will just get a burn in his mouth. Thank you again, and maybe the solution is as simple as just apply A LOT of BitterEnd! Mark Not only can it kill but it can start a fire in your house if the puncture gets wet. Been there, and just managed to avoid it. Moreover, you risk shorting out and ruining expensive equipment like computers and phones. Been there. Deal with it. > Hi, I have seen some discussion here on how to stop cats chewing > electrical cords. I have a slightly different question on the subject. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Mark >Not only can it kill but it can start a fire in your house if the puncture >gets wet. Been there, and just managed to avoid it. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Deal with it. Got any videos? A couple of the ladies here get off on that kind of thing. They've been playing kill-the-cat on a web site and bragging about their high scores. One of them is a KKK type and the other is a seriously pissed-off alcoholic. Charlie >> Hi, I have seen some discussion here on how to stop cats chewing >> electrical cords. I have a slightly different question on the subject. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> >> Mark >> Not only can it kill but it can start a fire in your house if >> the puncture gets wet. Been there, and just managed to avoid it. >> Moreover, you risk shorting out and ruining expensive equipment >> like computers and phones. Been there. >> Deal with it. > Got any videos? A couple of the ladies here get off on that kind > of thing. They've been playing kill-the-cat on a web site and > bragging about their high scores. One of them is a KKK type and > the other is a seriously pissed-off alcoholic. Charlie, Charlie... ;-) Joske > >> Not only can it kill but it can start a fire in your house if > >> the puncture gets wet. Been there, and just managed to avoid it. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Charlie, Charlie... ;-) Hi Joske! Don't I remember you from years ago? I used to be a regular poster to this list a long time ago. You sound familiar to me. > Joske You need to stop it. mark_galeck_spam_magnet yahoo.com wrote: > Path: newssvr30.news.prodigy.com!newssvr23.news.prodigy.net!newssvr33.news.prodigy.com!newssvr19.news.prodigy.com!newsdbm02.news.prodigy.com!newsdst01.news.prodigy.com!newsmst01b.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.com!newscon02.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.net!news.glorb.com!postnews.google.com!g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail > From: mark_galeck_spam_magnet yahoo.com [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Mark I would also be loud and animated when you catch her with cords--make a whole huge rukus to get the point across. Jen >You need to stop it. > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> >> Mark > OK, I personally don't really mind have cords chewed through and have > to periodically replace some of them. What I do mind having a dead cat > from 110 volts of electricity. >From what I know about electrocution, you're asking the wrong question. It's not the voltage that kills, it's the amperage, and it's quite tricky. The amount of amperage on a household current is limited by your circuit breaker. Assuming a 20 amp breaker, you're looking at 110 x 20 [110 is low side, I've seen 120 and higher, depending on the length of the wires from your main breakers] which is what, 2200 watts or 2.2 kilowatts of power. That's enough to fry anyone, let alone a tiny kitten or cat. AC can clamp the muscles, so if the cat connects with the wires, she will not be allowed to unclamp and will literally fry. That's my guess. You could ask a vet or an electrician. I have dealt with this from a biomedical engineering point of view. Now amperage is tricky. A very low 1/4 amp or 250 milliamps can kill a human being, a full-grown adult by putting the heart into fibrillation. That's nothing. So it's tricky what kills and what does not. Much higher amperage kills by burning up the unfortunate individual. One possibility, which might help, is putting in Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters, of GFI or GFCI devices. These are now mandatory in kitchens and bathrooms. They will prevent certain types of electrocution. They are relatively inexpensive. In fact, you can get breakers that are GFCI and install them in the main box so all the electric outlets on the breaker or fuse path are protected to some degree. I think the GFCI or GFI and putting some Bitter Herbs or that stuff which repels cats might be a good and smart start. |
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