# Furniture Chewing



## CosmicKat62 (Nov 24, 2014)

I let my rat, Remi, free range around my bedroom for playtime. He's normally very well behaved, but lately he's been chewing the wooden supports that hold my bed mattress. It's something new, so could it be boredom? I don't want to bloc the underneath of my bed off because it's his favorite place in my room and he loves to stash paper and stuff in there. So is there any way to stop his behavior?


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

Try some bitter apple!


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## Kuildeous (Dec 26, 2014)

PaigeRose said:


> Try some bitter apple!


Is that a spray of some sort? Got a link to what that looks like?


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## Tedology (Mar 3, 2015)

Kuildeous said:


> Is that a spray of some sort? Got a link to what that looks like?


I searched for "bitter apple" on Amazon and came up with this:

http://www.amazon.com/Grannicks-Bit...1426712551&sr=8-1&keywords=bitter+apple+spray

I tried it once when I owned Bengal cats (I put it on cords, etc.) and they had no problem licking at it and still chewing. But perhaps I hadn't applied a sufficient amount?


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

Does he seem obsessed with the chewing? Does Remi seem to understand the word "no" but ignores it in this once case? If he likes to chill there maybe get something nice for him to chew on under there.


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## DaisyNDahlia (Jan 28, 2015)

My girls have starting chewing the headboard and the buttons on the remote control! I am investing in some bitter Apple today as well as some fun wooden chewing sticks since that's what they seem to like. These will be for when they are on the bed with me. They have chew blocks for their cage that they like.


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## CleverRat (Mar 9, 2014)

My rats have chewed on the wood underneath some of my furniture too. I would tell them no but they just continued chewing. I sprayed it with some sour spray and that stopped them a little bit and now they aren't really interested in chewing it anymore. I don't know if that's from the spray or they just don't care anymore.


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## Tedology (Mar 3, 2015)

Hmm..I wonder if that spray would work on their fleece liners?!


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## CosmicKat62 (Nov 24, 2014)

I think that Remi is trying to create a tunnel going from one side of the bed to the other. He definitely doesn't understand the word "no" because he will only stop if I distract him by tapping his side. Do you guys think that if he was given a chew like an apple stick it would help, because I think he's trying create a personalized house under my furniture with hallways and all so the chewing is actually for a purpose other than grinding down his teeth.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

First of all it is boredom that's causing your rats to chew stuff. This shouldn't be much of a surprise because chewing through stuff is what rats do... 

Oddly the worst cord chewer I ever had was Fuzzy Rat, as a true shoulder rat used to going outdoors every day and meeting and playing with kids and exploring the park being cooped up inside was torture for her in winter and mass electrical devastation ensued.

Oddly, when I said "no" and gave her a little bop, she would stop chewing a certain wire and leave it alone, then she would move on to another one. So she did understand 'NO' but she didn't generalize it to mean all wires. 'No' just meant don't chew 'that' wire. Odds are that you can teach your rats not to chew certain things, but there's a good chance they will just move on to something else.

Try to give them something more interesting to do, that will reduce or eliminate chewing. In the summer time when Fuzzy Rat could go outdoors the indoor wiring was safe.

Best luck.


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## Mojojuju (Nov 15, 2014)

My rats loved the taste of bitter apple. It was like salad dressing. Mm!

Might have to try a few no-chew sprays.


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