I have a lot of houseplants .... the ones that are "reachable" by one of my cats are all ones she won't touch .... African Violets and Succulents. I have a fireplace, and I thought I'd try again, and got a plant at the nursery, which has long spikey leaves. I felt sure she would not eat those leaves because they were prickly. I was totally wrong. Next thing I knew she was munching away, and then of course "gave it back to me." I've tried everything .... spraying it with vinegar and water, and also I bought something at the pet store that I sprayed on it. That was so nasty that just smelling it was disgusting. Did it stop her? Of course not. Anybody find anything that really works? abby Moderator Note: Cleaned up subject line and added more description of subject
We've had lots of discussions about getting cats to do what we want, and have come to the conclusion we as humans are fighting a losing battle! However, my cat avoids any houseplant that has a garlic spray on it. One clove of garlic mashed in a cup of water, let sit overnight and then strain into a spray bottle. A little hot pepper (Tabasco sauce or Cayenne) added helps, too.
There is always another tact, distract her...get her a catnip mouse. A crinkly piece of paper suspended by a string, paw high, so she can bat it around. An introduction to the paper is to pull the paper around the floor by the string and have her chase it. Jerry
I really like the idea of the garlic in water and spraying the plant with that. I'm going to give that a try. Thanks much .... abby
You can also grow her her own pot of grass. Since we have limited amount of lawn now I have had to grow grass/wheat for my dogs in pots. I also used little wire fencing or decorative sticks to keep them out of the out door/patio pots. I don't know if this might work in your situation or not. Good luck!
You can also do what I do - move the plant that's being munched to the porch, and try something else to see if The Kat wants to eat it. There are plenty of plants cats aren't interested in. Or at least, not more than a chomp or two.
