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How do I stop my cat from using the plants?

tigerdawn
14 years ago

My cat seems to be determined to use my larger potted plants as a litterbox. She mostly urinates in them. I tried making a lattice of double sided tape with the theory being that she doesn't like the sticky on her paws but it didn't work. I just ordered some pointy things from Gardener's Supply and I hope they do the job better. Do you guys have any suggestions? She seems to use her real litterbox just as often as the plants.

Comments (18)

  • bullsie
    14 years ago

    Two suggestions I have.

    First is to try putting those large round river rocks in the pots. That seemed to help keep my guys out. Of course the pot is to heavy to move, so when moving, I remove the stones. Once placed, the stones go back in.

    If that doesn't help, get some of that decorative border fencing that is out there. Usually that comes in 3 or 4 foot sections. I know the painted/vinyl covered wire ones can be bent using a large empty pot and forming the wire around it. Then, put it down inside your pot and encircle your plant. Both these seem to keep kitties off and away - I've used the fencing to keep pussytoes off some window sills.

    Hope one of these helps.

  • gobluedjm 9/18 CA
    14 years ago

    Anything rough or pointed should work.
    Maybe some big pine cones. Several small dead tree branches would look most natural.
    Lattice of wire strung across or the rough side of velcro.
    A metal slinky might work. You could cut into pieces depending on how many plants you have and just twist tie together at both ends.

  • tigerdawn
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I have river rocks in my Monstera and it keeps her from pooping in it, but not peeing.

    The metal fencing might be a neat thing to try.

    I have a lot of pine cones, I'll try that too.

    Basically, if she can straddle the pot, she can use it. She's too smart sometimes! But I love her.

  • greattigerdane
    14 years ago

    I see you have a pot pottier there!

    First thing I'd do if it were my plant, or plants is, thoroughly flush out the soil with LOTS and LOTS of water or, change the soil completely if you haven't done either already.
    Cat urine can burn roots, resulting in sick or dead plants.

    Billy Rae

  • bullsie
    14 years ago

    Oh the cardboard cut out sounds great - I have to remember that!

  • tigerdawn
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Yeah, I have access to lots of cardboard. I'll try that one in the plant not currently occupied by pine cones.

  • grice
    14 years ago

    Last year I had a problem with my neighbor's cat coming to do her buisness in some of my houseplants on my back porch. I found a couple of solutions online. Apparently cats don't like the smell of citrus so I used lemon&lime peels in a couple of my pots.I placed the peels just under the soil. When kitty caught a whiff of citrus she looked elsewhere. In the others I sprinkled crushed red pepper(the dried spice) on the soil. I never had another problem with the kitty using my pots again.
    Good luck.

  • taz6122
    14 years ago

    grice the red pepper trick was very cruel. I hope that kitty didn't go off and scratch it's eyes out. Citrus rinds work without hurting the cat. Orange peels work great.

  • bamboo_turtles
    14 years ago

    HAHAHAHAHA , my friends cat uses ALL my Ponytail palm leaves as dental floss !!!!! Try dealing with that one , LOL ..

  • doris836
    14 years ago

    Someone had this same problem a couple years ago and they said to stick plastick forks in the soil as cats don't like them. Worked for me!!

  • grice
    14 years ago

    "grice the red pepper trick was very cruel. I hope that kitty didn't go off and scratch it's eyes out. Citrus rinds work without hurting the cat. Orange peels work great."

    ???
    GMAFB!

  • Kataway
    9 years ago

    Hi Everyone,

    My five furries gave my plants a hard time to the point that I thought either the cats or plants had to go! Fortunately, I came up with a devise that worked and now they coexist peacefully. I would like to see if someone would like to try it to see if it works with other cats??

  • Photo Synthesis
    9 years ago

    I had the same problem, too. I had two cute little bobtail kitties adopt me. They just showed up in my backyard and never left. Shortly after that, Spring arrived, and I moved all of my plants outside. This soon became their playground, playing in and around all the different sized pots. Then, one of them discovered that the larger pots made a much better litter box than the yard did. So I went and bought a few bags of those white marble rocks, and lined the large pots with them. This did the job, and he no longer used them ever again.

    I liked the overall look so much, that I lined all the rest of my pots with white marble rocks as well. Since I use the same type of pots for almost all of my plants, this kind of tied them all together, giving them all a similar appearance. In the end, I'm glad the cats did this, or else I never would have bothered with covering up the soil in the pots with anything. So in the end, it kind of worked out for the best.

    I've attached a photo of just one of my larger plants, a Pachira aquatica (money tree), just to give you an example.

  • birdsnblooms
    9 years ago

    Tommy. WOW! You Pachira is the nicest I'd ever seen.
    Absolutely gorgeous!
    From foliage to braided trunk.

  • kwie2011
    9 years ago

    I've been working with animals for a very long time. Maybe one of these ideas will work for you:

    1. Uncrinkled sheet of heavy aluminum foil - cats hate the sound
    2. Upside-down mouse traps under a little newspaper or tea towel is best, but not necessary. They fly into the air & scare the crap out of the cat. UPSIDE-DOWN ONLY for obvious reasons.
    3. Carpet tack strips - nasty points aren't nice to step on
    4. Ssscat brand spray head goes on canned air & uses infrared sensor to spray air when cat is near - sound alone works, but for stubborn cats, you can point it at them.
    5. Set a shallow dish or lids of water on soil surface - cats hate wet feet. Add rubbing alcohol for unpleasant odor and sensation in eyes & nose.
    6. Rolled up balls of masking or duct tape - even more annoying to have stuck to them than just double-stick tape. Tape balls stick and follow them around. Only trouble is the cat might pee somewhere else in its panic to remove attacking tape balls.
    7. Bamboo skewers or dowels stuck into soil to form a fence, or stuck at all different angles so they're very uncomfortable to squat or walk in. Bag of 100 for $2 in Walmart kitchen isle
    8. Scat Mat gives static-like shock - from Foster & Smith or any online pet store, maybe even PetSmart.
    9. Infrared-triggered noise maker. Some are sold for this, but one of those cheap infrared doorbells or buzzers from Amazon that little shops use instead of a bell on the door will only cost $5-$10 & is good enough for most cats. Will also alert you to bad behavior so you can squirt kitty if noise doesn't do the trick.

    1. Soak some corn starch in Bitter Apple, Bitter Lime, Fooey (best) or other bitter product. Let dry. INSIDE A SEALED BAG, break it back into powder. Put 1/4" corn starch on soil surface & top with thin layer of horrible, bitter powder. When cat disturbs powder, bitterness gets in mouth & nose & (s)he will never go back. Save this as absolute last resort because it is unspeakably horrible. It works, but you can't avoid enjoying a bit of it yourself while making and cleaning it up, and when the cat disturbs it and later tracks it around the house. Every now & then some tiny bit will waft up from somewhere and you'll be gagging and spitting for half an hour. Your cat might also not want to bathe itself when it gets the horrible, bitter crap in its fur. Trust me, every other option is better than this one.

    For details, more help, or more ideas, email me through the site.

  • ciociadawn
    8 years ago

    My cats were using my plants as a litter box and I have a lot of plants. i came up with a solution that worked perfect for me. I bought lots of the fake branch garland, it goes on clearance after Christmas dirt cheap, and strategically placed it in all my plants. Place it in the pot and arrange it so the branches are sticking up and put enough so no dirt shows. The cats get poked if the try and jump in the planter and they can not get to the dirt. Added bonus, it looks nice. I still have a problem with them using my garage floor so if anyone has any good ideas.....

  • Sandra Claus
    3 years ago

    Cayenne pepper is supposed to keep your cats out of your House plants in the home and even outside and your garden area they say if you sprinkle Cayenne pepper around your plants the cats will sniff it and stay away

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