Get to the nearest health food store for wheatberries, or big box store where you can find 'catgrass' seed(usually with the herb seeds). You might be able to find catnip plants if the nurseries are selling herbs already. Grow your kitty his own grass to chew on. Then get some chicken wire or hardware cloth and form a 'cage' that will set over your germination trays so they still get light and air. Make sure the holes are small so kitty doesn't get his foot caught. You could also spray the area with something he doesn't like to smell. One of our cats doesn't like my scented geraniums, so I rub the leaves where he's not supposed to be. None of our 3 cats like menthol(ie,icy hot, vicks vapo-rub)so that gets smeared in other places. I've always heard on pet shows that cats don't like Jean Nate spray due to its citrus scent, but I've never tried it. Maybe a citrus scented air freshener spray would work. I've got quite a few houseplants(all cat friendly)and the bratties are interested in them only when I am(watering, etc) or when there is something new. After a while they lose interest.Usually if I lose a plant it's because somebody got rambunctious and knocked a pot over while playing. I start tomatoes and peppers from seed every year. I sprout seeds in ziplock bags(in moist coffee filters) and then plant them in their starting pots. My grow light is placed very low over the seedlings and the cats don't even try to crawl under it. By the time I need to raise it, they've lost interest. Also once the toms develop essential oils in their leaves, the cats don't like them, so I keep the peppers and toms mixed together. Hope this helps(can you tell we've had cats for a while?)LOL!

Great ideas...I've been meaning to get Jag his own catgrass.

The chicken wire I will definitely try.

Thanks!

This may also deter eating, but I read a nice tip for keeping the business end of a cat from bothering your garden.

Strategically placed toothpicks :)

I am new to seed starting this year, and we have 6 indoor cats - four of whom are able-bodied enough to get up on the shelves we have our seedlings on. I was having to "shoo" the cats away constantly until I added cinnamon to the top of the soil (to preemptively strike at some developing white fungus / mold) and the cats don't seem to like the smell of the cinnamon. Two birds with one stone...Knock on wood!

Hi! I'm a newbie to this forum and was trying to find out if anyone had been using an old fish tank for starting seedlings. Last year and this year I have been using this method to keep my tomato seedlings safe from my demon kitty!
-B

I think my first couple years, in order to maximize heat and light, I secured cardboard to the wire-mesh shelves I was using. I covered the pre-cut cardboard on one side with aluminum foil, made holes at the top, and twist tied them onto the shelves. When I needed to get to the flats I lifted up the cardboard like a flap. This also effectively served to keep the cats out. In fact, spare lengths of cardboard seem to have been used on many occasions to keep cats out of whatever it is they would have made a mess of. :)

I have found that my cats made the connection between the spray bottle and the plants. A few squirts at the cats have been helpful. I also leave the spray bottle "guarding" the plants, and the cats dont' go near. :-) I still keep the door closed most of the time anyway, just to be safe.