How to Keep Your Cats From Eating Your Plants

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If you’re like me, your tiny outdoor space is just not enough room to contain your love of plants, so you have some indoor plants as well. And, if you’re also like me, you share your apartment with a feline or two (or four!). Surely then, you’ve figured out this little formula: Cats + indoor plants = half-eaten plants. But how in the heck can the two (plants and cats) coexist?!

Photo by synes

First, it’s important to know which plants are poisonous to cats. The ASPCA has a good list of poisonous plants, but a few common ones are Philodendron, Caladium, Ivy, Narcissus, Sago Palm and Peace Lily. This is kind of obvious, but you should never have poisonous plants where cats can eat them. And remember, cats are curious, determined, and can get into places you thought they never could. Also, plants in hanging baskets can drop their leaves where a curious kitty might take a nibble.

So, assuming you’ve eliminated all potentially toxic plants, here are some things I’ve done to keep my cats from damaging my plants:

  1. Buy kitty grass (or grow your own). Distract your cats attention and fulfill their desire to eat plant material by giving them something that you want them to eat.
  2. Put plants in places where cats can’t easily get to them. Choose trees with leaves that are too high up for your cat (and don’t place them near furniture the cat can use as a stepping stone to get to your tree) and also try hanging baskets.
  3. Observe what particularly attracts your cats. I’ve noticed that my cats really like long, thin, dangling foliage (probably because it moves easily and looks like something fun to play with). Don’t pick those plants!
  4. I’ve found that spraying something called “Bitter Yuck!” on my plants deters them most of the time. It was originally made to deter pets from licking wounds while they’re healing, and is made with Rosemary extract, which as Green Gardenista explains, cats don’t like. You can get Bitter Yuck! at pet supply stores. Test it in an inconspicuous area of the plant first to make sure that it won’t damage your plant.
  5. Rosemary brings me to the idea of using plants that cats don’t like. I’ve found that cats don’t like plants with a citrus or minty smell. You can also try putting something in the pot that has a smell cats don’t like, such as moth balls or lavender sachets.[UPDATE: As Kurt mentioned in the comments, moth balls can be toxic to cats if they eat it--which I think is unlikely because they don't like the smell--but it's not worth the risk. The safest way to use moth balls to deter your cat is to put it inside something with holes that will let the scent out but that prevents the cat from giving it a taste. Kurt recommends a jar with small holes punched in the lid. Check out Kurt's website for more helpful tips about living with cats.]
  6. Whatever you do, don’t put mulch or small gravel to cover the dirt in the pot, your cat might think the material is a litter box. Having your cats turn your pots into a litter box is much worse that your cat eating the leaves!
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August 15, 2008 | Filed Under General, Indoor Gardening 
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Comments

4 Responses to “How to Keep Your Cats From Eating Your Plants”

  1. jen on August 15th, 2008 6:45 am

    Hi Fern, thats a very helpfull post.
    I am going to have to look for some of that “bitter yuck”. We are supposed to look after Zoe, a friends cat, and she loves nothing more than to jump up on my counters and eat anything growing. Now any suggestions to stop her from jumping onto the window sills?
    Jen

  2. Barbee' on August 15th, 2008 9:55 am

    As I was reading your post I was beginning to think: what’s left?! Then I read about the citrus and minty plants. I no longer have cats, but I do like them and have had several in the past. This is a good post. One of my favorite books is Gladys Taber’s book “Conversations With Amber” Amber was her cat. She wrote another one about her, too, but I don’t remember the name.

  3. Kurt Schmitt on August 15th, 2008 12:28 pm

    Good post. I came across this post while researching my cat repellent pages, and I thought I’d leave my 2 cents…

    Moth balls — Moth balls are generally made of two different types of substances, both of which are toxic, so you should not leave them exposed. Instead, put them in a glass jar with a metal lid. Poke small holes in the lid so that the fumes can escape and the smell will keep the cat away. Better yet, don’t use them at all.

    Never let animals or children handle moth balls (you shouldn’t touch them either). Smaller bodies need less exposure for toxicity to occur, and some substances react differently in small animals than they do in humans (Tylenol for example, will kill a cat, and aspirin takes 3 days for a cat’s body to metabolize).

    Mint plants — Cats typically do not like citrus, especially lemon, but as for mint, they usually are attracted to it. Catnip is actually a relative of the mint plant (about 80% of cats are affected by catnip and it’s genetic). In fact, it’s also sometimes called “catmint.”

    Many cats are attracted to mint smells. With my cat Teddie, if you’re chewing peppermint gum anywhere near her she goes crazy. She probably would stick her nose inside your mouth if you let her (I’ve always stopped short of that).

    Cat grass — When you want to keep cats away from something, you should always provide an alternative for them. The cat grass idea is a good one. Another is to grow catnip inside a small bird cage. You’ll have to weight down or anchor the cage, but the idea is to let the cat eat the leaves that poke through, but not destroy the plant.

    Put this plant away from the other plants you don’t want your cat to get into. Another thing you should do is rub the catnip (or buy dried catnip for this) on a scratching board or post. This will attract the cat to the post and let her relieve some stress by enjoying the catnip and instinctive scratching behavior.

    Keeping cats off window sills — In response to Jen’s question. Cats generally hate sticky surfaces. Double-sided tape on top of cardboard is great for placing on tables, counters, window sills, and so on to keep cats off. Generally, you want to (not scare but) startle the cat a bit with a semi-loud noise and say “no” in a stern voice when the cat jumps. The combination of the noise, the “no” and the double-sided tape should train the cat not to go on the window sill.

    Soon, just “no” should work. After a while, you can take the cardboard/tape away, only bringing it back if the training doesn’t stick. There are other longer term training methods, like clicker training, but that won’t work if you’re only with the cat a short time.

    I hope that helps!

    -Kurt

  4. Fern on August 15th, 2008 2:58 pm

    Jen–I’ve used both of the methods Kurt suggested with a lot of success. My cats don’t even try and jump on the kitchen counters anymore, which is good because beyond being unsanitary, it could be dangerous for them. It’s also a good idea not to put anything that would tempt Zoe while you are teaching her your house rules. No point in putting a stumbling block in front of her….

    Barbee–Cat lovers seem to really like writing about their relationships with cats. I’ll have to check that book out.

    Kurt–Thanks for all that info, I didn’t realize that moth balls can be harmful. I’ll amend the post with your suggestions about how to use it.

    Your idea about putting catnip inside a bird cage is a really good idea! It creates a challenge and stimulation for the cat and prevents them from killing the plant.

    It’s interesting that your cat likes mint smells. My cats (all four of them) hate it. If I am chewing mint gum, or brushing my teeth with minty toothpaste they sniff it and recoil in disgust.

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