Cat proof Houseplants

Super gardener

posting this on behalf of my daughter who has 2 (bored) housecats.  Despite her best efforts, and use of lemon spray and cayenne pepper they munch on her 
houseplants. She is just getting into gardening, and this is obviously rather off putting. They are quite determined little beasties! Are succulents and cacti the only way forward?

Fire

Put them on a higher shelf? Or hang them (the plants, not the cats).

Super gardener

She's had them on high shelves, though not tried hanging baskets yet.

B3

I had nibbles around the leaves of my houseplants many years ago. I blamed the dog or the cats. The dog was an unlikely suspect. Quite recently, a good quarter century on, my daughter admitted it was her. She thought that the leaves looked nicer with neatly nibbled edges.

Super gardener

Oh that's funny- no small children to blame in this case though!

AuntyRach

Cats cannot resist! All my plants have had to be retired to the dining room, where they aren’t allowed in. I do have one Spider plant on a very high cupboard in kitchen. 

Be aware that some succulent-types like Jade and Aloe ARE toxic though. 

Posy

Never ever use cayenne. If it gets in their eyes they may never recover and even in the mouth it causes terrible suffering. Cats are cats. Put the plants out of reach or don't have plants that cannot be nibbled or knocked down from time yo time.

Blue Onion

Bamboo skewers sort of jabbed out help, for large plants.  Not so much the nibbles, but if it's sitting in the plant or using it as a litter box.  I second the suggestion for hanging plants.  I did my seed starts for a few years on a wire constructed frame hanging from the bay window, hanging wire shelves of sorts.  All to keep them out of reach of one toddler, then the next.  

GreenBee

I recommend she grow some appropriate cat edible greenery, cat grass seed grows very quickly and she could try a variety to see which they prefer, my cats prefer the one a Swedish friend sends to me, larger seeds.  

I have lots of houseplants and two housecats, the only plant in any danger is the spiderplant, it has mildly hallucinogenic properties for cats apparently, it lives on a high shelf 

frankmcguire1981

Fire said:

Put them on a higher shelf? Or hang them (the plants, not the cats).

perfect answer, thank you! Still laughing!

Dovefromabove

GreenBee said:

I recommend she grow some appropriate cat edible greenery, cat grass seed grows very quickly and she could try a variety to see which they prefer, my cats prefer the one a Swedish friend sends to me, larger seeds.  ......

😊 I was just going to suggest growing ‘cat grass’ ... its easily available at most garden centres and online. 

My son grew it for his house cat, to keep his digestion healthy and to allow him to behave in a natural way. The cat lived to a happy and healthy old age of 19 years despite being a house cat since kitten-hood.