hi, i'm new :) question about eating plants...

i'm so glad i found this place!

i'm having a major problem with my cat and our new ivy plant. we just moved and this is our first indoor plant and murphy (the cat) thinks it's an awesome new toy! he keeps chewing on it and i'm afraid he's going to get sick, not to mention ruin the plant, but obviously i care more about his health than the plant. lol

when i catch him doing it, i reprimand him in a serious tone. i don't yell and he knows that tone means he's being bad but he ignores me. any suggestions?

one more question, i have a littermaid litter box and it's good, better than nonautomated but i keep reading about the scoopfree boxes and how much better they are so i finally just ordered one. does anyone have one and is it really that much better than the littermaid?

also, i'm just curious about something, does anyone know why murphy takes his toys and puts them in or near his food bowl? he usually plays with my ponytail bands or those plastic rings around the top of the orange juice containers (he likes to play soccer with them. no matter what awesome toys i get him, he reverts back to those two things) lol... and they always wind up around his food bowl! i've had murphy 10 years and the baby i had before him did the same thing. in fact, they have many similar behavior traits. i'm fascinated by cat behavior i just wish i knew what it all meant.

thanks and you'll be seeing me a lot, i'm sure.

below is a slideshow of murphy. he's pretty awesome but of course, i might be a bit biased.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v195/leese/murphy/?action=view&current=f5474511.pbw

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...phy/th_001.jpg

thanks for your help!

Hiya,

Aris also prefers rubber bands and plastic rings over actual toys These plastified metal strips used to close pastic bags are a favourite, too.

Since playing is like hunting to them, I suppose that might be why the toys are often near the food. First hunt, then eat. Or maybe they are just playing around and get distracted by the food, I don't know

Many kinds of ivy plants are poisonous to cats, so you're right to be worried. Personally I would consider getting rid of the ivy and get some plants which are harmless to cats.

I've heard of people who would 'spike' the underside of plants' leafs with some really hot tabasco sauce and things like that, but personally I'd just avoid having plants in the house which pose a risk.

Our guys usually choose one or two plants to destroy and leave the rest alone. They eat plants/grass when they need to throw up, because they have hair or other unwelcome stuff in their stomach.

Cheers,
Wout

oh wow, i didn't know they were poisonious!!

ok, i'll move it onto the balcony, thanks.

murphy loves those twistie closure things off the bread too.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v195/leese/murphy/?action=view&current=f5474511.pbw