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Cats and plants

post #1 of 6
11/2/10 at 9:14am
Thread Starter 
Feel free to move if this isn't the right place.

HollyHeart is a year old. I thought (mistakenly) that the kitten "misbehavior" would somehow dissapear Not with Holly. For the most part- she's really a sweet little cat- and the kids just adore her. She's just very, very mischevious

I've found Wii remote controllers in the house where they aren't supposed to be. She trotted off one day with an EMPTY plastic bag. She opens up cabinets if she's bored.

My problem is this kitty and plants. During the summer it's not a problem b/c the plants are all outside. It's getting chilly outside and they need to come in. We've got this gigantic spider plant that I'm just leaving out. Dd is mad, because it was HER plant from 5th grade but the thing wound up with ants in it earlier in the summer, and I'm not dealing with an indoor ant infestation. So I'm trying to root babies. I have some in water. And HollyHeart's DRINKING the water And eating the babies. I've looked online and I don't think they're poisonous. And I have another baby rooting in dirt.

She was eating my Christmas cactus. Luckily it's not huge- and the plant can sit on a stand where she can't get it.

The problem is this HUGE Crown of Thorns. I have 2 of them. They have to weigh almost 15lb a piece. One site said they can grow up to 4 feet tall! I would LOVE to get rid of them. But my father (who passed away 6 years ago) gave them to me, and every time I've tried to get rid of them, my teenagers give me major drama. It's a PLANT for heavens sake They stay outside in the summer, and we have a big porch so I really don't mind them out there.

But again, it's getting chilly so I have to take them in (or risk more teenage drama ) She was getting into one of them, but I think I found a home for it where she's not willing to go. We have this bay window in the kitchen, and Holly has claimed it as "her" spot. That's where I was putting the plant.

I just don't know what to do with the other one. Can anyone tell me if they're poisionous? Or a website that I can find out. Telling the silly cat "no" doesn't work. She acts just like my teenagers sometimes

But I can't ground her or take facebook away

Cheryl
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post #2 of 6
11/2/10 at 12:03pm
The crown of thorns is toxic. If you can't get rid of it go get some hardware cloth (a type of wire mesh) from the hardware store and fashion a "cage" to go around it. Make sure no parts of the plant are sticking out where your cat can chew on it. It would probably be better to go with the 1/4 inch, but 1/2inch would work.

For the spider plants - hang the ones that are rooted and try to move the ones in water up on a shelf or somewhere that she can't reach it.
If you get a another plant with ants in it, in the future, carefully try removing as much dirt as possible from it and repotting it.

Since HollyHeart wants something to much on, grow her some cat grass.

There are poisonous plant lists in the health section, but another way to find out is to look up your plants. Find their scientific name and look up that with "toxic". You'll find that many plants that aren't on the toxic plant lists are, though many are so weakly toxic that it doesn't get any attention. You'll also find that some of the lists have plants that aren't actually toxic. Others will miss your more uncommon plants entirely.
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post #3 of 6
11/2/10 at 12:37pm
I've heard this but never tried it: if you mix some vinegar and water and spray it on the leaves they won't chew on them. I'd think you'd probably have to do this frequently and then I'm not even sure it would work. I've got one room for all my plants in winter and I just keep the doors closed. Keeps me sane! I do leave my peace lily out though. It makes a good "jungle" and they don't chew on it!
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post #4 of 6
11/2/10 at 12:46pm
^Considering that a lot of toxic plants that do get chewed on are very bitter tasting and will actually cause burns to mucosa lining, I doubt vinegar would do much to detour a cat.
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post #5 of 6
11/3/10 at 3:00pm
Thread Starter 
Well- considering how stubborn HollyHeart can get- I don't think vinegar would deter her from eating a plant either But it sounded good.

Thanks for the ideas. I've got the "monster plants" in a window in a room that she really doesn't mess with. But it'll wind up being an upstairs room if we have to put it in a closed room b/c we have no doors downstairs.

I had cat grass last year and she seemed to love it. But I was buying the containers of it at Walmart and it didn't live very long. Isn't there somewhere else I can buy it in bulk (like lowes or something)? Those tiny containers of it you get at the store are kind of pricey as well

Cheryl
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post #6 of 6
11/3/10 at 3:58pm
No need to spend a lot! You can go buy a few small plastic (or terra cotta) planters or even reuse plastic food containers (like a cottage cheese container) as long as you poke some holes in the bottom and put something under it to catch any drained water.

At lowes, or walmart, get a sterile potting mix or top soil. If you see any numbers on it (ie: something like 7-7-7) that means there is fertilizer it in and that you can't use it. Look for packets of cat grass seeds. It may be a little harder to find them now, in which case you may have to order some online.

The varieties of grasses used for cat grass sprout quickly but will die just as quickly, too. There's not really anything you can do about that except for pull the dead and dying grass out of the pot and reseed it. If you have a couple of pots and plant them a few days apart you can keep a near constant supply growing.


Be careful moving your bigger established plants around too much. If they don't get the right type of light or you move them to a room that gets too warm or too cold in the winter you can kill them. Of course spider plants and christmas cactus plants are pretty much fool proof and hard to kill so they'll tolerate being moved a bit better.
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