Boots. Get out of my plants, Mr."

[stevenboots]

I may have already asked this. But I don't remember doing so and I can't find the topic in a search. Anyway.

Is there a way to break a kitten/cat from climbing on/digging in your plants? Boots is digging in my Ponytail Palm and pulled over a flowering plant in a plant stand. What can I do to get him to leave the plants alone. He gets plenty attention and has several toys to play with.

Thanks for any help.

 

[paula freeman]

I heard that you can put water in a spray bottle and every time your cat does something wrong use the water on him. It wouldn't hurt to try it.

 

[talkingpeanut]

It's actually not a great idea to use a spray bottle. It makes your cat afraid of you, but doesn't necessarily teach them not to do the behavior in question. I would cover the soil with a bit of aluminum foil for now until the cat learns to leave the plants alone. Cats really don't like the feel of aluminum foil.

 

[stevenboots]

Aw-ha. I'll give that a try.

 

[cinqchats]

Tin foil worked for me too. You could probably use some heavy river stones to cover the dirt as well if you want something a little nicer-looking.

 

[detroitcatlady]

I could never get my cats to stay out of the plants. My 1 1/2 year old female cat is a climber. I used to have all sorts of larger tree-like plants. One of them looked like a palm tree but it was some other kind of plant. I can't remember the name, but it had a think bark like a tree and every time I turned my back she would be in the plants, chewing the leaves and knocking them over. Eventually I got tired of the mess so I got rid of the plants she managed not to kill and keep small plants on window hooks away from the cats where they cannot get to. I wish I could have a christmas tree but I know what the end result would be.