Munching on Plants

[kewlkalico]

My one cat likes to munch on my houseplants. She doesn't actually eat them, she just chews on the leaves and then spits them out. Everyday I get home, and there's a pile of leaf bits underneath my plant. Is there something I could get to spray on the plant that wouldn't hurt it, but would discourage my cat from chewing on it? Something that would leave a bitter taste in her mouth? Thanks!

 

[my_hestia4]

omg, we have the same problem. My boyfriend has a green thumb and i warned him to put the plants in a higher spot so that hestia couldn't get to them, but less than three months later there wasn't a healthy plant in the entire apartment. We've cut it down to one strong fern which is in front of the window. The leaves are stronger and kinda poke you, so she doesn't go near it often, but occasionally i do find her chewing a dry leaf.

Perhaps you could change the type of plants that you keep? i mean, if it's a flower or soft leafy plant that is easy to eat, it's temptation. But something with meatier leaves, or dare i say a cactus, discourages chewing. We've had better luck with that.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Funny, another poster and I were JUST talking about the same thing -- well, with her cat, it's cords. A bittering agent is what you need, and Petco and PetsMart have them -- at Petco, look for "The Bitter End" and at PetsMart, "Bitter Cherry". Or, you can make your own deterrent by mixing cayenne pepper -- the bright red, very hot ground chili pepper, not the insipid chili powder people use here to make "chili" -- and water, and brushing this on the plant leaves. You'll have to reapply anything you use until your cat has had enough and decided plants are NOT yummy. GOOD LUCK!

 

[gingersmom]

Your cats are telling you that they need greens to eat: Please buy them some cat grass.

I keep cat grass growing all the time (I buy the seeds online) and I have over 30 houseplants that don't get bothered unless the cat grass has been depleted. Then I'll notice Ginger chewing on the spider plant.

Cat grass. It does a cat's body good.