PET ADVICE NEEDED So Iām going to be adopting a cat very soon and I wondered if anybody here with cats/pets could give me any advice for keeping my cat and plants safe. Iām going to be giving away my peace lillies to a friend because Iāve heard that they are particularly toxic to cats if ingested. But any advice at all is appreciated eg keeping cats from eating/knocking over plants, keeping cats from using plants soil as a bathroom etc
not advice but fingers crossed that you luck out and the cat doesnāt bother with your plants ā i got lucky with my cat!
3 Likes Thank you š fingers crossed! It would just be my luck that Iād get a cat who wants to eat all my plants
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Hope you get a kitty who could care less about plants. None of the cats I grew up with wanted to use dirt for bathroom issues until I met my sonās cat. To help discourage that place some type of stones/pebbles on top of soil. Water flows through but their paws donāt like it. Maybe even the clay pebbles/stones they have at plant stores. Good luck!!
1 Like Oh thanks thatās a good idea Iāll try that! Iām so excited to get a kitten but the whole plant situation has made me so so anxious š
1 Like Donāt be. It will work out. Enjoy your new fur baby š
2 LikesJust beware that the stones donāt make the soil stay too moist - this can prevent normal drying off the top of the soil!
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I have 3 cats and really each cat is different mine will sometimes sniff them but thatās all if you get too worried about it just put them higher up also it could help to grow some cat grass for them so they do have a plant to eat
5 Likes Thatās a good idea! I actually noticed a local shop selling cat grass seeds but they havenāt been in stock for a while. Maybe more toward spring theyāll come back :)
2 Likes Well fingers crossed that they do š
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I have 3 wonderful idiots that have made plant keeping into an extra challenging hobby lol Most of my plants are at least slightly toxic to pets if ingested. I've had to get a cabinet and new open shelving to prevent what my husband likes to call 'death by stupid.' All the plants out of the cabinet have to be on shelves that the cats would have to jump to reach. The shelves also have to have little knickknacks on them so the cats don't think there's even a possibility that they can jump up and land safely on a shelf. So far, I've only had one cat that bit a toxic plant (dieffenbachia) because I wasn't paying close enough attention while rearranging. Luckily I caught it immediately and flushed her mouth with milk and she had no side effects/symptoms. Bonus, she doesn't even want to look at that plant now and if it's on the floor, she stays at least 10 feet away. Side note, peace lilies aren't true lilies, so as long as you keep them out of chomping range, you don't have to give them away.
This is all very good advice. Since so many houseplants are toxic to cats I would strongly recommend keeping them out of reach (high cabinet that they canāt jump to, or put something like knick knacks - Iāve used a little magazine stand - to prevent them from jumping up). I put up a bunch of shelves that are only just big enough to fit the plants, and they donāt even try to jump up to them. Ooh and hanging planters are good too! Just donāt tempt them with super long tassels lol Everything I have thatās on a lower shelf is non-toxicā¦ honestly the only time my cats really try to eat them is when they want something from me (like food or attention). Most of my pots have a nice wide base, and anything more delicate goes on the shelf! Iāve never had the soil/bathroom issue but put strong wire mesh over the top of a pot with a tree in it to prevent them from walking on it and tracking soil everywhere! Good luck! I hope that helps!
2 Likes Oh yeah, I cut the tassels off all my hangers, even the ones in the cabinet. We try not to tempt fate here lol
1 Like Oh okay! I think Iāll put my peace lillies on another window thatās much higher up and harder to climb up then :,) thatās good news!
2 LikesMy cat became interested in my plants after a few months of having her, citrus and rosemary kind of helped but I just had to order a bitter spray to further discourage biting. I tried cat grass and she just ignores it, so now I use it as a physical barrier in front of the plants I donāt want her to eat. In terms of knocking plants over, I used blu tack to stick down the pots of the ones she toppled and thatās enough to keep them in place
3 Likes Yeah I was thinking blue tac might help for the smaller ones! I might need to get some small terrariums for the smaller propagations and stuff but theyāre expensive š
1 Like A cheaper (and slightly less pretty) option is looking for used fish/reptile tanks that can be used as a terrarium! And if you don't care about looks at all, you can use plastic storage totes š
2 Likes Oh god you know what youāre a life saver!! Iāve been looking for terrariums online and theyāre so expensive I didnāt even think of using aquariums! Thank you! Thatās gonna save me a little money š
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There is a series on YouTube called āPlant Life with Ashley Anitaā. She went to a couple big box stores and pointed out all the different varieties and told if they were toxic to dogs or cats. Might help.
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My cousin who has cats puts tin foil on top of the dirt, with a hole for the plant to go through to keep the kitties from digging in there. Maybe poke a couple tiny holes in it to make sure the soil can breathe too. Besides that, just make sure to tidy up any leaves that fall off so they arenāt eaten š
2 Likes Congrats on your new fur baby!! š„°
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