Cat Behavior Digging

How To Keep Your Cat Out Of Your Houseplants

Cats are curious creatures, and as such, they can wreak havoc on houseplants if you don't nip it in the bud as soon as the behavior starts. Besides the toxicity of many houseplants in the event of your cat ingesting them, cats also like anything with dirt in it, which can lead to them doing their business in your houseplants. Keep your cat and your houseplants safe by following a few simple tips.

Cats don't like an offending odor, and will stay away from it. In many cases, simply spraying a bitter apple spray or vinegar on your houseplants and the surrounding dirt is all you need to keep your cat from digging in your houseplants or eating them.

Adding decorative rocks to the soil of the plants will help keep your cat from digging in the plants as the cat will be distracted by the surface. Furthermore, along the scent deterrent route, simply placing orange peels in the soil will help keep cats away from your plants entirely due to the offensive acidic odor, which they don't enjoy.

Old scented candles broken up and placed in the soil seem to be a very effective method for keeping your cat out of the dirt and the plant in general. Cats are very sensitive to perfumes and scented things (even pleasant scents) so perhaps an old candle you have hanging around would do the trick just fine, or leaving a scented item near the plants to keep your cat away.

The same trick that works for keeping cats off counters can work for cats getting into plants as well. Around the plant that your cat keeps getting into, place double-sided tape (or just tape folded over, sticky side out) on the surface where your cat roams to get to your plants. Your cat won't like the sticky of the tape and can be distracted from returning.

Hanging houseplants is the best method for keeping your cat out of the plants overall. When you hang your plants out of reach of your cat, usually within just a few weeks they can "forget" that the plant is there to begin with. Over time, you can reintroduce your plants back to the other areas of your house, and hopefully your cat will now leave them alone. If not, you can always hang them up again, or try the other options mentioned as well. Over time, your cat should learn to leave your plants alone.

Source:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/621/