My sweet kitty just loves when I dig up the dirt to plant my flowerbeds and thinks that she's discovered a new litter box! After trying other methods: sprinkling in hot pepper (nope), cayenne pepper (nope), even adding clam shells into the soil (nope), I tried this.
I heard that animals don't like citrus and so after making orange-lemonade (3 oranges, 3 lemons and sugar to a gallon, YUM). I slivered up the peels and sprinkled them around in my flower bed under petals so they didn't show. You may also even add soil to empty citrus fruit peel halves and plant some small flower seeds and use them as pots! It worked! No more kitty visits!
I ended up doing the same around my vegetable garden fencing since a groundhog started making his rounds there soon after! Hope this helps all my creative friends out there! :D
By AHA! from Sterling, PA
This page contains the following solutions.
I use fruit and veggie net bags to protect my floor plants from my bad kitties that like to dig and leave "unmentionables" in them. I cut a bag into a circle to fit the diameter of the pot, then cut down the middle.
I have read questions on how to keep cats out of your house plants. Simple, use tin foil. Lay tin foil around the plant on the dirt. Don't push it down onto the dirt or you will start to get some mold.
Simple, but very effective! After years of trying almost everything to stop Brooklyn, our cat, from leaving his deposit in my overwintering houseplants I finally hit on this method which seems to have stopped him in his tracks.
I recently adopted two male cats from a shelter. They are about two years old and are well behaved in every aspect except one started using my large potted houseplants as a litter box.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Does anyone know how to keep cats away from potted plants?
By Tammie from Wildomar, CA
Use some lemon juice in your kitchen, and put the rinds in the dirt. They hate it!
Hope that helps.
PBP
Pinecones, lots of sizes, helped keep cats out of mine. Debi
Just place orange peels on top of the soil. Cats hate the smell of any kind of citrus. I also used this tip in my flower beds. They wont come near it.
Put marbles or glass pieces used in aquariums on top of the soil. Water will still go through and cats can't get to the soil.
Spray the cat with water every time it goes near the plant. Let the cat see the sprayer. When you leave the house, put the spray bottle in front of the plant and the cat will leave it alone.
How long do the rinds from oranges or lemons last as a deterrent out side in the garden? A few days? A week? Im going to try this method but I have a sizeable garden. Thanks
How can I keep a cat away from my houseplants?
By Pamela from Shreve, OH
I've done couple of things that worked for me. On very large pots I have covered the soil with river rocks and glass stones from the craft store or outside. they look pretty too. I also put clear packing tape in a criss cross pattern to cover the whole top of the pot (leave spaces for watering).
I place a citrus scented car airfreshner near or in my houseplants. I was desparate. I have not had a problem since.
My calico was eating my plants. I tried Febreze, and air fresheners to keep her away. Then I saw the Purina cat food just for indoor cats, and I got that, have been feeding that to her for over a month now, and she has completely stopped eating my plants. There is something in that food that satisfies their urge to chew on plants,if they were inside-outside cats, they would chew grass to get it out of their systems.
Cats hate the smell of citrus. Put a few orange,lemon or lime peels around the base of the plant. No more worries. Hope this helps.
I've got a problem with my cat laying in the citrus - I've got a lemon and an orange tree, and every time I leave for work, he's in them.
My house cat (kitten) is getting into my houseplants. He is sitting and digging. What can I do to keep him out?
By Patty Hunt
When I had house cats I used to put moth balls in the plants to prevent them from digging. You could probably put some rocks in there too, then they wouldn't be able to dig.
I would avoid the mothballs. They are poisonous. I put a layer of river rock on the soil of my houseplants. The cats completely lost interest.
I buy pebbles from the Dollar Tree & put in my houseplants, they look pretty & the cat doesn't try to dig in them. Also it doesn't effect watering your plants.
Definitely avoid moth balls and I can tell you from experience that pebbles on top of the soil will work plus the pebbles help keep moisture in the soil so it's a win win solution ;-)
How do you stop cats from pooping in houseplants?
By quana from Dayton, OH
Cover the top of each planter with aluminum foil forming it loosely around the plant itself.
There are a lot of really good ideas in the ThriftyFun archives below comments here. :-)
Just put orange peels in top of the soil. Cats hate the smell of any kind of citrus. I used this tip outside in my flower beds. No more cats using my beds as litter boxes. Hope this helps. ~Janette~
Also, change your cat litter. The cat seems to prefer the texture and smell of the earth over the texture and smell of your present litter. Try different litters until you find one the cat will use. I am a foster parent for a no-kill cat shelter, and presently have 9 cats. I have 10 litter boxes and 3 different kinds of litter. Some cats use the clumping, some will use only the non clumping clay litter and 2 cats will only use the recycled newsprint litter! None of them like the "super absorbent silicone" litter! Good luck. You may just have to use potting soil in your litter box!
I have two 5 month old kittens. The one has started to lay in the plant. He is not digging in it, eating it, or using it as a litter box. He just likes laying in the plant on the dirt. The only thing is he ends up dragging dirt everywhere when he gets out. Is there a way to keep him from getting in my plants?
By Tina W.
A piece of aluminum foil crinkled to fit over the dirt will work well.
I have had good luck crumpling aluminum foil all around the exposed soil. It keeps my cats out of the plants and does not harm the plants.
Use lava rocks for a more attractive and permanant solution (rather than aluminum foil). Spread a layer of lava on top of the dirt- its porous and not harmful to plants or pets. You can also stick toothpicks in the soil, but be sure to use a lot, you'll need to put them in very close to each other (aprox. ½ inch apart) so it prevents any access to them getting little paws into pots.
How do you keep cats from digging house plants?
By Shell from Chambersburg, PA
I have done this before. I have mixed or buried jacks, the toys you play with, most of the time my cat wont dig when there are pointy objects in there, also they hate orange slices. Hope this helps!
Fill it with gumballs from a sweet-gum tree, or pine cones.
Set them on sheets of aluminum foil, cats hate the feel and the noise.
I have stray and neighborhood cats that spray on my front porch, and also my plants and flowers. They are killing my garden! Does anyone have an idea on how to prevent them from spraying on outdoor plants? I've heard of the pepper and coffee grounds, but I don't think they are sniffing, they just lift and spray. Help!
My cousin used moth balls.
good luck
edie
If YOU can stand the smell, I had a neighbor who would put moth balls in her flower bed to keep her cat from using it. I saw her cat go to the flower bed and he made a "couldn't-stand-the-smell" gesture after smelling the moth balls and walked away.
Editor's Note: Please remember that moth balls can be very toxic to pets and put them into something (a mesh bag) so that hey are easy to find when you want to get rid of them.
!!POISON!! MOTHBALLS are TOXIC and POISONOUS!! To animals, plants, *Groundwater, water run off and children
How do I keep my cat out of poisonous house plants?
If you have a cat, do not have any poisonous plants in your house. A leaf from a plant falling on the floor could tempt your cat to play with it, and just that could make it sick. I once had a chrysanthemum in my house and my cat had diarrhea for a week. I don't even know how she ingested any of it.
You'll just have to make a decision- pets or plants?
Abigail is absolutely right.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
How do I stop my cat from pooping in my indoor plants? He has access to the litter box but digs in the plants and poops in it.
Does ammonia work for cats urinating and pooping in house plants?
How do you keep a cat from digging in house plants?
Would anyone know of a cat repellent for my cat? I have numerous houseplants and I do not want him to get sick by chewing on them.
Does anyone have any remedies to deter my cats from eating my houseplants/flowers? I love to keep small potted plants and flowers in my home, but my cats love to chew on the them.
Need help. I have a kitten and she won't stay out of my house plants. Every morning I find a pile of dirt laying beside the pots where she has been digging.
Put orange peels in your potted plants, cats hate the citrus smell. Replace every week when they start to get dry.
