Need help with cats and my houseplants

I put my houseplants outside during spring and summer and now I'm bringing them in.
Here's the prob. While they were outside I managed to adopt 3 kittens. They are about 8 months old now, and think that I'm bring them in personal litter boxes.
Does anyone know how to keep them out. If I see them starting to get into a pot, I take them to their litter box, but so far they still want my plants. I don't want to have to give my plants away and don't have a greenhouse. I thought maybe there is something I can put in the dirt that they don't like

I had the same problem awhile back and tried all the store bought products made for keeping them out. Nothing worked. One day when I was especially aggravated I stuck cheap wooden skewers into the pot with the sharpened side up. The cheapest (dollar store kind) work the best because they are very thin and don't damage the roots when they are pushed down through the soil. It only takes a few in each pot and they can pushed down to the point that only 3/4 - 1 inch stick out above ground. More expensive, but also more attractive is to place a layer of clear marbles on the surface of the soil. I save this for the smaller pots because it does take a good deal of marbles. Aso, if they have already pottied in the soil of your plants you'll want to change it. They will continue to go where they detect that scent.
Hope this helps!

Yay for your new kitties!! But like growgirl said if they have already used the plants as a litter box, they'll smell the scent there and use it again...You might be able to just spray the enzymes they sell in spray bottles on the soil?? (you can get it at walmart in the pet department) I don't think it would hurt the plants, it's just the enzymes that breaks down the pee & poo. But after you get rid of the smell I've heard of lots of different methods...Moth Balls, Pine cones all over the surface, Aluminum Foil, Citrus scents around the pot...they don't like Citrus! The marble method, or just big rocks they can't move! Chicken wire raised up off the soil so when they jump on it they feel insecure and decide it's not fun anymore..and also keeps them from digging!! I've also heard of people using double sided tape and making a grid from one side of the pot to the other. I think that would be pretty effective. I hope that helps and let us know how it goes! Silly kitties. =)

This message was edited Oct 27, 2007 5:46 PM

I don't know about using the enzyme spray around plants .... any overspray may harm the plants, and I'm not sure what it will do in the soil to the roots of the plants.

I strongly Disagree with using wooden skewers - especially with kittens who are lively and quick ... they could jump into the pot and harm themselves. You might end up having to rush one of your babies to the vet in an emergency! Those skewers are sharp and sticking up out of the soil, the little kittens might not see them before leaping into the pot. You could have a skewered kitten with a terrible puncture wound it one were to land on a skewer.!

Here's a link to info from a Vet that recommends the Aluminum foil, double sided tape and pine cones. Although I've never heard of the sticky tape for this use (my first mental image was of a little kitty stuck to the tape) they don't like sticky so it might work well.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1470&S=2

You can also buy mats with little rubber spikes, I think Gardeners Supply carries them called Cat Scat mats. Since the spikes are rubber they can't hurt like the skewers might, but they'll still discourage kitty.

Wow! I just re-read my entry and want to assure everyone that I did NOT mean the sharp side up on the skewers. The sharp end is what you pierce the soil with and they can't get hurt if you only use a few. It is not meant to come in contact with the cat, but to take up enough room in the pot so that they cannot position themselves to go potty. Maybe kittens would be different, but when they mature to cats, they don't jump in without checking out the situation. When they see the obstructions, they realize it's inconvenient and move on (hopefully to a litterbox). Popsicle sticks work well too, but you risk more damage to plant roots. I have had up to 8 cats at a time and I can tell you I've tried every spray -on product they make and none work - so don't waste your money. ercrane 3's idea about the rubber spikes sound good. I have never seen them but they sound like a great solution. My problem is I love plants and cats. Lots of plants and lots of cats, so my solutions have to be affordable.

I cover the soil with a layer of sea shells of various types. They're pretty and effective.

I have used double sided and one sided tape, making a grid from one side of the pot to the other. It was effective!

;~}
Larry

Not a nice subject to talk about, but have you tried to scoop some of the already toileted soil from the pots, then place it into the litter tray so that the kittens can smell this and encourage them to go where they have the toilet smell, I dont mean throw piles of it into the litter tray but if you mix a little in with the litter in the tray, this sometimes help, at the same time you do this, it might be a good idea to remove the plants into another room and keep the door closed till the kittens learn that the only inside place for the toilet is within the tray, this would be a great time to re-pot your plants with fresh soil and something on top of the pots that will distract the kittens, the acidity from the kittens in the potting compost will eventualy kill your plants anyway, so it wont be too long before you loose your plants anyway. It would be good to introduce some plants that your cats can eat also so they look on plants for other things other than an indoor toilet, things like Cat-mint (Nepeta) it is attractive and the cats love it, some grasses etc, there is good advice on this from vet surgeries and pet stores. hope this help you and the kittens soon learn there place within your house. WeeNel.

I used this method on one of my cats that just insisted on using one of my large floor plants to poop in.

I bought mousetraps, and set them UPSIDE-DOWN on the soil; I then covered the traps with a thin layer of gravel. (It takes a lot of patience to get them set- they keep springing when they're upside down...) The reason I set them upside down was so he didn't catch his toes in any of them- they just sprung straight up harmlessly, and scared the bejesus out of him!

Anyway, when I came home from work the next day, all of the traps had been sprung, and there was gravel on the floor. It did the trick; he never used a plant again.

I wouldn't use necessarily use this method on kittens, though...orange peels on the top of the soil works sometimes as well. (Only some cats seem to be repelled by this; some it doesn't seem to bother.)

Marsha.

Boy, what a lot of good ideas.!! I just broke up some old concrete steps, so have tons of small concrete rocks. Will that work. I like all the ideas!!
I love these babies, but they are first cats I've ever had. Used to raise collie dogs and show them, until they ruined my back, so I know how to handle dogs, but these kittens are teaching me lots of new stuff!! Like, don't leave anything that will break or spill on a table, cause it will hit the floor.
Also, if I'm looking for them, I now know to look up somewhere first!!!

Hi Loraine, I also have a first cat after years of living with chow chow dogs, you need to understand, like dog breads, there traits are all different but to really care for them, we need to show them boundaries, this is the same with cats, adorable as they are, they are living within a household and have to know who is top cat, if they were with their mother, there is no way she would allow them to toilet close to where they are living, so we take over that role, but with kindness, you will master it, you love them, but like all kids, they need rules and regulations, so try out a few different methods till they learn, you will be rewarded in the end with clean living kittens, you will love even more, if you cant fix this problem now, you will be living with smelly adult cats and that's a whole different thing all together. good luck. WeeNel.

ThanksWeenel, right now they just look at me like I'm crazy when I take them out , and I do it with kindness, although sometimes I want to throw them away.
I do have to get serious though. One is really sweet and cuddly and actually does what I want. One is almost that way, but carries a grudge. The other is just plain crazy. No one holds her but me, and when other people come in she usually goes to my room and hides. She is also determined to do what she wants, so I really have to work on her. She just looks at me like "Who in the crap do you think you are. But she wants to sit in my lapl 24/7
One other question, I put rocks in there and I guess I put too many cause now I wonder if the new growth on the plants can come up, so guess I need to take some out.

Depends what type of plant you put the rocks into, some plants actually like the rocky tops as it adds heat, or helps to prevent evaporation, so maybe just remove some of the rocks that are right against the stem or growing tips. your little kittens sound just soooooo cute and lovely, so the one that is very possesive towards you may have been removed from it's mum too early an age, she looks to you for that parenting, maybe was the youngest in the litter, or maybe the one that without realising, you petted more than the others, but for whatever reason, they are like us humans, all have different traites and personalities, now that they are 7 month old though, they are fast approching adult cat years, and if you dont teach them what's good and bad behavour before a year old, then the patern will be set and you will have real troubles, adult poo is not pleasant in doors and I hate to say it, but feel I have too, your home will stink, so will your clothes and furnishings with that constant behavour and odours, so try to ignore those cute little faces and cuddles till they have earned their petting by being sooooo good around the house, sounds so cruel, but they will thank you for it in the end, even adult domesticated animals are not happy and healthy after a while of living so close to where they do their business, it's a hard one to sort, but hope you can find the time, patience and determination to help them become even more adorable to your home AND you, wishing you luck, WeeNel.