How do I keep my cat out of the houseplants?

A lot of people decide between cats in the house and house plants and avoid the problems. Cats can be yard cats, or the plants can be yard plants. The cat can't help that it's placed in an environment where it's bored, and can't be blamed for exploring, even if that means emptying all the soil out of a pot onto the floor.

ilovecatz, spider plants aren't toxic so your plant is the only thing you have to worry about. :)
I have tons and tons of house plants and my kitty does fine with them. I do keep my palms and my baby spider plant out of reach though. Palms seem to be a delicacy to cats. Anything grass like or that resembles catnip right?

dp72, not upset with the cat for dragging the grass across the floor, he was just trying to eat something I'd grown for him. I used the wrong pot and found out the hard way. Now I put it in a heavy pot so he can just enjoy without the pot following him :)

My cat takes a mild interest in my spider plants, especially the babies. Never too much, however, but I do have some alternatives for him. Spiders, by the way, are not poisonous to cats for anyone concerned. I did see someone let their cat nibble on aloe. According to the rather comprehensive list on Cat Fanciers' Association website (link was posted early in this thread) it is poisonous to cats. Lilies will kill a cat in short order... they are highly poisonous.

I have train tracks near me that offers a plethora of catnip. I've begun cultivating it indoors for when the weather starts to turn (and I am in an apartment so nowhere to go with it outdoors). He loves it... he'll just sit by the plant and sniff it usually, completely ignoring the spiders.

I also grow him some rye grass on occasion. He actually likes it best when it is all dried and almost dead so lucky me.

I would imagine if I were desperate enough a spray or air freshener that smelled like citrus somewhere near the plants would work. My cat hates the smell of any sort of citrus judging by the clear look of revulsion that washes over his face.

dp72, I don't know what point you're trying to get across by essentially posting the same thing over and over. Cats are desperately bored when kept indoors? People should choose between cats and houseplants? If either is your intention, I would hope that a small amount of reason would tell you that you are wasting your time with such comments. Obviously these people aren't interested in deciding between them and for good reason. There can be a co-existence with just a small amount of effort. I wonder if people come to dispense sarcastic or inflammatory advice on a beginner's message board just to be self-righteous. I really see no other point in stating the obvious rather than helping to offer a solution to the question.

Oh, aren't YOU the self-righteous one? What is sarcastic or INFLAMMATORY about pointing out that the myriad of problems lamented about in these posts are evidence that cats will mess with plants when they have the opportunity? Sometimes the "obvious" goes right over the head of people who should know better. If someone wants to have cats, plants, lizards, dogs, and koi in the house, that is their decision, but they should not whine about the resulting conflicts. You offer ramblings about your cats and various plants. I offer reasonable advice as to how to prevent problems that result in a lot of bandwidth asking what to do. How about you do your thing and withhold advice for me and refrain from characterizing my statements with negative adjectives.

Hmmm, o.k. dp72, I will dare to repeat one thing, my cat doesn't bother most of my house plants & I have many. Asking for advice on plants that are safe for pets to nibble, or that they may not prefer, is a perfectly reasonable thing. People post here because that's what it's for. There are many households with plants, dogs, and cats that co-exist happily so asking for advice is welcome.
Asking a question is not whining otherwise you could categorize many many threads on DG as whining. I don't consider the above rambling, it is a discussion. Communication on threads between the people posting is what it's all about so it is fair for everyone to express opinions and agree, or agree to disagree.

I have 9 cats and the the thing I have found to work best is crushed moth balls. You can buy them already crushed up and sprinkle them on top of the soil. It doesn't take much but it keeps mine out of the pots.

catzgalore, Please don't take this wrong. A friend of mine had a father come up with symptoms of Alzheimers, After a lot of tests it was discovered the man kept lots of mothballs in his clothes closet. The doctor told her the constant contact with mothballs would give symptoms of alzheimers. So google mothballs before u use it.
I have cats and dogs and lots of indoor plants with no problems. Tho i plan to plant some cat grass.
Thanks
Vickie

I've never heard that. I'll look it up.Thanks.

my kitty likes to pull the leaves off but I had 2 rose of sharon started and she bit them off so now all I have to do is pick up the fly swatter and point it at her and she takes off like the devil is after her dont have to touch her

Sissy, My DD can point and cats will scatter. With me they just look at me as if to say" You gotta be kidding." She's never touchrd them but she can holler loudly.

Seems my cat will eat grassy-leaf things like spider plant and palms. She has not touched these, none of which are grassy-like: a ground-level giant snake plant (Sansevieria trifasciata), my ZZ plant (Zamioculcus zamifolia), Dollar vine (Xerosicyos danguyi), Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa), little zebra plant (Haworthia subfasciata) or African violet (Saintpaulia).
All pets are different though. I didn't research if any of these are poisonous. Good luck.

This message was edited Dec 22, 2009 1:22 PM

One writer here suggested that aloe is not bad for cats. I have read that it's toxic.
http://www.catscans.com/plants.htm