I've read the stories of pets and plant mayhem... I have 4 cats, and a bunch of plants, some CP and some non... And they get along fine. How do I do it? A little forethought!
1. I grow a ton of cat grass in a pair of litterpans. This gives them something to chew on that is okay. You can get seeds at some farm supply stores and nurseries, that's cheaper than buying potted catgrass from pet stores. I rotate the pans so only one is in reach, giving the other time to regrow.
2. Give them 'indoor formula' cat food that has some greens in it. Then they don't feel so compelled to eat outside grass or my good plants.
3. I train them NOT to eat some plants... Do this by first bringing in plants like aloe that are bitter (they bite it and YUCK! but are non-toxic). Then the tastier plants, but mist them with a cocktail of cayenne pepper and water. Hot tongue! Eventually they learned that only the catgrass is safe to eat.
4. My really delicate plants are kept either in terrariums or on shelves where I made a real effort to make sure the cats have NO extra spot to stand and reach it... just in case.
It took some work, and the sacrifice of a boston fern to the training process, but hey, I'm happy now... And so are my Japanese ferns, CPs, aloes, cats and etc.
1. I grow a ton of cat grass in a pair of litterpans. This gives them something to chew on that is okay. You can get seeds at some farm supply stores and nurseries, that's cheaper than buying potted catgrass from pet stores. I rotate the pans so only one is in reach, giving the other time to regrow.
2. Give them 'indoor formula' cat food that has some greens in it. Then they don't feel so compelled to eat outside grass or my good plants.
3. I train them NOT to eat some plants... Do this by first bringing in plants like aloe that are bitter (they bite it and YUCK! but are non-toxic). Then the tastier plants, but mist them with a cocktail of cayenne pepper and water. Hot tongue! Eventually they learned that only the catgrass is safe to eat.
4. My really delicate plants are kept either in terrariums or on shelves where I made a real effort to make sure the cats have NO extra spot to stand and reach it... just in case.
It took some work, and the sacrifice of a boston fern to the training process, but hey, I'm happy now... And so are my Japanese ferns, CPs, aloes, cats and etc.