How to Make your Cat Friendly Around Plants?
Having to keep plants with pets indoors can be a challenge for many tree and pet lovers who can’t do without getting the best of both worlds. But you should know that while you surely will benefit from having trees and pets in your life, it is common for cats to cause damage to plants and even suffer from them when they chew the leaves.
The common issue is that cats always love to chew foliage, and if you happen to have a lot of them indoors with a feline, there is no doubt that you will be tired of having to clean and replace them often. Not to mention having to cope with the risks that follow when the animal suffers from plant toxicity when they ingest them. But there are ways to ensure that your cat stays friendly around trees in the house. And you can find below suggestions that can help you in cat proofing your houseplants.
Start by Choosing Cat Friendly House Plants
Many tree lovers with a cat just give up entirely at the thought of having trees indoors with a feline. Maybe you have tried it in the past and go tired of having to buy new plants each time your pet damage them. But have you given thought to having trees that are more cat friendly in your indoor space? Having cat friendly plants could help reduce how often they come in contact with them and have you enjoying having to keep a pet and your favorite houseplant close to you.
It could also be that you got a bad experience in the past after your cat chewed on a plant leaf and had to visit the vet to treat them. While there are plants that humans and pets shouldn’t eat, the pet-friendly options will surely not cause harm even if they chew on a leaf or two. Still, the bottom line is to be careful with your tree selections when looking to add foliage in a house with pets.
You want to make sure to pick non-toxic trees that are safe for pet homes so you don’t have to worry about the risk they could pose to the animal. You will only have to contend with the inevitable risk of damage to the leaves.
Know the Signs to Look for that your Pet May have Eaten Plant Leaves
While it will be almost impossible to have plants that won’t be inviting to your feline, you want to look out for the pet and know how to identify symptoms that show they may have ingested the leaves. Of course, you may not always have the time to go sifting through the leaves to tell if they have chewed on them, but you want to know when they are suffering from toxicity.
Some of the signs to look for include irregular heartbeat, drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, allergic reaction, and dehydration. While this could be difficult to spot signs animals can’t communicate how they are feeling, you will need to keep a watchful eye on the animal in the event you notice cuttings around the leaves that show they may have chewed on them. This page has more about the signs that your cat may be suffering from plant toxicity.
Make Plants Unappealing to the Taste
You could also do a good job of deterring your cats from chewing on your plants by using a natural treatment on the leaves that will surely scare your felines when they get around the area. Of course, they will need to try it a first time, and if you do this right could help keep them away from the area entirely.
A good example of natural repellants to use on trees to keep the cat away includes sprinkling cayenne pepper on the leaves. This will surely irritate their nose and eyes when they come close and in the event they chew on them, they will certainly not enjoy the hot sensation from the pepper. The smell of citrus is also a turn-off for cats, and using diluted lemon juice in the pots and leaving orange peels in the pot will help get them to back away. You want to avoid making use of extracts from citrus oil as this could be toxic to cats.
Use Protective Screens Around Trees
In the worst-case scenario that you can’t take any more of the damage to your plants, you can consider using a wire mesh to surround the section where you have the pots. You want to make sure that the construction is tight so that felines can’t get their paws to pass through. But this could affect the aesthetics of your plants and as such may be the last resort when everything else fails. You can find ways to make them work if you make use of screens that are solids and yet help to add to the natural aesthetic in your indoor space.
Give Felines their Potted Plant Toys
You can also get cats to stay out of your trees if you provide them with their plant toys. This will ensure that they have something to chew on and will have them staying out of the other in the home you use in your decoration. While you will need to shop for pet-friendly options, you will also need to ensure you enforce the other tricks above so they don’t mess around with what’s yours. The website link here https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/pet-friendly-houseplants has more on plants that are safe for cats.
Try and Train your Cat to Behave around Plants
Laughable right? But it is possible to get your pets to behave if you put an effort into it. And in the case of felines, showing your disapproval whenever they mess with your trees could help a lot in how they respond in the future. With more effort put into scolding your cats when they mess around your trees, you could well be on your way to getting your cat to be friendly around plants.
Final Note
Keeping cats and plants in the same space is a tiring job for many homeowners as felines are known to damage the leaves or pinch around the soil. But using the measures above could help in getting your cat to be friendly to your house plants.
