Cat attacks my orchids!

[jenn]

Ok, so my pest is not a creepy crawly. I have had Orchids for over 12 years now and many, many cats but... we recently adopted a new 1yr old cat who is bent on trying to eat and destroy my orchids. I have blocked her, I have scolded her, I have sprayed her with water when I catch her, but nothing I do seems to help. I came down the stairs this morning to see my (already been chewed on) large 7 spiked Psychopsis Mendenhall 'hildos' minus one half of one spike. I found the half spike all chewed up amongst the other orchids. This cat must have had a blast, but I am at my end!

Have any of you had a cat be your pest and what did you do to deter them from destruction?

-jenn

[Teena]

Hmmm, my cat likes to chew the leaves so one remedy was to buy her one of those containers of grass they sell in pet stores for her to chew on. The other remedy was to make sure all the plants were placed high enough that she wouldn't stand up to chew on them. Luckily she doesn't jump up on or pull them over. Yelling at the cat doesn't really do any good. You could possibly dust the plants with some cayenne pepper, cats definitely do NOT like that. If they are on a table you can put down a piece of contact paper with the sticky side up on the exposed parts of the table, little paws don't like getting stuck on things. As for the plant in spike, perhaps giving it a big collar of aluminum foil which will make an annoying noise when she gets near it which might put her/him off.

A 1 year old cat is still a kitten and needs a lot of play time so make sure you have a lot of toys for it and are also spending a lot of time playing with it, throw balls, giving it things to chase/stalk. The more it plays the less energy it has to destroy things, also maybe shutting it up in kitty jail overnight which would be a room that can be closed off which has a litter box, food and water and comfy bed will eliminate unfortunate surprises in the morning.

martha

[nicki]

I know how you feel! All but a few of my plants have been sampled by my 2 adult cats. The ones that have not been sampled are only cause they went straight outside. Other members of my family have cats that won't bother their plants and some that do. But mine head for every one in the house if I don't get it to safety first. Pretty much keeping it out of reach or blocked is the only thing that has worked for me. Pet stores do sell bitter tasting spray to deter animals from chewing. I've never tried them for plants.

[jenn]

Little Beatrix aka Trixie doesn't go for the cat grass. Hmmm... Totally blocking off this bay window isn't possible, but adding sticky tape to exposed areas and using some cayenne sounds worth a shot. I will look into that bitter spray. This is the first time I have had a cat (young or old) go for my orchids.

Thank you for the suggestions guys! You both shed new light on my predicament!

[orcoholic]

I've heard that spraying the orchids with a mixture of red pepper and water will keep cats away (after a first bite.) I don't think the amount of red pepper is important and it sounds like your cat really needs some persuading. Make it strong. A side benefit is that it will keep insects away too.

[Teena]

Just be careful and don't get the pepper in your eyes or inhale it. Add the pepper to the water, not the other way round. - martha

[pavel]

Though I have not tried it, I have heard that cats do not like walking on aluminum foil. So you could try covering the windowsill with such. In addition to the other ideas Martha gave, there is a spray called Bitter Apple that some petstores carry. Supposedly cats hate the taste. If you cat doesn't like cat grass, you might try catmint/catnip.

[frostedeyes]

ur probel is cat... mine are stray birdsssss.... with an s... and they always pick the expensive ons attacking my buds... im still searching for poison to get rid of them.... hmmm caal me evil but i tried my best oh well its just sparriws the brown ones!l

[Teena]

Sam - Bird netting, works a dream - little suckers fly into it but can't fly through it to get to the orchid, usually used to protect fruiting plants from birds eating them - martha

[frostedeyes]

yeah but... my penthouse serves as a double purpose... a garden and lots of cloth line for drying the laundry.... i wanted to... but will burn my pockets.... 150sqm space.... dat bird betting would cost a lot... and i think ill nee to put steel wires for the support on nets.. i would probably make a small steel house if ever... or... i have a question... does sonar worms on birds? isit temporary?