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seeds Damn cats attacked my seedlings today!!

N

newhotstuff

Outta 30 hopefuls I think they only finished off 5-6 which sucks but it's better then all 30. Quite a few have missing leaves but still have some leaves so they should recover.
I also have another 100+ seeds of the variety too. No, no harm can come to the cats either. They'd love to go outside and eat grass so I assume this was the closest thing available atm.
 
Maybe try sprinkling some hot pepper powder around your plants NHS.

Cat's don't like the hot powders and hopefully that will keep them from getting into them again.

dvg
 
You could plant a small container of grass for them to chew on. Most pet stores sell them but I refuse to spend 5 bucks on a sour cream container full of grass when I can buy a whole bag of seed for that.

Hope your plants bounce back.
 
I pretty much stopped trying to grow anything from seed after my son's cat went berzerk on too many seedlings, so I feel your pain. Note that the cats peeing on them is a real risk, as well as them digging in the dirt, simply deciding they're enough like balls to play with, etc. I have come to think it is mostly the starter mix they are attracted to, so if you are using starter mix or peat pellets, possibly moving them to "real" dirt might help. Other than that, I recommend isolating your plants in a room with a closed door, possibly putting them up high on a wire shelf, or putting them into a wire cage, such as you might put an animal into - cage the plants, not the animals.
 
They don't have to just be seedlings for cats to try to eat. My overwintered Jolokia had all its bottom leaves and shoots eaten off by the cat, which she promptly threw up again. Both are doing much better now. The Jolokia I did move out to my workshop so she couldn't get at it anymore.

Keep your plants safe from your pets and children, and vicey vercey.
 
Only cat lovers could understand what we go through! I've had them eat the tops off tomato plants, devour spider plant seedlings and try to get fat eating spinach. My plants are almost under lock and key; actually in a seedling chamber that I close. Thankfully, plants growing in an aeroponics system do not appeal to them!

Mike
 
I make sure to keep the door to the room where my seedlings are closed at all times after last year. I ordered some plants from CCN and put them in on the window sill in the pantry, my roommate left the door open while I was gone and the cat jumped up there and went to town on a bunch of them. Then later in the year when I was trying to overwinter some plants in the pantry the cat took a dump in about 6 or 7 pots that I had to throw out. :mad:
 
My wife's darling cats (I take no ownership of them) decided a couple years ago to jump over a baby gate a chew up all of my seedlings. Maybe it would have been different if they actually ate them but NO they just chewed them up. Add insult to injury when both puked down the hallway. I'm an animal lover but both of those little $hits lost a couple lives that day. . .
 
my dog Sparky wouldn't think of touching my plants, i put some on the living room floor in the morning as the sun peers through a large window and that's where they have to sit to get the direct sunlight. i'm her alpha male and whenever she approaches me, her tail starts, she rubs her face into me and waits for some luv'in.... and she gets it. plus, she is more concerned with the mailman, she has his schedule down pat and sits at the top of the stairs just a waiting for him to approach the door. actually she sees him first across the street, delivering mail, gives a little moan and bark, then knows in about 20 minutes shelwill be on stage. she'll bolt towards the door and all hell brakes loose - that's my queue to get the mail.

i would think, for cat owners, you might consider the aquarium/covered greenhouse approach, to make the plants inaccessible to the little creatures.
 
naganumbness said:
just as long as they don't take a whizz on them.
Click to expand...
Why not? Wouldn't that effectively "fertilize" them with nitrogen? If all they do is take a leak on plants, causing no other damage (ie. chewing), they would basically be doing you a service... both watering and fertilizing your plants for you.

That said, while I always did like cats, their tendency to chew plants (and totally wreck young ones) can drive me nuts.
 
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