How To Keep Cats Away From Plants – Solve The Problem

Keep your cats away from your precious plants with the many options and methods described in this article.

Explore and adapt the ideas for your own use.

You may need to use several of the keeping cats away from plants methods, at the same time to get good results.

Persevere, cats can learn.

It is so disappointing to come home and find an upturned pot with soil scattered everywhere. Equally as bad is that the cat has used the pot plant as a litter box.

You Need To Make The Pot Plant Undesirable To the Cat

Whether you have one houseplant or many, the goal is to make the pot and the soil undesirable to the cat.

Here are some methods to try, see below:

1. Aluminium Foil To Make The Plant Undesirable To Be Near

2. Sticky Paws Tape Makes The Plant Inaccessible To The Cat

3. Rocks or Stones Will Stop The Cat Digging

4. Wire Is Not Cat Friendly Around Plants

5. Other Decorative Items To Deter Cats

6. Lemon Juice Diluted Spray – Cats Do Not Like

7. Bitter Apple Spray Is A Cat Deterrent Spray

8. Train The Cat To Leave The Plants Alone

9. Use A Terrarium Or Hanging Indoor Plants

10. Cat Grass – Your Cat Will Love You

11.More Useful Information To Keep Cats Away From Plants

How To Keep Cats Away From Plants

1. Aluminium Foil To make The Plant Undesirable To The Cat

Cats don’t like aluminum foil, the noise it makes or how it feels.

This is a quick, easy, and effective way to keep cats away.

The goal is to place foil around the base of the plant to cover the soil.

Cut the foil into pieces and scrunch the edges to make a shape, or just crumple into a loose ball shape. 

Place the scrunched up tinfoil around the base of the plant.

As tinfoil is lightweight, it can be placed close to the stem of the plant without damaging the plant.

It is also easy to remove, if necessary, when watering the plant. 

It is also easy to replace and I bet that you have some in a drawer right now, so it is an instant fix.

2. Sticky Paws Tape makes The Plant Inaccessible To The Cat

Sticky Paws is a double-sided tape that is very sticky.

It is a brilliant product and as the and name suggests it is expressly made for the purpose of keeping cats away from all sort of things.

I have no doubt that you will find somewhere else to use this product.

As a cat deterrent to use on pot plants, criss cross the tape from one side of the pot to the other, sticking at each side of the pot.

Curl the sticky tape slightly over the edge of the pot to secure it firmly in place.

Don’t put the sticky paws tape, directly on to the plant.

Keep on criss-crossing, covering most of the surface area.

This is a simple solution and it is a product that is handy to have on hand.

It stops the cat from accessing places, where you do not want them to go.

3. Rocks or Stones Will stop The Cat Digging

Another very simple fix to keep cats away from plants, is to place rocks or stones, around the base of the plant, to stop your cat from digging.

Maybe you have some rocks or stones in your own garden that would be suitable for this purpose.

If this is not an option, try your local garden center or hardware store for decorative rocks.

In smaller pots, colored stones can look pretty too.

Note: Be aware of direct sunlight hitting any rocks or stones in a pot. The rocks or stones will heat up, which could change the watering regime required for the plant.

These rocks look great in outdoor planters also.

Be aware, that outdoors, the cat may not be the only one attacking your plants, as we found out. Ravens in our area, are quite partial to picking up stones and then dropping them elsewhere.

Lava rocks are lightweight. The cat may, however, bat them out of the pot because they are lightweight.

The fact that they are lightweight makes them a convenient choice, and they look amazing.

Lava rocks may have to be an experiment to see how the cat reacts.

4. Wire Is Not Cat friendly Around Plants

Wire cut to fit around the base of a plant also works very well to keep cats away from plants.

Chicken wire for craft projects is a good choice.

Wire is easy to cut with pliers and fashion into any shape.

Any sort of similar wire would also be suitable for this method of keeping the cat away from the potting mix.

The plant is still easy to water using this method.

As the wire is not attractive to look at, some loose coconut coir fiber, which is often used when making up hanging baskets, can be pulled apart and placed on top of the wire.

5. Other Decorative Items To deter Cats

Find other decorative items to place around the base of the plant, because a physical barrier works well to keep cats away from plants.

Pinecones or shells are decorative items and a good excuse to go out collecting. Kids love collecting shells and even better that there is an actual reason to do this where the shells will be used.

There may be some trial and error as, cats being cats, they may decide to bat objects from the pot.

Here are some other examples of decorative items that could be used as a cat deterrent around the base of plants – dried flowers, small twigs, acorns, dried seed pods, artificial fruit, fake coral.

  

This plant grid is a guaranteed cat digging stopper (also to stop little fingers too).

6. Lemon Juice Diluted Spray – Cats Do Not Like

A spray deterrent, plus a physical barrier gives more protection to stop cats attacking plants.

A spray can be used around the base of the plant either on the soil or on the physical barrier you placed there. 

Cats do not like citrus. Spray diluted lemon juice around the base of the plant and on the leaves of the plant. 

The method to keep cats away from plants, does work, but it is not long lasting and needs repeating.

For some added oomph, place a piece of burlap sprayed with citrus around the base of the plant.

An added bonus is that the house smells great too.

7. Bitter Apple Spray Is A Cat deterrent Spray

Bitter Apple Spray is formulated to stop stop cats from scratching