Keeping herb garden away from the cat

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So I love fresh herbs. They are both beautiful and tasty. A perfect combination in my opinion. But my cat loves them too. And I'm not sure if my herbs are good or bad for the cat health-wise, but I do know that the cat destroys the plants.

Any suggestions on how I can keep my herb garden indoors but away from the cat. PS. my cat can pretty much go anywhere in my house. He can even get on top of the fridge. What can I do?
 
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I wonder what your cat does to the herbs? Does he chew them? Or scramble to sit in the plantpot itself? Or dig in the soil? I used to see my cats do all of these!

I don't think there's one easy answer. One thing that certainly works is to get little blunted sticks - using sandpaper to smooth the cut bits, if necessary, and stick them in the plantpots. Its not meant to hurt the cats, its just meant to take up the space that they'd use for sitting on, or scratching at the soil.

Another thing you might do is save your eggshells - dry them on a low heat in the oven, when you're warming it up to cook something for example, and when they've cooled, scrunch them up by hand, and put them on top of the soil in your plantpots. Cats probably won't like that!
 
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I think an inclosed container is the only way to keep cats or even squirrels away from plants. I have cats indoors and squirrels outdoors, so it is hard keeping my plants from being destroyed by one or the other. I did manage chives and radishes, last year on my patio, with a cage/cover made of the small sized chicken wire. I have tried using sticks as Arzosah mentioned but the squirrels just pushed them aside destroying the roots of the plants! So frustrating!
 
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My cat also seems to have a fascination with my plants (he has killed several in the past). I'm afraid you are at loss here, unless you find a way to grow your herbs in an enclosed container. I could keep most of my plants alive, but each cat is different... so my advice might not be helpful for you. I mean, your cat doesn't even mind about the smell of yours herbs!!! Most cats are really picky when it comes to smells and tastes. For me the tobacco powder on the soil helped, but for you it might not help at all.
 
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My cat rolls around in them. I have an old bench that I restored into an herb garden and it is on my porch and he will get on there and roll around, it smashes the plants and sometimes the do perk back up.
 
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I trained my cats to stay away from my indoor gardens by putting orange peels around them. Cats do not like the orange peels and will stay away. Eventually you can get rid of the orange peels.
 
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Sprinkling some cayenne in the soil may deter the squirrel unless it likes spicy food. the orange peels are a terrific idea for cats, I plan on using that suggestion!
 
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The best is idea for keeping cats away from your herbs is to give them a " herb " garden all of their own, planted with lots of cat grass and catnip, which is what I have done for mine, and they won't want to go anywhere near your herbs :)

As cats love catnip and prefer it to any other plant - they will take every chance they can get to party on it - especially as catnip is the equivalent of marijuana for cats, so having a plentiful supply around will not only keep your herbs safe but will also give you happy cats like these

catnip cute-kittens-on-catnip.jpg


catnip look at the colors n.jpg


but don't let it run out or you may get this

cat nip I-need-more-cat-nip.jpg
 
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Maybe try having a hanging garden? One that isn't near anything near that the cat can climb on and try to jump on it? You can also put foil paper down on the surface where you have the plants. I don't have a cat but I hear that keeps them off of surfaces you don't want them on?
 
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I think you should plant him his own catnip and catgrass so that he will leave your stuff alone!

With my cats, if they try to scratch something, I pick them up and put them near their scratching post. It works. I wonder if something similar would work with plants?
 
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Well I certainly a good little laugh at this, because I have been there before. It is really one of those things that make you realize how smart and capable cats are when they want something. It takes a little getting used to to remember thinking about it, and once you get in the routine of moving things around it gets a little easier. Thanks for the quick laugh, best of luck and thanks for sharing.
 
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I have 3 cats and one of them is an out and out vegetarian. She only eats vegetables with rice. She has managed to eat off almost all the leaves of my indoor fortune plant which she has turned into a snack source whenever she gets hungry. I had to use fence and nets around my backyard garden to keep her off. I bought 2 pots of peppermint recently and to keep her away, I placed it in an area near our dog so she won't try to sneak in and eat off the leaves.
 

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