Use Caution at Easter Time: Lilies are Toxic to Felines

Keep cats away from Easter Lilies and other Asiatic Lilies (Lilium spp.) as cats can suffer acute kidney failure within a very short period of time from just licking a few pollen grains off their fur. (Daylilies, by the way, are not true lilies and so are not a plant of concern around cats.)

See more about Lilies and Cats at:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm393028.htm

Read more about Cat-Friendly Gardening here:
http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2015/10/gardenig-is-more-fun-with-cats.html

Here is a List of SAFE Plants for Cats:
http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2015/11/nontoxic-plants-for-cats.html

In the last several years, many veterinary webpages and cat-related websites have sprung up to educate cat owners on the dangers of lilies, such as noliliesforkitties.com. Here is a graphic shared on one of them:

Top Photo Source: FDA 
(This is an update of an earlier Cats in Gardens blog post.)

A pair of trouble makers...

On Twitter/X Jonathan Norman @JonNormanDesign shares photos of his garden cats. He runs Jon Norman Garden Design, a Midlands, UK-based landscape design business. Creating beautiful gardens inspired by nature.

> My kitten crop is flowering already Little Tuppence being her mischievous self  <

>Well, I wasn't expecting this today. Young Tilly decided to climb up one of our conifers from the middle, then poked her head out halfway up

If I can get her to wear a couple of wings, she might become our Xmas fairy

Our two love the garden and get up to all mischief in it. I'm going to have to re-design the planting to be a *lot* sturdier as they do like to chase around and climb things. Hopefully, young Olga will calm down soon  <

Wear Your Green for St. Gertrude!

Here is an update of one of our most popular posts:

Thank you to the Crazy Cat Ladies Community on Facebook for letting my know about Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, who is the patron saint of Cats AND Gardening. 

The 17th of March is her Saint's Day, which she shares with St. Patrick. "Fine weather on her feast day meant it was time to begin spring planting." This may also explain why we think of St. Patrick's Day as the traditional day for early spring crop sowing -- especially peas and potatoes -- even though St. Pat has nothing to do with gardening.

She lived from 626 to 659. According to Catholics Online, "Gertrude was a mystic, (who was) gifted with visions. She befriended the Irish saints Foillian and Ultan." You can read more about her life here and here.

Let's reclaim the day for St. Gertrude and wear your green proudly in memory of her love for gardening and for cats!

Cat Got Your Garden? on the The Gardenangelists Podcast

Recently the The Gardenangelists Podcast had a show themed around the garden cats topic called: "The Cat Got Your Garden?" You can listen to it and read the show notes here.

Co-host of the show,  Carol Michel, designed the above graphic to demonstrate the "cat whiskers" on pansies that people often refer to when describing these adorable flowers.

She discussed various plants that are edible for cats with co-host Dee Nash. Those included veggies that Dee's cat likes to chomp on. My own kitties are partial to cilantro and melons, but never show much interest in vegetables. I do note the occasional carrot or pea in their healthy cat food though. 

On Her Pedestal

Sue Hunter, owner of www.heartwoodnurseryinc.com, shared this photo of her cat, Fauna. Sue recently shared another two of her cats, Willie, here, and Mama. here.

Sue writes, "Fauna in the garden on her pedestal. She is gentle and observant. She loves when children visit."