Protecting Your Houseplants from Your Cats

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A post shared by Chas | Plants and Pets 🪴🐾 (@through.the.lleaves)

through.the.lleaves on Instagram shared these great tips for keeping your houseplants and cats safe from each other. What do you think? Have you tried any of these? Do they work for you? Got any additional ideas?

Little Miss Figgy

A few weeks ago, my garden club visited the Plants Alive! plant store. There, I met Figgy, the adorable (and adored) resident store cat. I asked the staff to share her story and  Amari Hemmings sent in these photos and wrote:

Meet Figgy, our lovable greenhouse cat and furry mascot of Plants Alive! Rescued from Animal Services Baltimore County by the kind-hearted Becky Sass-Crews, Figgy found her forever home amongst the lush foliage of our greenhouse. This whiskered wonder has since flourished in her new environment, charming everyone who enters our verdant sanctuary.

Figgy's days are filled with the sweet aroma of blossoms and the gentle rustle of leaves, providing her with the perfect playground for her curious spirit. An expert in plant navigation, she loves to explore every nook and cranny of the greenhouse, ensuring that no leaf goes unturned. Her favorite pastime, however, is bonding with our dedicated employees, who have come to treasure her delightful antics and friendly purrs.

Customers visiting our greenhouse are always thrilled to encounter Figgy, as she warmly greets them with a flick of her tail and an inquisitive gaze. As she rubs up against their legs and weaves through the foliage, Figgy never fails to bring a smile to their faces. She has become an integral part of our team and a beloved ambassador of our establishment.

Follow our instagram to keep up with Figgy - @plantsalive

Guardians of Gibbs Garden

I visited Gibbs Gardens north of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, a couple weeks ago with the Azalea Society of America. While there, I was thrilled to run into a trio of friendly garden cats. They are pictured here. Paisley is the long-haired calico shown at top. Tiger is the male striped kitty shown just below. The two bottom pics are of Spot who greeted our group at the entrance and enjoyed a nice sun bath on a cool spring day.

I found this terrific article about the cats at SmokeSignalsNews.com. In it, Jim Gibbs, owner, designer, and developer of the acclaimed Gibbs Gardens says, "Every garden needs a garden cat. Cats help keep down moles, voles and other pests that eat garden plants. The voles are the worst; they eat plants from the roots up.”

The article details also the origins of the Gibbs Gardens' cats and that at one point there were 11 of them on the property! I highly recommend a visit to the garden and for you to keep an eagle eye out for these friendly felines.

 

Hank in Wheelbarrow

 

This is "Hank in Wheelbarrow" by Edward Weston in 1945. Accirding to Wikipedia, Weston was "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers" and "one of the masters of 20th-century photography." 

He co-published a book titled "The Cats of Wildcat Hill" which is full of wonderful images of the 40 cats that lived on his property in the Carmel Highlands in Monterey County, California. 

Kim Weston follows in his grandfather's photography footsteps and you can see his photos here including one of a cat named Charis. "She has a wonderful soul and loves rolling in the dirt, chasing after anything that moves, and licking your fingers when trying to use the computer." A true garden cat!

Source: Art Institute of Chicago

Cowboy Kitty

Trisha Gedon, Senior Communications Specialist, Agricultural Communications Services, Oklahoma State University, shared these pics of Cowboy Kitty, the resident cat of The Botanic Garden at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma,  USA. She tracked down a source of Cowboy Kitty intel, Laura Payne, who used to be the Volunteer Coordinator there, but is now the OSU Extension horticulture educator in Payne County.

Laura told Trisha: “He was given to us by Linda Shackelford around 2012ish. He loves being the center of attention and if there is anyone around with a camera, he will find them. I once had to go get him from a family photo shoot, because he kept walking back into the shot.   He loves Temptation treats and chasing rodents in the garden, but most of all he just loves being around people.”

 

Linda Shackelford, and her late husband, Charles, were long-time supporters of The Botanic Garden at OSU. They also owned/operated TLC, a very successful greenhouse/nursery in Oklahoma City. They retired in 2012 and he passed away in 2022.

Keep Easter (and other) Lilies Away From Your Cats

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 a 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

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

Tippy Toes in the Bulb Boxes

Regular contributor Marie Mims Butler shared these photos and wrote, "Meet Tippy Toes. For 14 years she has been a sales cat at Norfolk County Feed and Seed in Portsmouth, VA. She lures customers in with her charm and willingness to be worshipped. Tubers, bulbs, seeds, plants, pots, and products mysteriously appear in the customer’s cart. Tippy Toes is a feline siren. She scoffs at our efforts to resist."

"In my Facebook post, Les Parks posted a picture of another Feed and Seed kitty (shown below) Gizmo has lost garden center privileges after trying to commute across 4 lanes of traffic to and from home. She is safely lounging at home, scoffing at those who work for such a pampered way of life."

Gizmo by Les Parks

Marie Mims Butler's previously shared posts to this blog include these:

https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2016/10/its-southern-thing.html

https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2012/12/leaves-or-squirrels.html

https://catsingardens.blogspot.com/2014/06/you-understand-me.html