Cats totally count as pests, right?

Discussion in 'Garden Pest Management and Identification' started by cookie_mccool, Jun 4, 2009.

  1. cookie_mccool

    cookie_mccool Active Member

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    Location:
    Kalamazoo, USA
    Maybe this should be in the Small Space Gardening thread, I'm not sure, but I've got some rhubarb that is GOING TO TOWN on my front porch. It's really doing great, considering I bought the roots at a supermarket, and they'd been in the store so long they were already starting to sprout. Unfortunately, my mentally enfeebled cat thinks that I'm growing her the world's greatest salad bar and likes to chew on every single leaf (maybe the next leaf will taste better, I guess?). I've tried a plant stand, but the leaves are floppy and big enough that the cat can still reach up and get a mouthful. The problem, of course, is that rhubarb leaves are toxic, and my dumb ol' cat is tiny. Short of investing in a new, smarter cat, how do I keep both the rhubarb AND the cat safe? She clearly does not understand that leaves which do not taste good should not be eaten, because she also ate every single leaf of my coffee plant despite the fact they made her slobber so bad the plant was literally dripping with drool afterwards. I can't put the plant outside, because my landlady has a ton of barn cats and I extra don't want to poison them.
     
  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    WA USA (Z8)
    Fine wire mesh it can't get through. Or keeping it inside the house all the time.
     
  3. Paula B

    Paula B Active Member

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    Location:
    Nanaimo BC
    Perhaps it might be an idea to grow some greenery just for the kitty. I know my pet store sells 'squares' of grass for the felines. I may divert kitty's attention from something not good to something better.
     
  4. 1950Greg

    1950Greg Active Member

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    Location:
    Langley, B.C. Stones throw from old HBC farm.
    I found a good use for rose prunnings last year after planting my vegetable garden. I had previously used wire mesh but ran out of it and a few days later had a deviuos thought to use old rose canes where my daughters cat had been digging. It's worked.
     
  5. viking46

    viking46 Member

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    Location:
    Parksville, BC
    Blackberry brambles just under the soil results in early morning MEOWW! And he doesn't come back for a few weeks - but then forgets. Happens again. A great sound to wake up to at 6AM. People should put their cats on a leash or keep them in the house.
     

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