Conference misery::feline_v1

    Ya know, unless the cellar was real cold and damp or presented a
    health hazard, I wouldn't feel an ounce of guilt. You sound like
    you take good care of ALL animals. You should be proud, not guilty.
    
    Would you allow humans to trash your house because you felt guilty
    taking preventative steps?
    
    Edd

    Really - you shouldn't feel guilty.  Unless they're freezing down
    there, basements are a kitties favorite place.  They can hide in
    the shadows and pounce on the dust bunnies (maybe a little "creature"
    or two) and generally romp and not mess things up.  Corkie sure
    missed her basement when we moved to Texas.  They don't have em
    down here.
    
    Pat
    

    My boys cry and whine to go play in the basement.  It's not cold
    and damp down there, so that doesn't pose a problem.  In fact, during
    the summer, it's a preferred sleeping environment.  Sweetpea will
    probably outgrow the plant habit (my 5 year old did).  But I must
    admit to having ALOT less plants now than I did then!
    
    So don't feel guilty!  They're probably having fun exploring.  Just
    as long as they are warm and safe, you're OK (and so are they).
    
    Mary

    Maybe get Sweetpea a plant of his own?  My guys like these little
    white plastic dishes of stuff that sprouts (wheat? grass?) that
    pet stores sell.  Somewhere in this file is a suggestion to plant
    a big size tray with grass (you can use the search command to find
    the note).  Be careful that none of the plants you have are the
    ones that are poisonous to cats.  I've also heard that covering
    the dirt with a decorative layer of stones sometimes help. 
    
    P.S. have you introduced Sweetpea and Evan in the introductory note?
    I'll bet they're sweeties.
    

    DejaVu used to love knocking over all my plants when she was a kitten.
    She also liked to chew on my Spider plant.  Now that she is older,
    1 1/2, she no longer does that.  Instead she loves to scare the
    living daylights out of me by ALMOST knocking over my unicorn statues.
    
    I keep telling people that she is a BRAT......
    
    Sandi (Lightning's & DejaVu's mom)
    

    You have all made me feel so much better and I just wanted to thank
    you.  My cellar is dry and warm and probally a fun place for him
    to play.  Hopefully in time he'll out grow the plant chewing and
    in the meantime I'll just keep him in the cellar with his big buddy
    when I'm not there.
    
    Donna (Evan and Sweetpea's mom)

    > Here is what I did to keep my kittens out of my plants. I hung
    > them all. Everyone of them...
    
      Rather drastic, no?  
    
      ;^)
    
      Edd

    Don't feel guilty!!  They probably love it down there!
    I keep Niniane in the basement during the day while I'm at
    work and at bedtime.  I have a *lot* of rather expensive knick-knacks
    and there's one or two plants of my husband's that I'd rather her not get 
    into for her own sake (we keep them on top of the refridgerator,
    but I doubt that will be a safe place for long ;-), so I don't like
    her upstairs when I'm not there to watch her.  I check the basement
    every day to make sure she hasn't gotten into anything that might
    potentially hurt her, and I vaccuum it once a week to keep the dust
    down.  I make a fuss over her at night, and we play every evening
    for at least an hour, so I know she gets enough excercise.  But
    sometimes I'll be down there doing laundry, and she goes wild!!
    She flies around jumping around on things and batting at anything
    within reach.  I know she thinks it's *her* personal playground
    (but then, it's *her* condo anyway ;-)!!!
    
    Mary-Michael (Ninny's Mom)

    re: .7
    
    >Here is what I did to keep my kittens out of my plants. I hung
    >them all.
    
    I did the same thing. Once the cats realized that they couldn't
    reach the plants anymore, they sat there and _stared_ at the plants.
    Within a month, every plant had died!
    
    So now I lead a plantless life . . . but I've got plenty of kitties!
    
    Marleen
    

    Re .7, .8:
    
    >Here is what I did to keep my kittens out of my plants. I hung
    >them all.
    
    Well, not to worry.  That cannot refer to the kittens.  To execute
    by using a rope is "to hang."  The past sense of hang-as-in-killing
    is "hanged."  Had you said "I hanged them all," I'd be disturbed,
    but ....
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

    Alas, my plant days are over.  It didn't matter what I did
    or where I put the plants.  The only thing that worked, and
    this only solved part of the problem, was to put marble chunks
    on top of the soil so that the cats wouldn't dig up and scatter
    the soil, or worse...soil the soil.
    
    The last few plants were put in plant hangers.  And so the
    cats, *especially* little Coo, taught themselves to be
    acrobats.  Ever seen a cat go flying up or across to try
    to land in/on a plant?  Planter, curtains, and cat(s) go
    in all directions (fortunately, not yet thru the window, gasp).
    And as for whatever is on the table or counter *under* the window...
    
    So, let's see... if I get rid of the last three plants, how
    many more cats can I have?  ;-)
    
    	Penelope

    I'm having the opposite problem to the basement these days.  My
    boys' litter box used to be in the basement entrance way, requiring
    that the basement door be left open at all times.  This was a slight
    problem due to the impact that had on my heating bill, and who wants
    a basement door (located in the dining/living area) stuck open all
    the time?  Not me!  So I moved their facilities into the bathroom
    (actually I bought them a new covered box...) and have closed the
    basement door.  Now Honey walks around all night screaming his head
    of and scratching at the door.  If I open the door, he just walks
    away.  Sometimes, he'll go look, make sure the basement is still
    there, and go somewhere and sleep.  He's driving me NUTS!
    
    Should I just ignore him and keep the door closed or leave it open
    and get some sleep??
    
    Mary

    RE .16
    
    Karen, you are just too good for words.  What an ingenious idea..
    And yes, stepping on kitty litter in the morning does have a tendency
    to wake you up.  That's why I wear slippers.  By the by,  Bandit
    sounds just like DejaVu - such a BRAT...  Aren't they fun to have
    around thou?
    
    Sandi (Lightning's & DejaVu's mom)
    

    re: .16...cat doors...I'd been thinking about that.  The problem
    is that I'd have to buy a new door to replace the one that's there
    since I don't own the house (and the lease CAT_MAX=0...).  Doors
    are pretty cheap, but perhaps I'm just lazy.  I'll have to get myself
    into a Suzy Homemaker mood and head to the hardware store!
    
    Besides, having the box in the bathroom insures that it gets cleaned
    out every day.  Honey has these horse poops (he has a picture of
    Seattle Slew next to his box) and if the box is out of sight (and
    smell), it tends to be out of mind, too.
    
    Does anyone out there have experience training cats to use such
    a device (Chauncey is so brain-damaged, I doubt he could ever
    figure it out!)?
    
    Mary

    
    My three will chomp any plant except for the African Violets on
    the kitchen windowsill. (I guess they aren't interested in the fuzzy
    leaves?)               
    
    Sigh, all the other plants that we have left have been placed in
    terrariums made of old leaky aquariums with fitted glass covers...
    
    Rita
    

    Re: .20
    
    Holly thinks African Violets are an especial delicacy, purchased
    just for her.
    

    I started putting mothballs in my plant's soil.  I've had them
    in for almost a week and so far so good, Sweetpea hasn't gone near
    them.
    
    Donna

    Mothballs are poisonous, so be careful if your cat should show
    some interest, especially after the strong odor wears off.   ALso
    I suspect that mothballs will do some damage to your plants, either
    from the fumes or from leaching into the soil when you water.
    
    Donna

    Black pepper helped Merlin was going through his plant chomping phase
    (and it isn't poisenous). Also, garlic powder is supposed to help, but
    it never worked for me, not to mention the place smells like a garlic
    clove... 
    
    I also had a problem with Merlin using the big potted plants as
    alternate kitty boxes. I used the plastic plates that are supposed to
    be for catching water under the pots. They come in different sizes, so
    you can usually find one that fits your pot. I cut a hole in the middle
    for the plant stem, and made a slit from the side to the hole, so I
    could get it around the plant. These worked great. I guess it blocked
    the smell of the dirt or whatever was attracting the kitties. The other
    advantage is that you don't have to water the plants as much, as the
    plastic plate works like a little greenhouse. 

    Good luck! My hanging plants are usually left alone, but every once in
    a while, there are pieces of spider plant around on the floor - must
    have been a boring day :^) !!
    
    janet b. 

    I think I said this in here somewhere already, but...
    I ended up putting pieces of chicken wire over the soil of my really
    large plants that Nebula liked to dig up, and putting the smaller
    plants that both kitties liked to chomp on in the sewing room, which
    is kept cat-free (that's where my various only-somewhat-cat-allergic
    friends leave their coats when they come over - the cats klnow which
    humans these are, and other single out their coats to snuggle on!).
    The worst plant is the beaucarnea (ponytail palm) - the cats love
    those long, skinny leaves!

    nothing like getting up on Saturday morning to see all the dirt
    dug out of a floor pot onto the floor!
    
    My floor plants are in partially filled 3 Gal crocks, I put a couple
    of mothballs in each pot (carefully on top of the earth) -- Seems
    like the fumes from the mothballs make it real unpleasent to stick
    your head in the pot to dig out the earth.... Works good for me!
    
                                      Tom

Tried hanging plants..Nicholas "Tarzan" the Gray got to them through great
feats of acrobatics.

Tried all other methods of keeping plants.  I now have some very expensive
silk plants scattered around the house...nobody eats them, nobody gets
sick, and my real plants are outdoors...there comes a time when surrender
is easier.

    I mentioned this before, but not sure if it was in *this* note:
    
    Get medium size marble chips (not expensive, but ...heavy...)
    and cover the top of the soil.  It is not particularly attractive
    to cats, and actually looks pretty good to humans.  And there
    is not toxicity problem, unless Monster_Cat *eats* a 1 or 2 inch
    squarish rock for dessert...could clog up the system, I suppose...
    
    I used the marble everywhere until the cats forgot the soil and
    went after the plants.  ALL the plants.  EVERYWHERE.  
    
    Want some used marble chips???   ;-)

    Marble chips are a great idea!!!  Besides keeping the cats out,
    they would also help to keep the soil moist.
    
    cin...who has a menagerie of cats, fish, and plants!
    

I've solved the problem in a few ways.  First, I supply the cats with
a few plants of their own.  I have a small catnip plant and some
kitty greens growing in pots on the kitchen floor.  The cats know
that these are theirs to do with what they want - including digging
out if they want.  It does get messy sometimes, but that's what 
dustbusters are for.  The plants that belong to me are generally not
touched, with a few exceptions, of course.  My 2 1/2 foot high jade tree
is used by Patchwork as a petting tree.  She will rub her head on it
seemingly forever, just to scratch her ears, but never to damage the
tree.  The plants that the cats just can't resist (spider plants and
a palm whose name escapes me at the moment) are either hung high and 
out of reach, or are in my office.  Although the cats do a good job of 
keeping the babies trimmed back on the spider plant.  I've never 
had any real problem of dirt being scratched out of the big pots.  
Both Sawdust and Patchwork think that dirt is to be ignored.  Cat litter 
is much better to scratch!

					Maryann

    I decided to take some of the really great suggestions (plastic covers,
    marble chips etc.) for covering my plants instead of using mothballs
    for two reasons.  One, I didn't realize mothballs could be bad for
    my kitty and two, a friend came over yesterday and said my house
    smelled like his grandmothers closet.  I never noticed!  Oh well.
    
    Donna
    
    P.S.  I also put a big pot of dirt in the cellar for Sweetpea and
          he seems to enjoy digging that up.
                               
    

    
    Well, all my real plants are in terrariums, and I've acquired a
    number of nice silk floral arrangements.  Much to my horror...
    
    BASIL LIKES TO EAT SILK FLOWERS!
    
    And boy, do they get mangy looking when they're covered with cat
    saliva and have tooth marks in them!  Help!  Other than movinbg
    all the silk flowers to another room when I'm not home, any ideas
    about what I can do?  This crazy kitty is driving me nuts!
    
    Rita
    

    Sweetie and Holly own the world's largest boston fern, which sits
    on a plant stand.  They can snack away on the ends of the fronds
    without it being noticeable.  They seem to enjoy it a lot, and the
    plant is so humongeous it grows as fast as they nibble.
    

    re: .33
    
    Karen,
    
    Sounds like you have a nice set-up.  One problem I have always
    noticed with Boston ferns is that the tips turn brown.
    But if one has a couple of "plant trimmers,"  all the better!
    
    Wish my plant-attackers would settle for trimming.  When I
    move I am going to try to get them a few trays of cat grass.  
    If they are interested in that, then perhaps I will be allowed
    to have a plant of my own...
    
    	P