It’s no secret that plants are one of our cat’s favorite objects, they commonly approach them to smell, explore or play with them. Plants undoubtedly spark curiosity in these felines.
This behavior is completely harmless, but the problem starts when your cat uses your plants as a litter box. Cat urine can severely harm your plants and fill your house with very unpleasant smells.
Continue reading to discover the reasons why your cat potties in your plants and how to prevent it.
Why plants?
It is pretty obvious that the main reason is that they aren’t properly using their litter box. When your cat feels uncomfortable with its litter, it most likely will search for other alternatives to potty. Some of the reasons your cat stops using its litter box are:The litter box needs to be cleaned more frequently.
-The litter is dirty.
-Accessing the litter box is complicated.
–You need to change to a different type of litter.
-There are too many cats for the amount of litter boxes, remember every cat needs its own litter box.
-The litter box is inconveniently placed in a location where many people pass by.
-You are using a cleaning product that has a very strong smell that bothers your cat.
Another reason why your cat is potting in your plants is their territory marking instinct. Just like dogs do, cats also spray urine as a form of communication, letting other animals know that your home is their territory.
How can I prevent it?
If you wish to prevent this behavior, here we share some of our best home remedies you can use to keep your cat away from your plants
Citrics
Citrics are a great option to repel your cat from your plants, their strong smell is very unpleasant for them and will definitely be uninviting. For this, you will need to put lime, orange or other critics’ peels in your plants. Another alternative is using cotons dipped in the juice of these fruits.
Coffee or tea
The smell of coffee or tea is irresistible for humans, but truly terrible for cats. We recommend using coffee grounds or tea leaves and you can even combine them for more efficiency.
Pepper
¿Pepper makes you sneeze? Now imagine how uncomfortable it is for a cat whose smell is much more developed. Put two spoons of back pepper in a cup filled with boiling water. Wait till it cools and spray it all over the area you wish to protect.
Lavender and thyme
Lavender and thyme are very irritating for cats, this is why we recommend that you put some leaves of these products in your flower pots or in your plants directly.
The best way to make sure that any of these methods work is to accompany them with a positive reinforcement, meaning that every time your cat uses their litter box correctly, you reward them with a treat or even petting them.
Let us know in the comments what other methods you have used to protect yuor plants from your cat.