How Do I Keep My Cats Away From My Plant Safely

How do I keep my cats away from my bird cage?

Cats are hunters. Birds are their natural prey. My cats are so sheltered that they freak out if anything non human but larger than a mouse goes near them, but it doesn't stop them from stalking at the window, tails twitching, when the birds flutter around the plants on the balcony. There's little that entertains them more than watching the birds fly around outside the window.TL;DR: your cats will continue to be very interested in the birds and there's nothing you can do to stop that.What you can do is keep the birds out of their reach. Designate a room the Bird Room and keep it out of bounds to the cats. Spray the room regularly with citrus oils or heavily diluted vinegar or bleach. Put up one of those child gates in the doorway and line it with chicken wire. Make sure the birds’ cages are off the floor and inaccessible to the cats - hung from the ceiling, no shelves or chairs nearby. Keep the cats entertained in other rooms.That said, if the cats are not hostile to the birds and just like to watch them, I don't see the harm especially if the birds are not distressed by their presence. In fact, birds and cats can sometimes be friends.Here's a video of a budgie disturbing a kitty’s nap and not being chomped to piecesAnd another of, to quote, birds annoying cats with their friendshipHere's Proof That Birds Just Desperately Want To Be Friends With Cats

What can I spray on my plants to keep my cat from eating them?

I'll take the other side. Lose the cat.However, I'm sure you won't, so a few other suggestions are chili peppers and aloe vera. You know what chili is like already. Aloe is intensely bitter. Neither should harm the plants, but just in case, test a small leaf or part of a leaf and watch it for a week before deciding to spray more.Aloe vera can be bought at the pharmacy. Look for as close to 100% pure aloe as possible. It's good to keep it around anyway for your own cuts, scrapes, burns, sunburns etc. Just put a tablespoon or so into a pint jar of water, close the lid tightly, shake the bejeezus out of it, and when it has all dissolved into the water you can either put it into spray bottle of use a sponge / cloth / paper towel / small paint brush to cover the leaves. Again, do a test patch first.The chili spray is best made by putting a handful of fresh chili peppers into a flask of vodka or grain alcohol. Cap it and set it on the shelf for a week or so until the vodka has turned red like the peppers. It might infuse faster if you stand it in a sunny window (out of kitty's reach). This is potent stuff. Do a patch test first. When it seems it hasn't damaged the leaves, use a spray bottle to mist the leaves with it. Should work a treat.Chili spray is also brilliant for house training puppies. Just spray the spot they peed after wiping it up, and when they inevitably come back for a sniff, they get a nose full, and very quickly associate peeing indoors with that response. And it cuts you out of the picture as a disciplinarian. Same goes for chewing on chair legs etc. Move the puppy away, and just matter of factly wipe the chewed spot with chili spray. Lesson learned very fast.

How can I train my cat to stay away from spider plants?

You can apply a pepper-based deterrent to the leaves, or a citrus oil spray - those make the leaves taste bad, which may discourage your cat.You can keep a squirt gun with you, and squirt the cat whenever he tries to chew the forbidden plant - that might give her the idea to stay away from it, at least when you’re around.You can put the plant in a spot where Cato can’t reach. Either a high shelf, or hang from the ceiling. If you want the plant to live, though, you’ll need to put it in a place with sufficient light. If you hang it, use a waterproof bowl to hold the plant pot, so you don’t have to take the plant down to water it.You can provide designated greens for Cat to eat - perhaps that will keep them away from your special plants. Or not.You can get lots more plants. That way, nibbles can be spread out over a bunch of plants, and not look so bad.DON’T, as some people suggest, get rid of your plant(s). I’ve had cats and plants all my life. They chew on some alot (like spider plants and palms,) and these I keep outside in the summer, and in cat inaccessible places the rest of the time.I don’t worry about the “poison” plants, because I’ve found that they aren’t, in the quantities that a normal cat will ingest. I suspect that the “poison” plants don’t taste very good, so most cats may try a bite or two, barf it up, and that’s that. Plants that I avoid having in the house around my cats are dieffenbachia (dumb cane,) sago palm, and true lilies (this doesn’t include peace lilies because they aren’t lilies at all.)

my cats have safety break away collars but they lose them weekly, how can I prevent this?

You can’t prevent it, really. I agree you should microchip your cat (totally non-invasive and potentially life-saving) but cats that go outside should also wear collars. Microchips are great, but the majority of the time a person who finds a lost or misplaced cat is not going to have it scanned for a microchip unless they tender it to a shelter - and a lot of shelters still don’t scan. A collar, while less permanent than a chip, is a tell-tale indicator that there is a home and human to go with the cat - which means no one will mistake it for a stray animal.That being said, generally cats should be kept inside for a long list of reasons. The difference between indoor-only cats and indoor/outdoor cats is about 5+ years of life. I know my cat can take care of himself outside, but there are tons of other people who are irresponsible or downright malicious. So instead of letting him go out, we got him a leash. We have a porch, so we ran a rope down the length and clip him to that (being sure he can’t entangle himself anywhere) but keep an eye on him when he’s outside. That way he can explore and birdwatch and all that, but he’s safe.

How do I safely deter cats from our home?

Keep your front yard wet for a while if possible to break the cats from using it. They don’t like water and don’t want to dig in mud to use the restroom.Right now, I bet your yard looks and smells like an outdoor toilet to them with dry, digable soil for some reason. Once one of them used it, the others recognized the smell as an “open restroom” sign. It also helps to remove that “open restroom” sign by digging out the poop if possible and spraying with cat repellent. There are some aerosol cat repellants on the market which help.