How to Keep Pets Away From Plants

For some reason our cat has started using 2 of our houseplants as her litter box. She knows better because she sneaks over to the plants when she thinks we’ve left the room. We’ve used plant-safe cat repellant but it doesn’t slow her down. I realize your forte is with plants, not cats, but if you know of anything that might help we would be so grateful! Thanks in advance!

 

Hi Kay,

Here are a few suggestions on how to keep pets away from plants.

  1. Scatter moth balls on top of the soil
  2. Pets, especially cats, do not like citrus fruit. Place lemon peels or orange peels on top of the soil. Place a piece of yellow sticky insect card next to the fruit to catch any plant pests the citrus might attract.
  3. Spray the plant leaves with diluted hot sauce.
  4. Place tin foil over the dirt, cats hate walking on tin foil

Here are a few of the most toxic plants to pets. It does not include all plants that are considered dangerous, only some of the most common. Always check the toxicity of all your plants if you have pets in the house. Check out our Plant Wizard to read about all of the plants that may pose a threat to cats.

Amaryllis, Azalea, Caladium, Croton, Daffodil, Dieffenbachia, English Ivy, jade plant, all Lilies, Marble Queen, Peace Lily, all Philodendron, Pothos, Peace lily, ZZ Plant