Confessions of a Cat Breeder

Help, I have a 5 month old lilac point male siamese who loves to uproot my houseplants & play in the dirt. I have tried various "remedies". One being using "Bitter Apple", two being lemons in the soil. Neither is working please advise

Dear Pat,

When it comes to plants and kittens I have found it better to simply go with the flow. Your kitten is bound by nature to dig in dirt uprooting plants to consume the tender shoots.

My advice, if possible, is to place all plants up high and out of reach for a short period of time. You must then provide and train your kitten to graze at only one plant. Some cats will be co-operative and nibble on kitty grass which can be grown for their safe consumption. Kitty grass is a product that can be purchased at a pet food distribution center and then grown.

Personally I wasn't able to train my loveable feral cat Maria to accept my token of kitty grass. When she decided she liked my spider plant, I finally gave up and permitted her this one luxury. The end result being that she eventually lost interest in my other plants. I questioned my vet and was informed the spider plant was a safe plant for her to consume. This was the only method that worked in my multicat family. Maria enjoyed her one plant and the other plants thrived.

I would strongly caution that should using kitty grass not interest your feline be extremely careful. Many plants are poisonous and the utmost care should be used when trying to retrain the focus of your kitten's attention. I also urge you to contact your vet to ensure the plant you provide is safe for feline 'kitten' consumption. It should also be mentioned that outside cats safely consume a wide variety of plants. However inside cats must be protected and a vet's advice is the only information I would be comfortable using.

Another suggestion to cure your kitten's urge to dig in the dirt of your plants is to provide a clumping cat litter. The granular texture of this product may also deter your kitten's fascination from your plants to that of digging in a clean litter box.



Yours sincerely,



Jasmine Kinnear

Feline Behavior Consultant

Confessions of a Cat Breeder

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Replying to:

Help, I have a 5 month old lilac point male siamese who loves to uproot my houseplants & play in the dirt. I have tried various "remedies". One being using "Bitter Apple", two being lemons in the soil. Neither is working please advise

Thanks so much for the advice. My kitty likes to eat fresh catnip versus the grass. Hopefully he will grow out of it soon.

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Replying to:

Dear Pat,

When it comes to plants and kittens I have found it better to simply go with the flow. Your kitten is bound by nature to dig in dirt uprooting plants to consume the tender shoots.

My advice, if possible, is to place all plants up high and out of reach for a short period of time. You must then provide and train your kitten to graze at only one plant. Some cats will be co-operative and nibble on kitty grass which can be grown for their safe consumption. Kitty grass is a product that can be purchased at a pet food distribution center and then grown.

Personally I wasn't able to train my loveable feral cat Maria to accept my token of kitty grass. When she decided she liked my spider plant, I finally gave up and permitted her this one luxury. The end result being that she eventually lost interest in my other plants. I questioned my vet and was informed the spider plant was a safe plant for her to consume. This was the only method that worked in my multicat family. Maria enjoyed her one plant and the other plants thrived.

I would strongly caution that should using kitty grass not interest your feline be extremely careful. Many plants are poisonous and the utmost care should be used when trying to retrain the focus of your kitten's attention. I also urge you to contact your vet to ensure the plant you provide is safe for feline 'kitten' consumption. It should also be mentioned that outside cats safely consume a wide variety of plants. However inside cats must be protected and a vet's advice is the only information I would be comfortable using.

Another suggestion to cure your kitten's urge to dig in the dirt of your plants is to provide a clumping cat litter. The granular texture of this product may also deter your kitten's fascination from your plants to that of digging in a clean litter box.



Yours sincerely,



Jasmine Kinnear

Feline Behavior Consultant

Confessions of a Cat Breeder

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Help, I have a 5 month old lilac point male siamese who loves to uproot my houseplants & play in the dirt. I have tried various "remedies". One being using "Bitter Apple", two being lemons in the soil. Neither is working please advise

My kitten,strawberry,used to dig in my dads ash tray and use the bathroom in it be4 she was litter trained