To be honest, I am happy to learn I am not the only one with this problem. Cinnamon loves flowers in general, and roses in particular. Allium flowers he leaves alone. Of course now my house smells like onions.

Anyway, your second suggestion is unthinkable. I tend towards the first suggestion. If you really want cut flowers in the house, I guess you could look into Grannick's "Bitter Apple". It is a taste deterrent available at any pet supply store. The contents are water, 20% isopropanol and bitter extracts.

One of our cats does the same thing (the other is not interested).

There are a couple of places that are out of her reach, so when I cut roses for the house I put the vase in one of those places.

Bitter Apple that estevinho suggested, or a similar product called Ropel should work, if you don't have an inaccessible spot for a vase.

I'm not gonna be of much help here, but I just wanted to say that, like the others, I am happy to hear I'm not the only one with this problem! One of our two cats is absolutely crazed for eating rose blooms (the other one couldn't care less). During the school year, I usually cut a bouquet for one or more folks at work on Sunday afternoon. Jenny the cat knows the moment I bring an armload in, and starts following me around. The kitchen counter that I usually process them on is one that she is allowed up on. I'm now resigned to processing them in the laundry room. On the rare occasions I cut blooms for the house, I put them on the kitchen counter she doesn't go on. LOL!

IMO, my cats are far more important than having vases of roses inside. I have thousands of blooms outside, and cut dozens each week for my friends at work. It's all good.

I thought of something else I do, besides keeping bouquets out of reach.

I've been buying those little pots of "kitty grass" and putting them next to the cats' water dish. I think it's wheat grass. Our Rainbow Acres health food store sells them much cheaper than the pet stores do.

They last several days in our home and I like to think that chewing the grass helps keep Lulu's mind (and teeth) off of my roses.

A quick shot with a water pistol kept our family cats off of places where they shouldn't go. Also have shot the hose at the neighborhood cats when they liked to go potty on one of my roses. Two hits and that stopped fast.

My PIB used to do the rose chewing thing. Of the three current feline residents only one (Lola aka moo cat) has an interest in flowers and her interest is simply to remove them from the vase or bowl.

I've been floating blooms in deepish bowls and covering the top with saran wrap so she can't scoop out the blooms with those clever little white paws.

With PIB I settled on wall vases and hung them in areas he couldn't reach.

Sounds like you have both a wonderful rose garden and clever cats.

I discipline my cats by (i) hissing at them; (ii) spraying them with water (some cats are NOT afraid of water); and (iii) shutting them in a drawer for a short period of time (cats do not like involuntary confinement). I save the last for severe infractions. You usually get a very humble cat - for a little while:-)

This is a funny thread! Seems as if most of us with cats don't have any brilliant suggestions but are glad to hear that others have the same problem (misery loves company, LOL.) Mine love to smell the flowers; when someone sends us a florist bouquet a couple of them will sit there all day with their noses stuck in it. They don't mind water too much (these are Maine Coons who play in their water dish) but cats I've had in the past hated to be squirted, so you might try keeping a water pistol or a spray bottle full of water handy and practicing your timing and our aim. ;~) Now for the helpful suggestion instead of the just my own kitty story, LOL...there is a cool product called Museum Putty and clear Museum Gel, it can be used on expensive artworks and wood tables even. It sticks the vase down so it can't be tipped over, but is removable. And for inside the vase, you might try those wire basket flower arrangers or if the vase is clear, put marbles or glass beads in it to help hold the rose stems in.

Oh, I forgot....if they are actually EATING the roses (a couple of mine do sometimes) you could try a sprinkle of cayenne pepper on damp roses and leaves in the hopes that they would decide roses taste horrible. Of course, being cats they might just decide that roses that smell like pepper taste horrible but the other ones are okay to eat. ;~)

Forget roses. I can't keep my cat off my laptop. I think she wants to post here in protest!

I have always had cats, house cats, and I have found the perfect method of dissuading them from getting into things they should avoid. Get a water pistol. Everytime you catch a cat somewhere they don't need to be shoot them with the water. After awhile all you'll have to do is show them the pistol and they will skeedaddle. Works like a charm, believe me.

My cats think a water squirt gun is a toy, they love it and try to catch the water spray coming out, my dog on the other hand runs from the room if I get it out of the drawer. I've learned to keep my cut flowers (not just roses, any kind... peonies and glads draw cats to them very easily) up on my entertainment center, I have placed items on both sides of the vase so they know there's something up there, but there's no room for them to judge if they can get up there.

Also, anytime I get sent flowers from the florist shop, I take out the baby's breath right away because I swear my cats love that better than catnip. I have one cat who doesn't want to chew on the flowers, just drink the water out of the vase. He'll pull the flowers out with his teeth, drop them and try to get his head in the vase to drink.

You aren't alone, some of my kitties think the roses I bring indoors are bouquets for them! One likes to wait til the roses are ready to shatter and then flicks the petals off one at a time and watches them fall to the floor. After they are all off, she then goes to ground level and munches them up. I have managed to build a little barricade around the flower vase so that has helped a bit. Another thing some kitties don't like is stepping on aluminum foil, so you can try putting some of it in the vicinity of the vase (when you aren't having company over of course!)

My idea is similar to mdseagull's - I would put double sided sticky tape all around the vase. I don't think a cat would like to step on that.

Carol :)

They're just flowers, and I'm happy when my cats want to eat something besides processed cat food.

Greetings,
Good to see that others have feline family members who enjoy eating rose petals (then again, edible petals are quite popular in human food, too!).

Though I'm sure everyone knows this, some suggestions on this thread are actually abusive to the animal, like shutting it in a drawer or using pepper spray. Please don't.

Spritzing the plant (not the cat!) with a little bit of peppermint spirits or lavender essential oil in water is an effective option that doesn't have your kitty's eyes getting inflamed like pepper spray does (We wouldn't want pepper spray in our eyes either, right? And cats have much more sensitive senses, so if it would hurt us, it'd probably be excruciating for them.).

A great place for nonabusive suggestions (and a fun t.v. show, too, on Animal Planet) is Jackson Galaxy's web site (no affiliation, I've just found his work and suggestions excellent). http://jacksongalaxy.com/

Great ways to enjoy the flowers in cat-friendly ways. :)

Gemma

I have always had this problem with my cats and it can be tricky. My last cat, Bandit, who lived to be 20 years old was quite the devil. If there was a vase of flowers anywhere in the area she would pull the flowers out and often tip over the vase. I don't think she ate them, she just liked to play with the leaves (she also had a passion for grape stems)..

Now that we have two different cats it's a bit easier. One doesn't go on the table so she isn't a problem. The other one likes to go after flowers and I have found that the most effective way to scare him off is to blow a bit of compressed air (from those laptop cleaning cans) at him. The breeze combined with the hissing sounds usually stops him, but you have to catch them in the act..

Maude

Wow! Of all the cats I've had (lots&lots, currently at 11), I've never had a rose eater. I've had a few who pull the flowers of the vase, just to prove they can, and I've had vases knocked over because they were in the way of a stretch or a nap. But my cats always have outside time and plenty of grass to eat (and yes, spit up on the floor inside). They show no interest in the roses outside, either. I have a catmint/neptha patch for them and they frequent that, but otherwise, they behave quite nicely both in the garden and around cut flowers.

As to discipline, when they do something I don't appreciate, I yell, flail my arms, swear,stomp and otherwise create such a scene that they are so disgusted by my behavior they rarely repeat the offense.

Fun thread you guys!! I rarely bring my flowers inside, partly due to the cats, but mostly because I prefer to enjoy them outside. Once in awhile I might bring in a few stems, or occasionally someone will get me a bouquet of roses,etc. Years ago, our cat Princess (now gone) would tend to knock the vases over just by smelling the roses. She would make a mess with water going all over the place. Her replacement, Lola, loves to eat rose blooms tho. I have pics of her laying on the dining room table eating a rose at Christmas time. She's such a weirdo. Last time I bought some florist roses to try and root them, I let her eat several of the blooms because I didn't really need them for the attempted rooting (didn't work anyway). Lola is such a little busy-body. She always has to be right there with you, "helping" in any way she can. I just find it amusing.

I think if I were you, and wanted to bring the flowers inside to enjoy, why not make sure you bring one (or two) roses in that maybe aren't the most beautiful ones, and give 'em to the kitties to enjoy also. Maybe that will keep them from messing with your bouquet.

I could never be without at least one or two cats (we currently have 4). I've used the squirt bottle in the past, but just never remember to get one out. They don't really get into too much trouble to warrant getting it out I guess. But no matter how much trouble they might get into, nothing is worth traumatizing them by shoving them in a drawer for punishment! That's just not acceptable. Altho, come to think of it, one of them just might actually enjoy that!

Unmentioned above is the simple solution of getting a kitten. The kitten will make the mature cat's life so miserable that the mature cat will forget about the roses.

By the time the kitten is two, the mature cat will have chilled out. (Or taught the kitten how to do the attention getting rose reach)

I cut down a huge multiflora rose bush the other day,now I see many different cats in the back yard rolling around on the stump,as it is at ground level,and they are smearing the "sap" on themselves. Some of them act excited as one might see after a catnip exposure,but not as intense. Maybe an underlying reason why they get into the cut roses we have in the house?

I think cats are somewhat trainable...try that ;)

I have four cats in my home (I only really like one of them) and unfortunately, the cats will win and the roses will lose every time. I would love to leave beautiful arrangements on my dining room table and credenza, but sadly they are all relegated to an inaccessible bedroom dresser.. I'm not even sure exactly why the cats do it.. They just seem to nudge and knock the vases over for no reason aside from irritating me.

Cats like roses...? hummmm

We well my wife uses a spray bottle of water... Me I just let them be kitties...lol

Kitties & roses... my two favorite things....

Nobody has mentioned that many of the flowers we bring in from outside are poisonous. My cat just ate a piece of lily plant and spent 2 days in the vet praying she didn’t go into kidney failure. I am new to the cat world and learned the hard way. I have a decorative bird cage that will fit a vase of flowers so I can rest easy with my cat and still enjoy my cut flowers.

My kitty gets baths being hairless, so water doesn't bother her much. She inspects anything new, but she has never bothered a rose. I'm lucky I guess. She has sheered off a hoodie drawstring with one chomp of her razor teeth, so maybe one thing cancels the other.

I didn’t know cats eat roses. I have never had a cat. But I found out one of my neighbors 4-5 acres away in the country has a army of cats- outdoor wild cats, and I saw foot prints in the snow looked like cat’s went underneath my garden shed. How can I get the cats to move? They should have fleas.

summers I doubt outdoor cats would bother eating roses. I think the indoor ones are probably doing it for the same reason dogs eat grass sometimes. Maybe it's a lack of something, but I bet outdoor cats just eat grass like dogs, because they have a choice.

Thanks witchygirl. That’s nice to know.

See www.roseproject nd read book by Frankie Hutton, Rose Lore:Essays in Cultural History and Semiotics to give you insight about cats and roses;;;; briefly put, cats know and see dimensions unavailable to average humans...

Frankie Hutton,

Author and founder of the Rose

Since this is a thread about cats, the thread readers may be interested in the following links:

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/cats-ferrets-susceptible-to-sars-cov-2-study-67374

• https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/covid-19
• 
  
• Also:
• "If you are not ill with COVID-19, you can interact with your pet as you
  normally would, including walking, feeding, and playing. You should continue to
  practice good hygiene during those interactions (e.g., wash hands before and
  after interacting with your pet; ensure your pet is kept well-groomed; regularly
  clean your pet’s food and water bowls, bedding material, and toys).
• Out of an abundance of caution, it is recommended that those ill with
  COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the
  virus. Have another member of your household take care of walking, feeding, and playing with your pet. If you have a service animal or you must care for your pet, then wear a facemask; don’t share food, kiss, or hug them; and wash your hands before and after any contact with them."

Another member of the cat family gets the covid-19 virus:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/04/tiger-coronavirus-covid19-positive-test-bronx-zoo/