eliz
there's a current thread in the cottage gardening forum about this very topic! something along the lines of "keeping furbabies out of plants" ... you might find a solution u can live with in there :)
good luck!
marsha

grow cactus!

My cat never used the bathroom in my plants, but she did like to toss the dirt out quite some time ago. I ended up covering the soil surface with aluminum foil - she didn't like the sound of it under her paws - and it broke her of the habit.

~Angie

I cover the soil surface with large (as can fit) flat stones.

cats are said to really dislike the smell of citrus peels. you could try putting some on the surface of the soil. i scatter them at the base of my outdoor bird feeders to discourage cats from camping out for an easy meal. another trick akin to the foil trick is to put chicken wire on top til the cat's broken of the habit. foil sounds easier though.
tammy

I used toothpicks stuck down into the soil so they are hardly visible. Once the cat was trained and the toothpicks rotted they didnt' need to be replaced.

the flat rocks thing reminded me that i collect rocks when i'm at the beach to put on top of my plants when they're outside(and the ones on the porch) to keep the squirrels out. i'm sure it would work for cats. when i'm at the beach people look at me strange b/c i spend so much time gathering rocks instead of shells. the rocks also work great in a saucer below the plants so the plants get humidity (like pebbles but prettier).

when my kittens were getting on the kichen counter yrs ago, i trained them to stay off by putting tacks in thin foam and leaving them on the countertops. only took them landing a couple times to cure them. i'd already tried less draconian measures to no avail, and the tips of the tacks didn't stick out much. the toothpicks idea is genius! same thing, but kinder and effective.

I've used chicken wire cut to fit. Cats hated it!

Eliz,

Let us know what you try and what works!

~Angie

Oh don't grow cactus!! I had a huge cactus in the house at one time. My X hubby and cat would play "tag" in the house. One day while on the pot, the cat came in to say hi and I was rubbing her. I felt something in her side. Upon further investigation, it was one of those HUGE thorns from the cactus!!!! That quill had to be nearly 2" long and about.060 thick!!!!

I managed to pull it out with a pair of tweezers. I felt so bad for her. After that, the cactus got the boot!!!

I'd try Tammy's advise and use the citrus peels. The flowers will love it.

Nancy

My cat wouldn't use my plants for a litter box, but she also liked to lay in them and when she got up, she would leave a dirt trail. I tried pine cones, but she is so fat they didn't even phase her, so I bought wooden skewers and stuck them in. They keep her out, but she periodically checks to see if they are still there. I think she knows they will rot at some point.

Our kitty likes to sun himself in my herb bed. I keep one spot bare for him to do that, and the rest is full of plants and a few pots for toad houses. Another bed he lays in he doesn't care whats under him as far as plants, so I started laying some big conch shells around I had collected years ago and now he avoids it. It's a shadier bed so maybe he's looking for a cool spot. Now if I could keep my dog out!

Cat Deterrents for your Garden:

Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), a deterrent that works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world.� After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'.

* amonia soaked (corncobs, etc)
* aluminum foil
* bamboo skewers
* black pepper
* blood meal fertilizer
* bramble cuttings
* Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp
* catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards)
* cedar compost
* chicken wire (metal or plastic)
* cinnamon
* citrus peels
* citrus spray
* cocoa bean shells
* coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!)
* dogs
* electric fence for animals
* essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils)
* fresh manure(ditto)
* garlic cloves
* gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree
* gutter covers
* hardware cloth
* heavy bark mulch
* holly leaves
* keep the area damp, they like dry soil
* lavender
* liquid manure (good for your garden too)
* motion sensor sprinkler
* pennyroyal
* pinecones
* pipe tobacco
* plastic forks
* predator urine
* red wine vinegar
* river rocks over the exposed soil
* rocks, crushed
* rose bush clippings
* rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only)
* short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart
* six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up)
* Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water
* squirt gun with water
* talk to your neighbors
* tansy
* thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings
* toothpicks
* upside down vinyl carpet
* vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam
* water bottle on "stream"

NOT RECOMMENDED:
*** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me.
*** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way.

Give them their own areas:

(To keep them out of where you don't want them)
(If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters)

+ pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later.

+ give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason)

+ if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too.

+ Barley Grass
+ Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store
+ Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade
+ Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.)
+ Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called nepeta cataria, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to.
+ Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum)
+ Flax
+ Oat Grass
+ Jacob's Ladder
+ Lemon Grass
+ Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch
+ Mints
+ Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out.
+ Sandy area
+ Silver vine (Actinidia polygama)
+ Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive)
+ Sweet grass
+ Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass)
+ Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips)
+ Wheat Grass
+ Wheat Berries
+ Valerian

This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violet_z6@yahoo.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

Violet, you get the gold star for that one. I presume you are a fellow feline afficiando.