Hi guys! Great thread. Here's my two cents: While cayenne or other hot pepper WILL deter a cat, it is not considered safe for your pet. While most cats will smell it and walk away (be thankful if you are lucky and have one of those!), there are always the ones that are somehow going to get it in their eyes. I work in day practice now, but was a nurse at 24-hour emergency/critical care veterinary clinic for several years, and I can't tell you how many people have had to call or come in because of this. If they do get it on their paw and then get it in their mouth or eyes, it is VERY painful and, depending on the individual animal's physiologic response, may require medical attention. Bitter apple works great, is not painful and causes no inflammatory response. There are also other products designed for pets that are safe. Also, as a lover of spicy food, I have TWICE gotten cayenne in my eye and it is awful! I could totally see myself forgetting I put it in/on a pot, and checking soil or moving pots around and getting it on my hand.

Kevin, since you asked, life is interesting down here. It's very cool to be able to pick oranges, poncans, lemons, and grapefruits off trees growing wild or in the yard. We were going to go to something called "Smash-A-Rama" Friday night but forgot. Not only do they smash cars but they have school bus races, RV races and races with cars/trucks pulling trailers. Yup, the North Carolina rednecks were downright sophisticated and I didn't even know it. Instead Friday night, we ended up at an alligator "zoo"/marina (although they call them fish camps?)/biker bar/diner combo that, frankly, defied description. I was so amused (if that's the right word), I was speechless. It was beyond tacky. I had to eat at the restaurant simply to say I had (I had gator bites). The restaurant was covered top to bottom in different colored lights with lights also wrapped around the palm trees out front, also in various colors. Time will tell what other strange things I find here. We did go to Canaveral on Thanksgiving and take pics. It was wicked cold on the beach though because it was really windy. I did see the space shuttle and launch pad, from about a 1/4 mile, which is as close as the general public can get (I've seen it before, of course, but only from a highway). Since we had the digital equivalent of a 1000mm lens for the camera, we got some good shots of it anyway. If anyone is interested the Nikon N80 is sweet. It took about 5 seconds to fall in love with it, although I'm having to adjust to the different ambient light here and using my lenses on a digital camera. Yup, the orchids came with me, at least the few I have left after last winters disaster with an unexpected frost. I just put in a big order with Andy for tons of laelia and a couple pleuros to replace those I lost and because they can stay outside all year. Laelia and pleuros had become my "thing" and that's about all I care to grow anyway. I had it going on with the cool to intermediate growing pleuros in NC, so I'm hoping I can pull that off in Florida too. Right now the temps are perfect for pleuros (average winter low is 50). My one masdie is tickled to death to be outside. I won't even try the cooler growing orchids here though, so I guess I've seen my last drac bloom on my own plant.

Thanks for the advise WC8 and Ginnibug, WC8 tomorrow I'll make sure to start a new thread about my lighting. I'd do it right now but since I'm on my iPod and don't want to turn on my computer to get the pictures it'll have to hold off unroll tomorrow. -- Thanks, Carl

Putting oil of any kind on the leaves of a plant can smother it. Horticultural oils are especially fine. I doubt your basic tea tree oil is refined enough to do no harm. Get your cat a plant he/she can chew. You have to give them a substitute. A spider plant is good, because it is indestructible and doesn't need much light. Also some cats love to play with the droopies. Put it in a separate place away from the orchids, so they can easily tell where it's ok, and where it's not. Close off the room the orchids are in temporarily if you can, or move them temporarily to a room that can be shut or to a place where you are there a lot to stop the depredations. Just till they've gotten used to "their" new plant. Cats are plenty smart enough to discern "this is mine, that is the Big Cat's who gets mad when I go near it" if they are trained. And they learn in just a few trials, too. It's harder if you're not home, but if you can catch them in the act even once, you can deter them. Mine occasionally, like once a year or so, try to sneak a bite, but they act guilty when they're doing it, and mostly seem to think it isn't worth the chance of being caught doing it and "acked" by the Big Cat.