Owners of cats know the problem: cats like to dig in flower pots and use the loose soil as a toilet. With a little patience and good ideas you can stop the animals from this bad behavior. The matter becomes unpleasant when there are outdoor animals in the neighborhood who destroy entire terraces at night.
How can I stop my cat from digging in the flower pot?
To prevent your cat from digging in flower pots, you can use foil, place pebbles or large stones on the soil, use special pot protectors or elastic fabric, place citrus plants or diffusers, use wire mesh or sprinkle the soil with pepper.
Why do cats like to dig in the ground?
The wild cat buries its droppings in loose soil. This is exactly how outdoor animals behave: they roam through gardens all day and only come home in the evening. It is natural for these animals to use loose soil as a toilet. Basically there is nothing wrong with that. However, when the lovely kittens crouch in the flower pots every day and throw out all the soil while digging, things get annoying.
Ways to prevent cats from digging
There are different ways to do this. However, you may have to try out several variants, as these velvet paws are clever little animals that can see through many defensive tricks and come up with something new to achieve their goal.
- Covering potting soil with foil, a tiresome task that has to be repeated every evening. If the foil is not attached properly, the cat will scratch it off the pot.
- Laying pebbles on the surface of the earth is effective, but it doesn't stop every cat from digging
- on large flower pots, a cover with large stones is helpful, the cat cannot put them away
- special pot protector (€14.00 on Amazon) from the store, several interconnected rings that are attached to the flower pot. The cat cannot reach the earth and loses interest.
- Cats are sensitive to citrus scents, which are unpleasant for their noses. So place pots of lemongrass or lemon balm between the flower pots. Fragrance dispensers with a lime scent or similar also have an effect.
- Winding fine wire mesh around the pots works, but is unsightly
- Flower pot protector made of elastic fabric, new product on the market. It is an elastic bag in black or white that can be pulled over the flower. There is a recess for the handle. The cat doesn't reach the ground, but the bag is a matter of taste.
- Sometimes it helps to sprinkle the potting soil with a little pepper. Cats don't like the smell.
