Keeping plants safe from nibbling cats

Q: How can we get our cats to leave our houseplants alone? — E.W., via e-mail

A: If your cats love to nibble on houseplants, start by making sure poisonous plants are not on the menu. Many common houseplants can make your cats ill, and a few can be deadly. Among the most dangerous are dieffenbachia, lily of the valley and philodendron. Various ivies and yews can be troublesome, too, and the bulbs of plants popular for "forcing" into early indoor bloom — such as amaryllis, daffodils and tulips — can cause problems for the cat who likes to dig and chew.

The Animal Poison Control Center (www.aspca.org/apcc) maintains a list of problem plants, and you should also be able to find such lists in most basic cat-care books. Check your household inventory against the "bad plant" list, and replace any dangerous plants with safer ones.

You don't have to give up all your plants to your cats, however. Instead, keep some plants for nibbling, and put other safe plants off-limits to maintain a lush indoor environment that you and your cats can both enjoy.

Indulge your pets by keeping planters of sprouting grasses growing in an accessible place for nibbling. Special blends of seeds for cats are available in pet stores and specialty shops, or you can purchase rye grass seeds at the nursery. Catnip, too, is something that's always better when fresh, as is valerian. While not all cats react to the pleasures of these plants, those who do will appreciate your keeping it in-house and using fresh cuttings to recharge cat posts and toys.

When your cats have their own plants, you can work on keeping them away from yours. Plants on the ground or on low tables are the easiest targets, so make your houseplants less accessible to the bored and wandering cat. Put plants up high, or better yet: Hang them.

For the plants you can't move out of harm's way, make them less appealing by coating them with something your cats find disagreeable. Cat-discouragers include Bitter Apple, a nasty-tasting substance available at any pet-supply store, or Tabasco sauce from any grocery store. Whenever you find what your cat doesn't like, keep reapplying it to reinforce the point.

Pot your plants in heavy, wide-bottomed containers, and cover the soil of the problem plants with rough, decorative rock to end digging. Foil, waxed paper and double-sided tape are also effective digging deterrents. But I don't like to recommend them as much, because you're going to get tired of looking at these materials. Attractive, rough-edged rocks can stay in place forever.