How to stop a cat from pooping in a flower pot? Ways to deal with the problem

Cats' partiality to flowers is a well-known and disappointing fact for plant lovers. But if the question of how to wean a cat that has made a toilet in a flower garden from shitting does not seem serious, then broken flower pots, an unpleasant smell and clods of earth on the floor make you think. Particularly violent pets completely destroy the flower, eating it at the root or throwing the pot off the windowsill. In this case, sooner or later, either there are no more flowers left in the house, or the owners are forced to get rid of the plants themselves. However, with due effort, it is possible to reach a compromise by maintaining the home garden and teaching the cat good manners.

Why do cats dig in flowers?

There are several reasons why domestic cats climb on pots of soil and chew green spaces in the house. Here's what experts think about this:

• Lack of vitamins and microelements in the animal’s body. Street cats look for medicinal grass and eat it, which allows the body to obtain the necessary substances. Domestic cats can eat plants in flower pots, which is very unsafe for the animal itself. For example, some types of house plants are poisonous, and if a cat begins to gnaw on such a stem, there is a high risk of severe poisoning of the animal.
• The cat is looking for a convenient place to go to the toilet. For example, the animal does not like the filler in the tray, but the soil in flower pots is very convenient for this matter. The reason for this cat behavior can also be an uncleaned litter box. Keep the cat litter clean and change the litter in it in a timely manner.
• Cats can climb on window sills and damage green spaces solely because of resentment toward their owner due to lack of attention. With this behavior, the cat not only wants to take revenge, but also to draw attention to itself.

It is not difficult to understand the main reason why a cat climbs into flower pots. If an animal digs the ground and relieves itself there, it means that she is unhappy with her cat litter. The cat eats the stems and leaves of plants - its body lacks vitamins. An animal simply spoils flowers in pots, throws them on the floor, chews leaves or breaks branches - a clear sign of a lack of attention on your part.

Causes

Many cats love to dig in pots placed on the windowsill. However, it does not matter where they are installed. The pet can get to the potty no matter where it is. And the animal is, of course, not attracted by the beauty of the flower. He has other reasons why he is so partial to houseplants.

Lack of vitamins

It is possible that the cat is digging the soil in a pot where the owners carefully grow their favorite flower, because its body lacks any vitamins. At the same time, the pet can feel that these same vitamins are located somewhere underground, that is, they are contained in the root of the plant.

The animal itself, of course, does not understand what vitamins are. However, his instinct tells him what food will be good for him. However, it may be wrong. More than once, cats consumed the roots of a poisonous plant, which caused poisoning. Therefore, you should not allow your pet near the flower pot unless you are sure that the plant is absolutely safe. And no one will be happy about damage to the flower itself either.

If a cat needs vitamins found in plants, it is worth planting special grass for it. To do this, you must first buy seeds. You can also use already sprouted grains. Both are sold in pet stores. If you buy a plant there, you can be sure that it will not cause any harm to your pet.

Toilet

In natural conditions, cats use soil as a toilet. This is why they are so attracted to a flower pot filled with soil. At the same time, they ignore the tray provided specifically for them. In this case, the owner should try to find out why his pet categorically refuses to go to the litter box. Let's list the most likely reasons.

1. Perhaps the animal simply does not like the litter in the tray.
2. If the cat is clean, then it will refuse to go into a dirty litter box.
3. The litter box itself can also be repulsive to your pet.
4. Or maybe the cat doesn’t go to the litter box just because it’s not installed in the right place. This problem can be solved by rearranging the tray.

Lack of attention

Cats, just like people, need attention. If their owners rarely spend time with them, they may start digging in the flowers. It is possible that the animal just wants to play.

And since no one plays with it, it chooses for itself as toys those objects that are available in the apartment. Among those objects that their cat's gaze falls on are often pots of flowers.

Methods to combat the problem

The first thing to do in this situation is to raise the cat and, whenever you try to get close to the flower pots, say loudly “No!”

Observing your pet will give you an answer as to why he does this.

Observe, maybe the cat climbs onto the windowsill not in order to spoil your green spaces in the house, but in order to get closer to the window and inspect everything that is happening on the street. In such a situation, the problem can be solved easily and simply! Remove a couple of peas from the windowsill to create an observation deck for your inquisitive kitty.

If your cat digs the ground and shits in it, try changing the type of litter for the litter box. Did not help? Then use a special spray to repel animals. You can buy it at a pet store.

Traditional methods also work effectively:

• Place citrus peels near the plants, pets cannot tolerate this smell;
• cats also don’t like the smell of garlic, place garlic cloves next to flower pots;
• Cover the window sill with food foil, animals do not like to walk on a rustling surface;
• you can use a spray bottle of water to scare away the cat; water treatments will quickly eliminate interest in walking on window sills;
• flower pots can be lubricated on the outside with “Star” balm or essential oils with strong odors;
• Some are helped by ordinary toothpicks, tightly inserted into the ground with flowers with the sharp side like a “hedgehog”; a couple of unpleasant touches will reduce the cat’s interest in home flowers;
• cover the soil in the pots with small pebbles, they will not harm the plants, but will eliminate the cat’s interest in the filler of the flower pots;
• You can put double-sided tape next to the pots; cats don’t particularly like to walk on sticky surfaces.

If your furry friend eats plant leaves and stems, try planting a pet-specific grass in a pot. You can buy such seedlings at a pet store. Green grass is rich in various vitamins and microelements, which will bring undeniable benefits to the body of your tailed pet.

Fill the plantings with cones and the paths with gravel

Delicate cat paws are unaccustomed to sharp surfaces and try to avoid them. There are many insidious inventions with sharp and prickly edges, but torturing your own pet (and your neighbor’s too) is inhumane. To protect your garden beds, it will be enough to mulch them with cones or fill the paths and perimeter of the garden with fine gravel with sharp edges. The cat will definitely not walk on it and dig holes in it.

The surest way to protect your site from uninvited furry guests is to build a solid fence to the ground - it will prevent stray and neighbor cats from visiting your plantings, and you will be able to pacify your own pet.

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Consequences of eating houseplants

As we have already said, many plants in the house are poisonous species, and after consuming them, the animal may be in real danger. What may be the consequences of consuming poisonous plants:

• prolonged diarrhea in a cat;
• nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite;
• severe dehydration of the body;
• general weakness, coma;
• death.

If you do not want to lose your furry friend, protect him from the following plants in the house: dieffenbachia, caladium, azalea, philodendron, schefflera, chrysanthemum, ivy, cyclamen, etc. If your cat has managed to eat the leaves or stems of poisonous plants, immediately take her to an experienced veterinarian.

Cats look for healing herbs and eat it, help them find it

To bring your animal to the doctor, provide him with first aid to neutralize the effects of dangerous poisons:

• do a cleansing enema with warm water;
• Give your cat a mixture of vegetable oil, egg whites and milk.

Never leave your cat alone with dangerous plants in the house. Better yet, get rid of such plantings if a furry pet has settled in your home.

Be sure to raise your cat from the first days of being in your family. Love, but do not pamper, mark the boundaries of what is permitted. If the animal behaves badly, scold it, but for good behavior you can reward it with your favorite treat.

You need to raise an animal correctly, without involving physical violence in this matter. Only instructive conversations in a strict intonation will allow you to raise an obedient cat with good manners and decent behavior.

Well, many owners are simply lucky with indoor cats who do not show any particular interest in indoor plants. If your pet is more inquisitive and has already managed to get into trouble on the windowsill, use the above methods to deal with the bad behavior of your four-legged friend.

Why do they do this

Animals of any gender and age can shit in the wrong place. Experts say that most often an unpleasant situation arises not because of the cat’s poor upbringing or character, but because of health problems or as a way of realizing instincts and natural needs. Pets go out of place because:

• They are not satisfied with the location of the tray in the apartment. You need a fairly secluded place away from prying eyes. If something constantly distracts and bothers your cat while visiting the toilet, he can choose another corner or the owner’s sofa for this.
• The tray is too small or has a strong smell of detergent. The cat is uncomfortable in such a toilet and, not wanting to experience discomfort, she looks for another place.
• It is possible that the animal does not like the look of the filler. The range of these products is now wide, try changing the filler to some other one, this may solve the problem.
• Tray not removed on time. Cats are big cleaners and if their litter box is filled with excrement, they may refuse to use it. If you are away from home for a long time, it is better to put another tray so that the degree of contamination of the cat litter is not excessive.
• The cat has changed its place of residence or has experienced stress. In the first case, the animal may simply not yet get used to the new place, and in the second, it expresses its feelings in this way.
• Infection with worms, intestinal and genitourinary diseases can cause pain in a cat when defecating. In this case, the pet will associate the litter box with causing pain and he will avoid going to the toilet. In this case, only a visit to the veterinarian and further therapy will help.
• After all, cats may simply be marking their territory. They will visit the litter box, but at the same time they leave marks and odorous puddles throughout the apartment. The situation will be corrected by castration or free walking, during which the pet will find a sexual partner.

The kitten shits everywhere except the litter box

A kitten is a special case. When a kitten shits in the wrong place, this is a slightly different situation. Usually, babies are taught to use the litter box and many other things by their mother. But a cat is not always a good mother. Young, inexperienced cats can teach their kittens little, and sometimes even refuse to feed them breast milk.

Kittens quickly master the science of behavior in an apartment

If the cat has not done this, the breeder must accustom the kitten to the litter box. Babies grasp everything on the fly, and if they are regularly placed in a tray after eating and sleeping, the kittens quickly master this science and no longer shit anywhere. But sometimes the kitten is taken to another house when it is very young, or your apartment has too many rooms in which it is easy to get lost.

Having brought your baby to you, stay at home with him for the first few days. It is better to limit access to most rooms and put the kitten in the toilet as soon as he squeaks, shows anxiety, and immediately after he has eaten and slept. Two to three days will be enough for the cat to learn where he needs to relieve his needs.

Only if these rules are not followed can it happen that the baby will shit anywhere. After all, if you do not persistently show him where the toilet is, he will choose this place for himself, and maybe more than one.

Use aroma oils

Not only flower smells repel cats, but also other strong aromas. If you don’t have the opportunity to turn your garden into a flowerbed or lavender doesn’t take root in your area, try treating the edges of the plantings and your cat’s favorite places with diluted aromatic oils. Citrus, cinnamon, lavender, mint, rosemary - all these smells can send a cat to hell.

You can also use professional sprays containing the urine of large predators (foxes, coyotes) - this will also repel cats.

How to stop a cat from crapping in the apartment yourself

Use the following simple tips to correct the situation when your cat shits:

• Experienced owners who have raised more than one cat claim that it will never defecate where it eats food. If you find a place where a cat or kitten regularly poops, place a bowl of food there, or scatter food nearby on a piece of paper.
• Some people suggest scaring the animal. As soon as you catch your cat doing something bad, spray him with water from your hand or from a spray bottle. The fear he has experienced will discourage him from crap in this place. You can also knock loudly nearby with a rolled-up newspaper.
• Give the animal more attention. Perhaps the cat is simply bored without you or is experiencing stress from the appearance of a small child or another animal in the house. Your task is to create a feeling of comfort and safety for him, then the cat will not urinate on your carpet and on your things.

It is useless to poke the animal’s nose into its piles or puddles; this will not help wean the cat from a bad habit. Cats do not tolerate violence and instead of the desired effect, you risk getting the opposite result. Your pet may forever lose trust in you and become angry, but he is unlikely to understand his guilt.

Enclose the beds with a fence or mesh

A meter-long fence made of polycarbonate or chain-link mesh, dug along the perimeter of the ridges, does not look very aesthetically pleasing, but it eliminates the problem of intrusion qualitatively. Not all cats like to jump over obstacles without knowing what awaits on the other side, so the animal is more likely to walk around the fenced area and find new entertainment.

Do you like coffee? Great, but cats can't stand it. Therefore, the grounds left over from brewed coffee should go straight to the ridges. In addition to the fact that it will ruin the mood of cats, the grounds will also become a useful fertilizer for the plant and loosen the soil.

By the way, coffee not only contains nitrogen, magnesium and potassium, but also repels ants and fruit flies.

Aids

Sometimes it is worth using additional means to solve the problem of getting rid of unauthorized puddles.

• An animal experiencing stress can be given calming drops based on natural ingredients, purchased from a veterinary pharmacy.
• If the animal is overly excited by unrealized sexual instinct, and you cannot use castration for some reason, purchase special contraceptives for cats, for example, Gestrenol. Just keep in mind that long-term use of such drugs is not advisable - this can cause disruptions in the hormonal system. Over time, it is still better to neuter your pet.
• On sale you can find special repellents in the form of a spray (Gimpet, Himola Antigadin). They are used to treat the places where the cat has soiled itself and, according to the manufacturers, this will discourage the cat from shitting there again.
• A simple, cheap remedy – table vinegar – will also help. It is necessary to first clean the floor in the place where the cat pooped, and then wipe it with a piece of cloth soaked in vinegar, or spray the product from a spray bottle. The cat will avoid such a strong smell.
• Some people use bleach or ammonia to repel the smell, but be careful, not all surfaces can be treated with them. So, dark linoleum or parquet can easily be ruined by bleach, which eats away the paint. For upholstered furniture, for the same reason, it is better to use specially designed commercial sprays that will not harm it.

If a cat shits in a flower pot, it is better to put the pots that the cat likes in an inaccessible place: on a shelf or glass balcony, or a special flower stand. You can organize protection directly in the pot by placing chopped lemon or garlic slices on the surface of the soil.

As an option, you can purchase a mineral filler for the tray, this will allow the animal to squirm around there to its heart’s content and realize its instincts. As you can see, there are quite a few ways. Try the ones that seem most suitable to you. Something will definitely help stop your cat from shitting anywhere.