Topic: new kitten woes..
Sam's photo
Sun 05/12/24 02:14 AM
Kitten was born last December and I've had it for a few months now. I also have a Chihuahua who is as passive at it gets, both males but the dog lets the young kitten run things.

Kitten stopped being an indoor pet when he took a big dump on my bed.. the kitty litter was just two metres away in the ensuite.

So him and chiahuahua live on the enclosed balcony - they have their bowls there, a pet couch they sleep on together, and a kennel too that they both use, especially when im cleaning up in fear im gonna wash them next.

The issue is that i have three plant pots that i am germinating sprouts and the cat keeps digging them up and making a mess, so yeah three weeks down the drain, again.

I tried plastic mesh and foil around the pots but that doesn't deter him. really running out of ideas as he does use the kitty litter and no sure why he wants to dig up my new sprouts.

SparklingCrystal 💖💎's photo
Sun 05/12/24 03:15 AM
Normal behaviour for a cat. I have a similar problem in my garden with sections where I am sowing flowers.
It's their natural instinct and behaviour to dig in soil as they wanna poo there.
You can often come a long way by putting sticks in a pot. I use satay sticks. They don't cost much. I use them in the garden too, although outdoors I use whatever small branch I can as well.

Around my indoor plants I have all kinds of everything on the soil as the cat kept digging in it. I use shells, quartz, and whatnot.
Once they're older they usually stop doing that, but maybe not when the cat that cannot go outside.

Just get creative. Try satay sticks.
IF that doesn't work, put something like a strip of chicken wire around the pot. And maybe it's handier to put something like chicken wire ON the pot directly after sowing. The plants will grow through that, but a cat cannot get to the soil any longer.

Yet another option is to hang the pot up or if it's too large for that, put it on legs. Anything so the cat cannot get to it anymore.

no photo
Sun 05/12/24 01:53 PM
Sam .. have you thought about putting a litter tray filled with soil next to the kitty litter . There are sprays and deterrents such as pepper you can use .. but personally I wouldn’t do that to a young kitten . They grow quickly .. before you know it .. the wee one will be too large to get in your pots lol.

Make sure there are other distractions too … kittens are very active and curious . If all you have on the deck is plant pots .. that is where the attention will gravitate to . waving

Sam's photo
Sun 05/12/24 11:01 PM
Edited by Sam on Sun 05/12/24 11:52 PM
All good responses thus far. As silly as it is, I may have found a solution.

I had plastic cylinder on inside of pots wedged in the dirt. I undid them and canvassed the mesh around the pot instead. he hasn't knocked it down today. He usually does 3-4 drive-by by now.

Sam's photo
Mon 05/13/24 12:03 AM
Edited by Sam on Mon 05/13/24 12:04 AM
I really hope this fixes it as i got new sprouts out already and the kitten better steer clear of it.

He attacks the left one which is closer to mesh door every day. And recently started attacking this middle one too.


Sam's photo
Mon 05/13/24 12:03 AM
Edited by Sam on Mon 05/13/24 12:06 AM
lag, dupe post

Sam's photo
Tue 05/14/24 10:25 PM
Edited by Sam on Tue 05/14/24 10:26 PM
okay great i think the plants are safe. the kitten is now bumping brushes, metal things and such off the tables and i think if they are there long enough the dog gets curious and starts chewing on the handles like with the brush :(

The other thing is the dog's dry food is on the floor, and the kitten's dry food is on a chair -- they know it's their respective food but for some reason they like each other's food. And the cat has been caught munching on the dog's food when his bowl was half full and such.

Don's photo
Thu 05/16/24 07:08 PM
cats often, and may need to, eat grass.

Sam's photo
Fri 05/17/24 05:58 AM
cats often, and may need to, eat grass.

grass eating eh. I can put him on a leash and take him to the grassy area in our complex.

Sam's photo
Fri 05/17/24 06:00 AM
haven't owned a cat since i was a kid so had to look up online why my cat rubs his head on my watch. that is, taking ownership of me.

no photo
Fri 05/17/24 09:17 AM

lag, dupe post

You can use tineye to downsize images:


Sam's photo
Fri 05/17/24 09:57 AM
Edited by Sam on Fri 05/17/24 09:58 AM

You can use tineye to downsize images:


Yeah sorry about that, i assumed the forum was gonna reduce the dimension on the image like it does with profile photos.

Im quite good with photoshop so no need for an online image editor going forward. But TY for the suggestion.