BCSS - Forum

Hi all!

I'm having trouble keeping my plants safe from the cats. The main issue is pots being knocked over when they jump on/off or run across the windowsill, but they do sometimes chew on spines.
For the former, I thought a set of shelves would work to keep them in one space the cats can just walk around. Thing is, I'm struggling to find shelves that fit the height of some of them, and also I think the (opaque) shelves will block light from the plants underneath.

I did wonder about some kind of cage But it would be nice to *see* the plants...

The only windowsills they can't get to are east or west facing. I don't know if this works be overall better for the plants than being knocked over and chewed on...

Has anyone else had a similar problem?

Hi Lucy
You could try one of the telescopic adjustable curtain poles to fit behind the pots to hold them in place. They are easily available and come in different sizes at £10 - £15.

Hope this helps

Hi Lucy, we love cats, and have usually had one or two, but they don't mix well with plants! Personally I would move the plants to the east and west facing windowsills, as the best alternative to being knocked over and chewed, surely not good for the cats to chew spines either . But some sort of barrier might work. Good luck.

One option is to put the plants (in their pots) in a window box. If they are packed reasonably tightly, they won't get knocked over. If there aren't enough to pack tightly and hold each other up, then you need to get some more plants along with your window box.

These are good suggestions, thank you guys!

Hi there :^)

I've been struggling with this problem as well and have been considering this greenhouse from IKEA

I saw it in person at the weekend and was surprised at how tall it is. Whether it's suitable is definitely dependant on how tall your plants are, how deep/wide your window sills and if you'd be okay with cats potentially climbing on it but maybe worth looking into!

For most cacti and succulents it would need to be on a sunny windowsill; the positioning in some of the photos in the link would only be suitable for plants tolerating low light levels. The drawback of a sunny windowsill is that temperatures inside a confined glass container could get way too hot in direct sun. C & S do need plenty of sun, but don't like being boiled alive.

For most of my plants, I grow them outdoors year round. So animals, such as birds can be a threat. I've found that an animal repellent spray works well.

Since the wind can occasionally reach speeds of 50 mph, I use 2 methods for dealing with potted plants. For smaller plants, I pack them close together in 10x20 inch sturdy seedling trays. If there are any open areas in the tray. I wedge small rocks in between the pots for stability. This size of tray fits well on most plant stands, and also works well for placing the trays into larger water basins for periodic soaking. For larger plants, I use taller pots than usual that are half filled with large stones at the bottom to act as ballast, and use my normal soil mix for the remainder.