How to Keep Cats Away From Plants

It can be a struggle to keep cats away from plants. Every succulent, vine, or flower is a prime chewable target for felines. But it's important to keep your cats away from plants so they don't chew them and end up getting sick. Animal and plant experts weigh in to offer opinions about this method and offer better tips on how to keep cats away from plants.

Scents That Keep Cats Away From Plants

Not every cat responds the same way to every scent so be prepared to experiment to find what works. Where one scent is offensive to one feline, it is another cat's favorite fragrance.

Introduce Citrus Scents

“Because cats lack sweet taste receptors, they usually will avoid ingesting fruit, in particular citrus fruits,” Krebsbach says. “However, the oils and compounds in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and limes can cause digestive irritation, resulting in vomiting or diarrhea. Therefore, it is best to use the juice of a lemon, lime, or orange diluted with some water and then sprayed on the leaves of the plant.”

Keep in mind, however, that every cat is different. Some cats might hate a citrus scent while others might not seem to notice it at all. Leslie MacDonald, founder and owner of Plant and Curio, says she tried lemon to keep her kitten away from her plants and did not have any luck with this tactic. 

Add Vinegar to the Mix

Artist Vionna Wai lives with two cats, Mi and Ding, and more than 100 plants. She says using plant deterrents such as lemon, mint, and vinegar helped keep the kitties away from her greens. (Get a tour of Wai's apartment, plants, and her two cats in her episode of In the Weeds With Plant People.)

Cats are not fond of the smell of vinegar, so make use of this acidic ingredient as a safe deterrent for cats. Do not spray vinegar on plants as it can harm the foliage and soil. But using the mixture to clean or spray near the plant may do the trick. Dilute distilled white vinegar in a 1-to-4 ratio (one tablespoon vinegar to four tablespoons water, for example) plus a drop of liquid dish soap as a binding agent. Lightly spray near your plant. Outdoors, this mixture can also be used as a natural weed killer.

Change the Plant's Location 

An easy way to keep your cats out of your plants is to make sure they can’t access them. Here are a few options:

• Hang plants: Embrace hanging plants and high places. Both Wai and MacDonald use macrame plant holders and tall shelves to mount their smaller plants up and out of reach from little paws. 
• Create a conservatory: If you have space, designate a “plant room” where your kitty isn’t allowed.
• Enclose plants: Transform a cabinet with glass doors into your own little DIY greenhouse or use terrariums. The plants will still be visible, but they are well protected. 

Tweak With Tinfoil

Sure, it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing look, but MacDonald found that’s what kept her new kitten from using the houseplants as a litter box. 

“Tinfoil worked with her perfectly,” Macdonald says. “She hates the tinfoil so much. She was going into all the plants and trying to urinate in them, so I just covered the edges of all the pots in foil. It worked immediately.”

Cover the Soil

How to cat-proof plants is a question customers at City Floral Garden Center ask a lot. One of the methods Marketing Director Matthew Osier recommends, and that the business uses with their office’s resident cat, is covering the soil of larger plants with pinecones, rocks, or bamboo spikes. 

“Sometimes cats want to use [houseplants] as a litter box,” Osier says. “So using something that works with the decor of the houseplant but will also prevent them from squatting or doing whatever they do to get into the plant, is something we try to steer people towards.”

Provide Cat Grass

Try diverting your cat with a plant they actually can chew on, like catnip or cat grass. 

“Sometimes they just want to nibble on something, so when we have cat grass around they’re not as likely to just bite your other prettier houseplants,” Wai says. If catnip doesn't work, try silvervine sticks loose in a bag as an alternative that works to relax most cats.