Good for you for giving the poor kitty a home!

I have three cats, and an orchid spike bobbing in the breeze IS a huge
temptation for a kitten, but when the kitten gets older (about a year),
he'll lose interest.

If your orchids are on a stand or table, there's a wide, double-sided
sticky tape called "Sticky Paws" that you can put on the stand. Cats
hate walking on the stuff and will avoid it. If you have furniture that
you don't want scratched, you can put it in the furniture (usually the
corner of a sofa, which is prime for a good scratch). The Sticky Paws
product is virtually invisible, and you can peel it off later. It is
available online and through the Drs. Foster and Smith catalogue. You'l
also want to make sure that you have a good scratching post for the
puss. BTW, please get the kitty spayed or neutered as soon as
possible--you'll save yourself and the kitty a lot of grief. A cat that
is neutered young and has never sprayed is not likely to ever spray.

Another poster said that a bored cat is more destructive than one with
toys. This is very true, but the best solution for a bored kitten is
another kitten. Two kittens are actually less work that one, don't cost
all that much more, and are a lot more fun. If you get your furry
friend a companion now, they'll be pals for life. Most animal shelters
are overflowing with kittens this time of year because it's kitten
season.

Good luck.




In article ,
GrlIntrpted wrote:

Okay, so I picked up a kitten that I found on the street while at a BBQ at a
friend's house. The green eyed, black kitten just came up to me and looked
up [sigh... do I give a new meaning to a "sucker born every minute" eh?] .
Got it to a vet first thing Sunday morning, then bought all the kitten
"chuckies" including a rhinestone collar g...[looks fantastic btw ].

Needless to say the kitten is as ungrateful as cats get, and decided to
befriend the BS Paph sukhakulii. I have no idea why the orchids when there
is a fish tank full of very plump cichlids just winking at the cat.

I arrived home earlier today to the orchid laying on it's side on top of
it's pot, with some roots that were ripped off the plant. I immediately
cleaned out the roots to see the extent of the damage. I'd say 25% of the
root system is gone, some of the leaves have chewing marks on them.
I repotted the orchid immediately and I'm wondering what else I can do to
help the orchid survive such hostile friendship?

What can I do to discourage the cat from going after the plants?

Mariana
Who really dislikes cats, but this was just too cute ....

You think you have problems! We have a standard poodle puppy who, when he
was 6 months old fell off our balcony into some lemon trees 3 metres below.
I happen to grow a lot of orchids hanging in pots from these trees, year
round (kind climate) and the damage to some of them was quite irretrievable.

The pup was totally unharmed and the only subsequent damage is when the
occasional tennis ball drops onto seedlings mounted on treefern hanging in
the trees.

I won't begin to describe what the inside of the house looks like when he
pulls apart a carton of wine. Maybe he'll grow out of it?

Cordially, Phil
--
################################################## #############################
Dr Phil Diamond
Department of Mathematics, University of Queensland, Brisbane,AUSTRALIA 4072.
Tel +61 7 3365 3253 Fax +61 7 3365 1477