Is there a way to stop cat eating my herb garden?

[MrsBertMacklin]

It's a windowsill one, recently bought. All cat safe plants, but bought for my dinners, not the cat!

Any suggestions, please? First thought is to buy a plant specific for the cat and to put it in easier reach than the main windowbox?

Could you plant some catnip in a different place to try to attract your delinquent feline?!

I've also heard it said that cats do not like citrus smells so try putting orange peel round the base of your herbs?

......to buy a plant specific for the cat and to put it in easier reach than the main windowbox......

She'd probably pee on that one and keep on eating your dinner.

Do you have a garden?

No garden + indoor cat.

Wonder if something as simple as closing the curtains to the windowsill it's on, when I'm out, would resolve it (or at least minimise it)?

I think you'd likely come home to the curtains down.

I'd buy some reduced herbs in the nearest supermarket (they often have potted herbs at a knock down price) and put them next to her feeding bowl for a day or two. Sicken her of them.

They do enjoy fragrant herbs.

I plant catnip and cat grass, but they also nibble the summer verbena.

But yes, I'd definitely try planting some indoor "cat salad" for cat.

We had to use boxes that attached to the wall - carbecat has nowhere to jump up on. I think he tried but must've realised it's not sturdy enough to take his weight. He avoids the boxes now, won't even go underneath them.

Now just to keep the sod off the strawberry patch - doesn't bother with them until they go ripe - then he takes nibbles out of them.

Unusual to have a fruit-loving cat Carbe.

Apparently they can also be a bit partial to slices of nectarine.

Unless you've seen him consistently at them, it's much more likely to be birds, Carbe. Cats' mouths are the wrong shape for 'nibbles' of strawberries - even if they liked them.

Strawberry nets is the answer.

I know Rubbish he's partial to a piece of banana now and again too but his absolute favourite is cooked cauliflower :)

It's 100% him cozie I see him do it. He's not shy and does it in front of me.

Weird animal - had no-one told him he's not supposed to be a vegetarian?

:) Oh he understands that alright cozie he enjoys raw bloody beef and killing mice more than he does the fruit and veg but mostly he is happy with his normal food.

Sorry - this is a dog story.

I recall giving the dog his food and it usually had a vegetable or two in it. He would always wolf the lot down (as is dogs' wont) and every single ruddy time there would be a shining bowl - with one pea left in it!

Clearly not an animal for the Carbe household.

:) :) @ one pea left.
Carbedog will eat anything. Her favourites are broccoli, carrots and cucumber and she'd hunt you down for a bit of boiled egg.
I often wonder why it's not so simple to get kids to eat their veg :)

All the cats I have had like olives. Getting back to the herbs, what about growing some cat grass for the cat and putting it in a more accessible place, they do like to nibble greenery and if it is an indoor cat they may need something like that.

You're right, they do need a bit of greenery in their diet, not just for sicking up either. MCat eats lots of cat salad, but rarely sicks it up.

You can buy the cat grass from anywhere really. It's oats and barley seeds.

Thought I'd update this to let you know that I've surrendered the herb garden to the cat. She is in love with parsley in particular, so I've just repotted it into something sturdier and stuck it by her food bowl.

Pick your battles and all that.

(Although she will likely reject it now - you are ready for that, aren't you?)

Yep. It was a novelty this evening and eaten in place of dinner. But expect(hope) she will have lost interest within a week and I can quietly rescue it.