We have four rambunctious cats. They are all incredibly loving and unique and they all love the cat garden! I planted a mix of cat friendly plants last year and I've seen each of my cats munching or lounging in the garden many times. Planting a cat garden is easy. Here's how you can do it.
Choose a sunny spot. Most cat friendly plants do best in a sunny location. I planted mine near my vegetable garden in the back yard. Ideally, you cat garden spot will get at least 4-6 hours of direct sunlight daily. No back yard? No problem. Find the window that gets the most sunlight in your home and use pots or planters for your garden. Outdoor patio space also works great.
Choose your plants. For me, this is the most fun. You can buy plants at your local big box or garden store, or you can start them from seed or buy them online. Here are a few great plant choices for your felines: catnip, catmint, cat grass, kale, zinnia, cornflower, beets (greens), lettuce, sweet potato vine. The ASPCA keeps a comprehensive list of plants that are good and bad for cats. You can access it here: Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List - Cats | ASPCA. If you are planting indoors, plants like cat grass, lettuce, kale and beet greens will do best. Blooming plants like zinnia and cornflower will need more direct sunlight to bloom.
Layout your garden. Typically, taller plants like zinnia, cornflower and kale will go in the back of the garden. Place smaller plants like lettuce and sweet potato vine toward the front. Medium sized plants like my cat's favorite, catnip, can go in the middle. Make sure and space your plants out enough to let them grow in size. Of course, you can lay your garden out any way you want which is part of the fun of it. you can plant several types of plants or just one. Cat grass, which is actually a mix of wheat, oat, rye and barley, can be your sole planting. Cat grass is super easy and fast to grow, and my cats love it. Cat grass also grows great in a sunny windowsill. Here's a sample layout for an outside garden.
Let them grow! It's best to let your plants get established before releasing your fee lions on them. Sometimes that can be difficult when you have eager cats that want to investigate and nibble their new produce. Cat's can easily uproot and kill new plantings as happened to one of my catmint plants this past year. It was quickly over-loved. I was able to fence around some of my garden plantings this year to let them grow in before I let the cats in.
Decorate and harvest! Decoration is optional but fun. I made some silly signs with old wood I gathered around the yard. "No Hoomans", "Cat Garden", and labels for my plants. Have fun with it. You can see some examples in the video and pictures. When it's time to let you cat nosh on their plants, you can harvest a few leaf sprigs for them or let them do their own thing. I like watching my cat noshing on a kale leaf or stupefying themselves in the catnip. If you've got plants in pots that your cats might tip over, you may want to handpick their goodies for them. You can use scissors to cut off blades or leaves or just pinch them off. Then, the best part, watch your feline friend gobble them down!
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