this is why cats are evil, just FYI

[edenfalling]

When my mom visited on June 8th, she brought me a random pepper plant -- I guess because I was already growing my own peppers and her gardening leans more toward flowering plants than toward edible vegetables. I photographed it on June 11th. As you can see, it was oddly low-set, but very full-leafed and obviously flourishing.




I put it outside on June 18th, to keep my onion company.






Two days later, something beheaded it. I am pretty sure, in this case, the culprit was one of my neighbors' cats rather than a passing squirrel. The dirt had not been disturbed at all, you see, and squirrels just aren't that casually cruel in their destructiveness.




However, a few leaves at the base of the main stem survived, and as the plant has not yet died from shock, I have hopes of its eventual recovery. I moved the plastic info stake closer to the remnant leaves on the off chance that it might serve as a vague deterrent to further attacks. We shall see what happens.

Comments

[branchandroot]

*winces* Clearly, the neighbor's cats need more grass available to them, so they stop molesting the other greenery.

[edenfalling]

There is a whole yard between their house and mine, and as they are largely outdoor cats, it's not like they don't have plenty of chances to eat grass if they want to. :-( Maybe there are just too many cats in a small territory and it makes them snappish? The people in the house across the yard have a black cat and a jellicle cat (black and white in patches), and Diagonal Neighbor P (who lives in another apartment in my house) has a gray cat that she lets out sometimes. This may lead to scuffles over who "owns" the yard and my porch.

I know they all climb onto my back porch at times because I have seen them there (and petted two of them there, briefly and with much hand-washing immediately thereafter, because allergies), so they obviously have access to my plants... and I guess one of them felt destructive that afternoon. Or maybe pepper leaves just taste that good. I wouldn't know; I'm not a cat.

[rthstewart]

I know this is the Internet and therefore cat lovers abound. I, however, am not among them being a dog person. We lose plants to all manner of things, including rabbits and cats and pecking birds.

[edenfalling]

I am a dog lover AND a cat lover (for completely different reasons, as they are quite different species), but while I think cats are ridiculous, adorable, and often more companionable and loving than one might expect... this does not change the fact that they are made of pure evil. *wry* I think, in fact, that is part of their appeal to many people.

I haven't seen any wild rabbits in my neighborhood, and particularly not ones brave enough to climb up onto an obviously human-built thing such as my porch, but we have squirrels and birds aplenty. And, of course, cats. *sigh*

[monkey5s]

Heh. My mother had shamrock houseplants that she had to keep closed in her bedroom because one cat we had thought the leaves were the tastiest things EVAR. If she managed to sneak into the room she would hide until the coast was clear, then eat the leaves off the stalks. Every single one of them. We had another cat who loved to eat geranium leaves, but he was mellow about it, just snacked on them intermittently so it didn't disturb the plant.

Short of putting a cage around the pot, I don't know what you can do to keep the critters (whatever is doing it) away from the plants.

[edenfalling]

I haven't heard of cats eating shamrocks before, but I've definitely heard of them munching on geraniums... and I recently visited a couple who said their cats liked to snack on their jade plants. Strange tastes!

For the moment, the poor pepper is safe because I brought it inside this afternoon. You see, I realized when I went out during a break in today's incessant rain that its pot has no drainage. I tipped it onto its side and poured probably a good 3/4 cup of water out -- first standing water, and then more water oozing out of the oversaturated soil. I will be acquiring a new pot -- with drainage! -- the next time I'm at the mall.