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

[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.