Cat Tales

Wow, thanks for all of the perfume recommendations. I've written every single one down, and am fired up to go do some sniffin'! There are more than 25 on the list, so it will take some time, but I'll let you know when I find what I love!

Moving on, then...

I've had my kitty Minx, for almost a year now, after she had set down roots in my Mom's driveway. She's a cuddly one, affectionate with everyone, rolling up at the feet and in the laps of every guest that graces our home.

She also has a green thumb. Or, rather, a green tongue: she has a taste for the houseplants. And I have an unusual attachment to my houseplants: Most were sent to me after my father died. I consider them "Dad's plants," and tend to panic if one appears peaked.

Or eaten.

After much research, and trial and error, I discovered the one thing that keeps her out of Dad's plants:


Lemongrass oil. I kept reading that cats hate citrus, and after trying every orange product I could find, gave lemon a shot. She HATES it. I now just place a few drops of lemongrass oil into small soy-sauce dipping bowls and put them inside the plant. She wants nothing to do with them.

However, my sister got her one of THESE for Christmas:
A chia pet cat-grass kit. Wow, they are FUN. The seeds sit around in the soil and do nothing for about 6 days, and then they suddenly pop up at 2 inches a day, or more. Once was the grass was well-established, I set the bowl on the hearth, and Minx had a heyday. She LOVED it, and ate it all down in about 10 days time.

When it was time to replant (I bought more seeds at Prairie Gardens), I found I had to get all new soil also, as what was left was just a big root-ball in that flower pot. So, I figured if I'm going to pot up more cat grass in little containers, I might just as well put up a BIG container too! Minx can have her own private lawn, for her dining pleasure.

The new seeds took quickly, and in less than a week, I had that Bowl O' Lawn ready to put out for Minx. I transferred it to the hearth one morning this week, and went on my way to work.

Life is a learning experience, yes?

I learned, this week, that apparently, that confined rooting system doesn't work so much with bigger, open flower pots.

That Bowl O' Lawn doesn't latch on to big dirt, in only a weeks time. It just kind of hovers around, clutching to, say, the top 1/4 inch of soil, or so.

And that Minx, once Breakfast O' Lawn was over, would much rather play with a Bowl O' Soil than Cat Grass any old day...




Once again, I curse whoever it was that put white carpets in this house.