Feral Cats And Garden Plant Safety Questions

[graywing]

This evening I looked out a window to notice one of my TNR kitties seemed to be investigating a Hypericum hypericoides, commonly known as St. Andrew's Cross. She then seemed to start to nibble on it and I rushed out to scare her from the plant just in case it could be an issue. St. Andrew's Cross is a native plant to my region. It's a relative of St. John's Wort that springs up here and there on it's own and has little dainty X-shaped yellow flowers. Of course plants sharing a genus doesn't necessarily mean much but I can't find very much info on whether St. Andrew's Cross is toxic to cats or not. I'm considering as a precaution to try to track down any others growing on the property and pulling them up. I had intended before this to just let any grow since I figured native flowering plants might be good for pollinators. I'm going to keep an eye on the TNR kitty but if anyone has any thoughts on how much I need to worry that would be very appreciated. I'm hoping if she did eat any it wasn't very much.

I'm now also thinking about the garden in general. Obviously I have no control on others' yards that feral cats can venture into, but how cautious should I be with our own yard? I've always been careful about plants brought into the home with mostly limiting them to african violets and orchids. Outside I mostly grow camellias but I do have other plants such as daylilies which I would never bring inside. I've never seen a feral mess with them, but does that mean they'll always be smart enough not to? Am I worrying more than I need to? I had also been considering planting some morning glories by an arbor that the cats like to sleep on top of. I'm really not sure how good of an idea that is either now that I'm thinking about it.

 

[tabbytom]

Here’s a check list :- Toxic Plants

 

[Norachan]

There are a lot of plants that are toxic to cats, but whether or not the cat will actually try to eat them is another matter. I think that the biggest danger might be the cat brushing up against something toxic, getting pollen on her fur and then trying to lick it off. If you make sure that any flowers low enough for the cats to come into contact with have their stamen removed it will make things safer.

You could also try planting some things that the cats like so they are drawn to these plants and not others. I have big clumps of pet grass growing outside. You can buy the seeds in pet stores. Also try planting some cat nip or cat mint for them.