Safe Plants For An Indoor Cat Garden?

[MeganLLB]

I think Luna is bored with the indoors, so I wanted to make an indoor cat garden with some grass and other plants that she can chew on.

Besides grass, are there any other safe plants that I can plant for her?

Any creative ideas for how to diy an indoor cat garden?

 

[Margret]

Miniature roses seem to be safely edible (leaves and flowers), though you should probably make sure that the store you buy them from didn't use any pesticides or herbicides around them. You should also plan to replace them frequently - Pretzel informed me that they were delicious, and they tend to die when their leaves are eaten as fast as they can put out new ones...

Depending on the size you have in mind, I think I'd have a wooden box made to contain the garden, maybe 8 to 12 inches tall, stain or paint it so it looks good, maybe add some wheels on the bottom to make it easy to move (preferably locking wheels to keep it in place when you park it), line it with heavy duty plastic, put an inch or so of rocks in the bottom to provide drainage, use good potting soil, choose plants that have similar requirements for water and light. You should probably avoid planting catnip...

Margret

 

[tabbytom]

Here’s a list of toxic and non-toxic plant list:-

Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List - Cats
Toxic Plants

 

[Furballsmom]

Pretzel informed me that they were delicious, and they tend to die when their leaves are eaten as fast as they can put out new ones...

 

[LTS3]

Cat nip Your cats can munch on the fresh leaves and what isn't' munched on can be dried for later use.

Be sure to use a pot that too heavy for a cat to knock over. Or re-purpose a plastic storage container and add an inch or so of gravel (fish tank gravel / pebble is fine and probably costs less than what is sold for plant / garden use) to the bottom so roots aren't drowning in water. One of the links below has a picture of a storage container turned planter. Something around 12 inches deep would be good. I know that cat nip grows really well if the roots have plenty of room to expand.

DIY Indoor Cat Garden For Cat Lovers
A Beginner’s Guide for Creating an Indoor Cat Garden
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/307159637072630209/

Are you planning to have multiple planters each with one type of plant? Or a "community" planter with a bunch of different plants?

 

[Margret]

Cat nip Your cats can munch on the fresh leaves and what isn't' munched on can be dried for later use.

My feeling is that any indoor catnip plants will need to be protected from cats most of the time, being brought out only as a special treat. Have you grown catnip indoors? How well does it do when cats are allowed continual access to it? (I've never succeeded in getting it to grow at all, perhaps because I started with seed or perhaps because I have a brown thumb.)

Margret

 

[MeganLLB]

I made my garden. I have two of these at both windows. I'm still trying to decide the best location. I don't get much sunlight un my house. I only have the two windows. I'd like to get them up higher to get closer to the sunlight.

I planted lemongrass, catnip, and some kind of flower. I looked up a safe flower to plant but now I forget what those are. The favorite seems to be the lemongrass. It smells wonderful too! Very citrusy. I put gravel from my driveway on the bottom, some organic soil, and a storage container.

They were super interested at first, but now they don't seem to care too much. Maybe I need to figure out a better place to put them.

 

[Margret]

The flowers look like petunias to me.

Margret