# New Here + cat behavior problems?



## ohno_ohboy

Hi all! I adopted two bonded cats 4 and 6 years old last week, which wasn't exactly the plan but they are alright 🙂 They were fairly shy at first and hid under my bed all the time; now, they hang around me as I work from home. 6 year old Lainey loves belly rubs; 4 yr old Luka is a bit aloof but likes head butts.

As charming as they are, the stress of having so many changes in my apartment is getting to me a bit. Lainey is insanely playful, which their foster never warned me about because... they never played with the cats, for some reason? I use a long feather toy, and Lainey lunges after it almost every time it passes her. In a 15 minute session she can do 20+ jumps. In some sessions, Luka almost never gets any action because he gets bored of watching and Lainey won't get tired 😅 

But the bigger problem is that they are interested in chewing on my plants... They like going after my parlor palm (nontoxic) the most, but I have 30+ plants and most are toxic to cats. I have to monitor them every time they are outside my bedroom to make sure they aren't getting into the bad plants. I've tried spraying the palm with diluted apple cider vinegar and they don't even seem to notice the difference. I know they hate the smell, but they keep chewing anyway. They have started to ignore me when I verbally warn them. I have wheat grass within reach right near the palm, so it's not like they don't have alternatives. These cats are very athletic so I'm worried that even putting my plants in high places won't necessarily help. I feel selfish for wanting the best of both worlds, but I really don't want to get rid of my plants. I'm pretty attached to them 😥

If anyone has any tips I'd be really grateful 🙏 Even though I did a lot of research beforehand I'm still new at this owning-a-cat thing. Thank you.


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## BiLeyMulker

I guess it's because your cat feels danger


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## lcordaro

Unless you can put the toxic plants in a room where your little ones can’t get to them I would just rid of the ones that you know are toxic and keep the rest. In time your babies will be more important than your plants.


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## MistWolf

Cats do not like the smell of citrus. Cut up an orange, lemon or lime and put it in a plastic baggy with a few holes poked in it and place it around your plants. It works with Christmas trees.

There is also a motion activated device that sprays a hissing puff of air. It's good at scaring away cats. It works because it's always there.


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