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[Mangrove]

Boy, have I got a situation for you...

Recently, my armada of assorted trichocereus specimens has been under attack by two new menaces: one feline and the other canine.

Earlier this year--early march, to be exact--I loped-off a meter of prime bridgesii and separated it into 3 equal sized cuttings which I planned to take with me back up north, wrapped them in construction paper and left them to callus for a week before transporting. When I came back to check on them (they grow at my neighbor's house), I noticed that only 2 remained... Further inquiry led me to quite a shocking surprise: their 1 year old jack russel-terrier, earlier this morning, DEVOURED an entire cutting. and when I say devoured, I of course mean she ate EVERYTHING: spines, skin, paper, the works. Anger welled up inside me as my eyes shot down at her oh-so-cute salt-and-pepper face and wet black nose innocently sniffing my legs, tail wagging around excitedly from side to side, her once-brown eyes blotted-out by saucer-sized pupils, panting like she ran a marathon and occasionally coughing up brownish-green goop as she zipped and zoomed all around the room, smiling and sniffing and barking and chasing around and about her brothers like she was a rave queen, full of life and energy and cactus, occasionally perking up a sly  kinda smile to my face so as to say dang, son, you got some good stuff growing   . I was pissed, to say the least...

She hasn't stolon any more cacti since (which I am very glad to hear), but I was taken aback by her sinful behavior, and prayed to Mescalito to keep my cacti safe from her mangey maw.

This problem would have slipped and slid away, and has, until today--yesterday, to be exact. Over the past few weeks, I have been noticing someone--or something--gnawing away at my cacti, taking away small chunks each and every time. I couldn't find any pests on the cacti at all any time this happened, and have been treating them with DE once a week, only to notice no improvement; the thief was still at large. Yesterday morning, after a sleepless night I waddled outside to catch the culprit red handed, or should I say, red-pawed. A black and white kitty cat, claws wrapped around it, was gnawing away at my bridgesii (Sherman strain). My face blew up like the world trade center. To say I was pissed would be an unrealistic understatement; I was FURIOUS. "BEGONE YOU ACCURSED FELINE PHOQUE!" I bellowed out before the thief, grabbing a broom I burst out into my back yard broom stick a swinging, beet red and ready to enforce Hammurabi's code all over this little pussy's touchis. Needleless to say, it got away. Far away. It had already vaulted far over the fence just as I stepped out the door! I have never seen this smooth criminal again, but my cacti sure have... Those feral felines continue to mutilate my cacti several times a week, and my broom swinging skills are no match for their lightning fast speed; they don't seem to be deterred by the spines, skin or bitter-as-all-hell inner flesh; they seem to like it, if nothing else. This uphill battle has been met with defeat upon darker defeat again and again, and, after trying multiple methods of keeping them away from my preciousses, am almost ready to give up hope and just leave out some cat food for those felines to feast on in the hopes that I can wean them off their/it's current cacti-chow.

However,

Before I do such a thing as unimaginably drastic as buying low-end feline feed, I wanted to ask the community if there are any cheaper/effective means of keeping stray cats off my cacti. Yes, this is a real problem, and yes, those kitties are not mine. IF they were mine, they sure as hell would know well-enough to keep outta my cactus patch.... Any and all recommendations and advice regarding effective and cheap cat repellents and repellent techniques is greatly appreciated.

Keep it Kosher,
-Mangrove

1 Like Sunshine likes this.

[AcaciaAve]

Grow cactus at your house away from your neighbors animals.

Cats and dogs are awesome

Chill out. A plant in the Cannabaceae family works wonders for stress.

That's kinda cool that a dog ate a whole trich.

3 Likes Greentoe, Mangrove and Chicsa like this.

[oplopanax]

I also actually love that a dog ate a foot of bridgesii! I want to hang out with that dog!

I know that is a bummer for you tho.

You could spray them with liquid fence or something, which is basically concentrated urine. It keeps deer away... kind of nasty for you also though...

Other than that I would keep your cuttings on  a high shelf,  live plants in a greenhouse, or build a fence around them?

1 Like Mangrove likes this.

[LIBERTYNY]

 Trap and remove them

something like a #330 double spring body grip trap will work just fine for most dogs/cats  their like 20$

http://www.fntpost.com/Categories/Trapping/Traps/Body+Grip+Traps+(Including+Conibear)/Duke+Body+Grip+Traps/

Have a heart traps work great but tend to be expensive, but they are almost fool proof

Some great info

- http://www.predatormastersforums.com/
-http://www.trapperman.com/
-http://www.wild-about-trapping.com/

1 Like Mangrove likes this.

[MadPlanter]

Don't feel too bad. Rats ate the tips outta two good clones of mine this past week. Before that snails were a big threat. My pretty little Garden of the Ancients bridgesii is now all scared up...the other clone I lost the name of but appears to be Peruvian of some sort and had a Spanish or Portuguese clone name. C-something de huarez-something...maybe idk.

Bastards...

3 Likes Mangrove, Chicsa and LIBERTYNY like this.

[nobody]

Try mixing some powdered cayenne with your DE, cats seem to hate the stuff.

nobody

[misplant]

why dont you give the cats something they'd probably much prefer than your cacti, such as catnip?  Plant a big patch of it near your cacti....

As for the dog I'd be giving him as much cacti as he wanted to eat: I'd be cutting it up into bite sized pieces for him.  And if the cats wanted their own dish full versus the catnip, I'd be giving them cacti as well.

I grow a lot of seedlings & have lost many a tip to some kind of critter or another, and in every case the seedling grows 1 or more new pups at the top & keeps on going.....stressing out over it is a complete waste of time & energy, life goes on

3 Likes MadPlanter, Mangrove and Chicsa like this.

[Frog Pajamas]

Glad my cats just eat my caapi, kratom and phalaris...man do they love caapi and phalaris.

1 Like Chicsa likes this.

[Psylocke]

I second the cayenne idea. Just mix some up in water and spray it all over your cacti. Should be a good deterrent. I wouldn't feed them. That's just likely to keep them coming back.

[JMZ]

Yeah, a 6 month old puppy I was dog sitting for ate a 9 inch Bridgesii/SP hybrid. I was a little irritated because it was the only one I had. I think the dog a night to remember, but his memory of it is probably fleeting at best, LOL.

3 Likes MadPlanter, Mangrove and plantlight like this.

[oplopanax]

Wow, cactus eating dogs. I want to start offering cuts to my dogs, that way we can all sit up all night praying together. Usually they fall asleep.

It is the slugs around here that eat the fresh growing tips of my cacti, and yes I get so mad at them.

1 Like Frog Pajamas likes this.

[oplopanax]

Also, @ LIBERTYNY - those traps look to me like they would hurt or maybe kill an animal, and if you are serious I think that is really fucked up.

[LIBERTYNY]

Also, @ LIBERTYNY - those traps look to me like they would hurt or maybe kill an animal, and if you are serious I think that is really fucked up.

 I personaly use  body grip traps as well as legholds (bear style traps) as long as they hit the target animals they are very humane. and surely do not kill.
  The leg holds people seem to hate, but they are among some of the safest to the target,  The animal paw is not the human foot. They have more padding with thick fur on foot pads and constant running through rough terrain makes the foot tough. The trap's restraining grip does not intensify pain, it numbs it as blood flow reduces.   

I raise poultry and catch varmint all the time,  My local laws about disposal are the most inhumane BS I have ever heard off, The state gives advice that is inconceivable to me and im no 'animal lover' type, and often times illegal under it's own law's 

1 Like plantlight likes this.

[Sunshine]

Interesting enough, I found this out from a quick google search;

For instance, some plants emit odors that cats find offensive, such as the scaredy-cat plant (Coleus canina). Other plants often recommended for keeping cats away include rue, lavender, rosemary, and pennyroyal.

Maybe try several methods? Plant the ones above^ near and around your cacti, as well as spraying them with cayenne pepper, and planting catnip AWAY from your cacti.

For dogs;

Chili Pepper – This is one of the most common and most effective dog repellents. Ammonia – Dogs are not particularly fond of the smell of ammonia. Vinegar – Vinegar is another strong smelling scent that will act as a repellent to dogs.

Moth balls come to mind as well. I heard cats hate them.

BTW, your writing style is amazing. I loved reading the story. If you aren't a writer you should consider becoming one. +1

[oplopanax]

Liberty:OK, I don't have any experience with traps other than mouse or rat traps, which sure close with lots of force & seem like they would break a leg or something. These do not close with that amount of force?

1 Like LIBERTYNY likes this.