Friday, December 19, 2008

African Violets--Kitty Style

On a gloomy day last March, I purchased four African Violets in shades of blue, purple and pink:
Wanting to brighten up my kitchen, I even planted them in colorful pots:
I set them where they got the morning sun, on the kitchen counter in front of the window:
That seemed to be the perfect spot for them. They began to thrive there by the window.

It just so happens that my family shares our home with a kitty named Smokie:
He's a rather lazy and fat cat, but we love him anyway:

Well, Smokie seemed to have a fondness for these plants. He wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. It was then that we discovered that Smokie really loved his greens. He just could not resist a good green leaf:
(Too bad he didn't like vegetables. I would've been happy to share some lettuce with him!)
Anyway, every day I would wake up and go down to the kitchen, finding the same horrific sight on the windowsill:
Day...
after day...
after day. And, day after day after day, I would seek new ways to discourage Smokie from getting up on the counter... and eating my African Violets!
It was a battle, but after months of trying, one of us gave up. Do you know which one?

No, it wasn't Smokie. He is still with us, but he's not eating African Violets anymore. They seemed to have disappeared.

Perhaps one day, when Smokie is in that great big cat-box in the sky, I will be able to form a relationship with some new African Violets.

But until then, I've resigned myself to the fact that my kitchen counter will remain pretty bare!

--Today I am thankful for...my cat, Smokie:)

33 comments:

  1. They are just divine Jan. They are obviously doing very well indoors.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well Stuart, They 'were' doing very well indoors...emphasis on the word 'were'!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a nice post. You really hit the nail on the head with it as so many gardeners and garden bloggers have this issue. Your violets are beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aw! I'd say that Fat Smokie won!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tina: Thanks! Yes, I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this. Some cats just cannot be trained to avoid plants! It's either the plant or the cat...so, as you know, we made our choice:)
    Bonnie: You're right:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved that photo-story, Jan. And those African Violets! So very pretty! Pity about them, though. Smokie obviously decided to get the competition out of the way.
    I wish we would get such pretty ones here but no! the nursery gods dont believe we need AVs :(

    ReplyDelete
  7. Too bad that Smokey was eating the leaves. The flowers were lovely! They were obviously very happy in that spot!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful pictures of your African violets.
    I'm sure you found good homes for them, and now both plants and Smokie are happy and healthy! ~Aerie-el

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love African violets also, Jan. Smokey has good taste! Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jan, what a sweet post. Such pretty violets and pots too. And you have a great view from the kitchen window.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice kitchen view and a great place to display them. Smokie is a fatty and so is mine. It can't be the violets, I don't have any. ;) Loved your post.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's one reason we don't have any indoor plants! It doesn't matter where you put the plants. Cats are finding a way to go after them. One of our cats even managed to eat the long arms from a spiderplant, that's hanging from the ceiling..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi everyone!
    Sunita, Believe it or not, those pretty violets were so old and beat-up looking when I bought them that they looked almost dead. I spent time nurturing them, and to get rid of them was hard after bringing them back to life;(
    Robin: You are so lucky that your kitty doesn't go after your plants! Smokie is just a pain that way...but, he's part of the family, so, he knows he isn't going anywhere! The flowers did love that spot, and I would put more there, but not right now:(
    Aeriel: I won't tell you what happened to the plants. It's too sad a story:( Let's just say that Smokie is happy & healthy!
    Hi Joey, Kanak, Tammy & Bek! Those plants were beautiful and if I had another place to put them, where the cat couldn't get them, I would--maybe I could get a plant light and put them up high somewhere? I'll have to think about it.
    Bek: Smokie has eaten silk plants, and even stuff made of other material! He's impossible!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Dear Jan,
    So happy to meet you!
    We are kindred spirits!
    We love the birds and the bugs!
    May you and yours have a Happy Christmas.
    Looking forward to 2009 and getting to know you.
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  15. P.S.!!!
    I don't know if anyone noticed, but there are 2 different windows pictured in the kitchen. The one pictured 1st is actually the current window, which replaced the old one, which is pictured toward the end of the post. We had the windows replaced in the spring, and the plants were still doing pretty good at that point. I love my new window. It lets me see the birds so clearly...and take photos without having to worry about capturing a window pane.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Dear Jan,
    So nice to meet you.
    We are kindred spirits, we both love the birds and the butterflies.
    May you and yours have a Happy Christmas.
    Looking forward to 2009, and getting to know you.
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful African Violets ... sorry they got eaten by Smokie ;--(
    I enjoyed the music as I visited here too.
    Hugs and blessings,

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Sherry: I'm happy to meet you too! I look forward to seeing more of your birds and butterflies:)Your blog is very pretty!
    Thanks, Storyteller. So nice to have you visit.
    I have a problem with your website, in that once I'm on it, I cannot get off it without shutting my computer down entirely. This has happened EVERY time I've visited you. So, I probably won't be able to visit unless you figure out what the problem is. I don't have this happen on any other site:(

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi!
    Smokie looks totally innocent!!! I used to grow African Violets years ago. I think I'll get me one and see what happens!

    Sherrie

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nice African Violets too bad about the cat liking them so much. I was in someone's house recently and they had a few AVs in hanging pots which I thought was odd until I noticed the cat laying on top of the television set.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Jan, well they WERE pretty while they lasted. Smokie really liked flowers with his salad and he wanted to try each flavor of course.

    ReplyDelete
  22. They look so fantastic Jan. Too bad Smokie hasn't learnt yet. Those flowers with the colorful pots beautify your kitchen well!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Jan, I really feel your pain on this one, having Hazel the plant eating cat. She does however have a great fondness for lettuce, but that does not help with the houseplants, even bromedliads and orchids whose leaves are so thick and yuckey will have the same bite marks on them if we kept them in the main house. Having those violets above the kitchen sink is so perfect. I have heard of others with the same problem having the cat proof room, that is what we have too, door MUST be kept closed at all times! :-) Smokey is a lovely creature though, good choice.
    Frances

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi all...thanks for your comments. Yes, Smokie is one plant-eating-cat. He ate only the leaves, not the flowers. Of course, he would always throw up afterwards, which was another reason I got rid of the plants.
    I kind of like the idea of putting them in hanging plants, MrBrownThumb...I could still keep them in front of that window. Hmmm...
    This cat will eat everything that resembles a plant...plastic and silk and even straw ones included! It's a hopeless situation:( Now Frances, the idea of a separate room with the door closed defeats my purpose for having them, because I just like to look at them as I enter the kitchen. I wouldn't want to have to go into a separate room to see them. So that's why I'm going to wait 'til he's gone to that 'big cat-house in the sky'. (Well, some place like that;))
    Smokie came to us...he landed on our doorstep and kept coming back during 2 wks of rain. One day I just said if he's there this morning I'm keeping him--and sure enough, he was! He probably lived on plants when he was free to wander outdoors:)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh how annoying Jan, especially as African Violets bloom for months :( Luckily our two keep off mine.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I always like a story with illustrations. Yours were awesome! You really are a great photographer!

    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Jan, Why not plant some cat grass for Smokie to nibble on? (I'm not saying this will keep him from eating any other plants, I'm just saying my cats love it.) I get oat and wheat seeds from the feed store (which are sold in bulk and are very cheap in the small amount I get), but you can also buy cat grass seeds in pet stores. I sow them into a small pot or into a window box, which my cats will sit on in late March when they're really missing grass outside (see photo). I have some extra seeds I can send you if you email me your postal addy.
    ~ Monica

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi VP...thanks for your thoughts. AF's can last forever, in the right environment...and watching them thrive then get destroyed was maddening to me:( You are fortunate that your cat doesn't have a plant-eating addiction!!
    Sue, thanks for your nice comments;) I'm glad I saved my photos from last winter/spring so I could 'retell' this story;)
    GF: Hmm, Let me think about this, because I have had 'cat grass' for smokie before. Of course, he loves it--but, he has a type of digestive issue (actually, his thyroid & kidneys have some problems) and whenever he eats these things he throws up all over my house. He does this from time to time anyway, with his illness...but then, adding greens to it makes it more frequent. I just don't think that's the answer...but thank you for being thoughtful:)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Another reason to be thankful? That Smokey didn't get SICK (or worse) from eating your violets. I hope they found a nice home... they were doing beautifully until "you know who" found them! ha.

    ReplyDelete
  30. LOL...sad for you violets but that cat is funny. I've never heard of a violet eating cat before. Then again I had never heard of a tomato eating camel before either, lol! Great post, Kim

    ReplyDelete
  31. Shady G: I've learned that african violets aren't poisonous...so there was never any danger to the cat. They do make him throw up, however. As far as 'nice home'...hmm. By the time I had decided to get rid of them, they were so far gone I just dumped them in the trash. Shhh. There are a lot of gardeners here that would put me to shame for that. I just had no way to take care of them anymore (or so I thought, at the time).
    Kim: I've read where quite a lot of cat owners have had similar issues...so it's not really uncommon. Now camels? And tomatoes? I have no idea about that--it does sound a bit strange!!:)

    ReplyDelete
  32. Your cat Smokie looks just like my cat Kitten-Little, she is a snowshoe. Thanks for stopping in to www.earlyforest.com and commenting on my growing fruit post.
    Craig

    ReplyDelete
  33. I was searching for African Violets and was glad to drop by your blog. Love your story telling way of posting. Very interesting to read with beautiful picture to enjoy too. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for visiting and taking the time to comment! Please enjoy your TODAY and all of the gifts in YOUR garden of life!

Jan

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Post Topics

17 year Cicadas...Enough Already! 2011 Official Post 2012 4th of July collage 5-lined skink A Certain Kind of Light A Cozy Fire A Dusting of Snow A Family Meal A Hawkish Tale A Little Bit of Winter A Visit From Miss Glad on Blooming Friday A Visit With The Queen A Warm Cup of Tea Acorns African Violets African Violets:Kitty Style Agastache Allium Am I too late for GBBD Amaryllis Amazing Zinnias American Beautyberry American Hazelnut American Lady American Robin Anemone Anenome Anglewings Anise Hyssop Another Birthday aphids April 2010 April blooms Arbor Day Are Words Really Necessary? Artemesia Asarum Asclepias Asiatic lilies Aster Aster Yellows Audubon-at-Home August 2009 GBBD August 2013 Autumn Autumn Reflections Awards Awesome Azaleas Azalea on Ice;Picture This Photo Contest;Winter's Beauty Azaleas Azealea Back Yard Backyard Bird Series backyard birds Backyard Makeover Bald Eagles Balloon Flower Bee Collage Bee-Balm Bees Bees Busily Buzzing on Blooms Before and After Being Settled berries Big Eyes Bird Collage Bird Conversations Bird Itch Birdfeeding Birds Birds Before Blooms Birthday Books Black Swallowtail Black Swallowtail Butterflies Black Swallowtail butterfly cats Blackeyed Susan Bleeding Heart Blog Anniversary Blogger blogging blogging friends Blogiversary Blooming Friday Blotanical Blotanical awards Blotanical's 2009 Best Virginia Award Blue Blooms Bluebeard Bluebird Bluebird Fledglings Bluebird in Snow Botanical Interests Boulder Bouquet of the Month:April 2010 Bouquet of the Month:March 2010 Bright Flowers broad-winged damselfly Brown Creeper Brunnera Buddleia Bugbane Bulbs BulbsSproutinginPot Bumblebees Butterflies BUTTERFLIES LIVE Butterfly on Salvia Butterfly weed Calorie-Free Candy Camera-less in April Can You Guess What This Is? Can You Please Identify Me Can't Get Enough Cosmos Cancer Experience Cardinal Cardinal (Female) Cardinal (Male) Cardinal Flower Carolina Wren Carolyn's Shade Gardens Carpenter Bees Carpet Rose Caryopteris Caryopteris x clandonensis Catmint Cedar Waxwing CedarWaxwing celandine poppy Celebrate Your Freedom Cercis canadensis Certified Wildlife Sanctuary Chelone Cherry Blossoms Chickadee Chris McLaughlin Christmas Fern Christmas Rose Chrysanthemum Cicada's Ahead of Schedule Cicada's May 2009 Cicadas May 2013 Cinquefoil Clematis CobraHead Collage Collages Columbine Common Buckeye Common Whitetail dragonfly Composter Coneflower Containers Cooper's Hawk Coral Red Honeysuckle Coreopsis Corona Corydalis Cosmos Covered Hellebore Plants Cozy and Warm Cranberrybush Vibernum Crepe Myrtle Crested Iris Crocus Crocus 'Romance' Crow Cut Flowers From My Garden Cutleaved Coneflower Daffodil Daffodils dainty blue flowers Dayflower Daylilies December 2010 December Birds Deer Poop Desert Island Plant Challenge Desperate for Color on Bloom Day Devastation in the Garden Devotion Dicentra Digitalis purpurea Does This Outfit Make Me Look Fat? Dogs Dragonflies Dragonfly or Damselfly Dried Blooms ducklings Dutchman's Breeches Dwarf Nandina Dwarf Sumac e-Bird e.e.cummings e.e.cummings:i thank You God for most this amazing Earth Day Eastern Bluebird Eastern Comma butterfly Eastern Redbud Eastern Tiger Swallowtail eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly Ebony Jewelwing Echinacea Elderberry Emily Dickinson End of the Line Epimedium Euphorbia Evening Primrose facebook Faith Fall Color Project Feasting on Seeds Feb 2010 GBBD Feb 2010 monster storm Feeling Blue Feeling Blue? Finch Fire Pink First Day of April First Snow First Snowfall Project Fiskars Flame Azalea Flat Tire Basket Flick'r photo large sizes Floral Collages Focal Black and White photo Foliage-Followup Forsythia Fourth of July Foxglove Foxy in November Free Will Friends Fritillaria Frozen Blooms Galanthus Garden Garden Blessings Garden Blogger Bloom Day:November 2008 Garden Blogger Muse Day November 2009 Garden Blogger Muse Day:December 2008 Garden Blogger's Bloom Day:January 2009 Garden Bloggers Garden Bloggers Bloom Day Garden Bloggers Muse Day Garden Bloggers Muse Day (April 2009) Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day Garden Bloggers' Muse Day: June 2009 Garden Books Garden Give Away Garden Give Aways Garden Give-Aways Garden Product Give Away Gardening Gone Wild photography contest Gardening Nude Gardening-by-Letter project GardenShoesOnline Garter Snake Ingests Toad GBBD Febrary 2009 GBBD July 2009 GBBD June 2010 GBBD March 09 GBBD:December 2008 GBMD May 2009 GBMD:January 2009 Geese in a Row--and Ducks too Giant Hyssop Give-Away Winner Gladiola Gloves Go Native Goblins and Pumpkins and Snakes oh my God in the Garden Golden Groundsel Goldenglow Goldenrod Goldfinch Goodbye March Graham Rice Gramma's Afghan Grapes Grasshopper Grateful Great Backyard Bird Count Great House Plant Census of 2010 Green and Gold Green Cure fungicide Hairy Woodpecker Happy Father's Day Haven Brand Manure Tea Hawk hawks Heated Birdbath Heather Heliopsis Heliotrope Hellebore Hellebore Collage HelleboreHover Hellebores Hellebores Book Give-Away Helleborus Helleborus niger Help Identify Animal Tracks Henry David Thoreau: Hepatica Heron Heuchera High School Orchestra Concert Highbush Blueberry Hip Mountain Mama Holiday Stress Holiday stress: How Much is Self-Imposed Holly Honored and Humbled Hornworms House Finch Hummingbird Clearwing Hyacinth Hyacinths Hylotelephium I Am Truly Thankful! I'm a bit Bee-hind Iberis Ice on Stream Ice Storm Ilex Impatiens Indentifying Butterflies Iris Iris reticulata It's Here Its Grown On Me Jacob's Ladder January 2010 snow January 2011 January 2013 Japanese Anemone Joe Pye Weed John Keats July garden 2010 Junco June 19th 2009 Just Be Gardens Kerria Kerria-Japanese Rose Keter Dynamic Composter Kombi Ladybird Johnson Lake Anna Lake Anna June 2009 Lake Vacation Lamium Lantana Late to the Party Again lavender Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Leyland Cypress Liatris Life Experiences Light Lilac Bush Limestone Liriope Liverwort Lobelia Lonicera sempervirens Luna the Greyhound Lungwort Lyme Disease Lyme Disease has gone to my Head Macro in a Mason Jar Mallard ducks March Birthday Bloggers March GBBD mention master gardener May 2010 May Apple Meaning Memorial Day 2010 Memories Mertensia Mid Summer's Eve Mid-June Blooms MidMarch Blooms and Foliage Milkweed Miniature Dachshund mishmash wednesday Mistflower Mites Monarchs Monarchs and Milkweed Monarda Monkshood Monthly Garden Bouquet Moon More April Bouquets Morning Light Mountain Laurel Mourning Doves MuhlyGrass Mums Muscari Muscle My Cat Smokie My Daughter My Dog James My Family My FIRST Enlarged Photo My Husband My Mother My Son My Yard Mystery Tracks Nandina Nandina berries National Cherry Blossom Festival Native Ginger Native Honeysuckle native plants Natural Habitat Nepata New York Fern Non-Natives Northern Flicker Not The Best Notecards November 2009 GBBD Now that's an 'ice picture Obedient Plant Oct 2008 GBBD Almost Ready Oct 2009 October 2009GBBD Of Gloves and Shovels Oh Say Can You See Okay so who or what is eating my plants Oliver Herford:I Heard a Bird Sing Operation Christmas Child Pain Management Techniques Pansies Pansy paperwhites Pay It Forward Project Pay-It-Forward gift-giving exchange Peanut Feeder Peonies by Mary Oliver Peony Perennials Perennials in my garden Perovskia Personal Poetry Personal Poetry: Petunia Phlox Phlox paniculata photo contest Photography Contests phytoplasma Pieris Pieris Japonica Pileated Woodpecker Pine Siskin Pink Azalea Pink Peony Planting Natives Plants on Ice Poetry Pollinators Polymonium Pond Critters Poppy Potentilla Potomac River Pretty Pink Peony Has Popped Prize Winners Product Reviews Project FeederWatch Pulmonaria Pumpkin Carving Purple Coneflower Purpose Questionmark butterfly radishes Rain Rain Barrel Rainbarrel Rainbow Project Rainy Days Raspberry and Lemon Sherbet Reasons I Garden red admiral Red Winged Blackbird Red-Bellied Woodpecker Red-Spotted Purple Red-winged Blackbird Redbud Relaxing Remember Renee's Garden Revised GBBD February 15 Richmond VA Robert Frost Robin Robin'sNestingPlace Rock Soapwort Rock Solid RockSoapwort Roly-Poly Squirrel Rose hips Roses Roses with Thorns Rosy Maple Moth Rudbeckia Rudbeckia lanciniata Russian Sage S.A.D. Salvia Salvia greggi Samuel Taylor Coleridge:The Nightengale Sanguinaria Scilla Seagulls Seasonal Affective Disorder Security Blanket Sedum Sedum Autumn Joy Seed Planting Experiment Seed Starter System Seed-Planting Experiment#1 Seed-Planting Experiment#2 Seed-Planting Experiment#2 (cont.) Seeds Sense of Humor September blooms September Blooms:A Series of Surprises September Surprises #3 Serviceberry Shades of Blue Shady Gardener:Gladsome Be? sharing Sharp-shinned Hawk Shawna Coronado Shirl's Garden Watch Siberion Buglose Skink Slaty Skimmer dragonfly Snake Snake skin Snow Snow in Spring Snowdrop Anenome Snowdrops Snowstorm Solomon's Seal Sounds of the Birds Speedwell Spicebush Swallowtail Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly cats spicebush swallowtail caterpillar Spider Webs Spiderwort sprained ankle Spring Buds and Bulbs Spring Has Sprung Spurge Squirrel Squirrels stainless steel water bottle Standard Poodle Starling Steam on Fence Strawberries Succulents Summer Flowers SunRays Sunrise Sustainable Living project Swallowtail Butterflies Sweaters Hoods and Coats Sweet Allysum Sweet William Teacup and Teapot Tete-a-Tete Thank You to Phillip Thanksgiving The Best Christmas Gifts The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hellebores The GGW photo contest I 'almost' entered on time The Multi-Hued Greens of Spring The Ocean The Seed Keeper Company The Sun Shines at Night The Thrush This Ain't No April Fools Joke This aMayzing Day Thyme Tiarella Titmouse Toad Lily Tools Toulouse goose Tradescantia Tree Sparrow Trees Trillium Trout Lily Tufted Titmouse Tulips Tulips in Spring Tulips on Thursday Turtle Crossing turtle garden Turtlehead TX-Bluebonnet Umbrella VA Gardener Magazine Valentine's Display variegated foliage Verbena Veronica Vinca Violas Virginia Bluebells Virginia Gardener Magazine Wake Robin Walt Whitman:Miracles Washington DC Water Fountain Water Garden Waterfall/Stream WBBS Wednesday Words Weeping Willow West County Gardener What Are You Waiting For What d'ya think Janet What's Happening? What's New in November White Embden geese White Peony White-Breasted Nuthatch Wild Geranium Wild Ginger Wildflower Wednesday Wildflowers Will the Real Turtle Please Come Out William Wordsworth William Wordsworth:The Daffodil's Willow Leaved Sunflower Window; Death; Personal Photography Winter I Am So Over You Winter is for the Birds Winter Light Winter Solstice winter storm slide-show Winter Walk-Off 2014 Winterberry Witch Hazel Woodfern Woodland Pinkroot Woodpecker WORDLESS Friday Wordless Wednesday: Wren X-Rated Yellow but not Mellow Yesterday and Today Zinnia Zinnia Bud (Plan B)