Cats

[Gakusei]

Hi All

I know cats aren't exactly "pest material" but recently I lost a number of trees (various varieties) all basically dying at once. Someone suggested to me that this might have been the result of a cat "spraying" my plants. Just before the trees died one of my daughters did say that she heard the odd cat in our back yard at night (I don't own a cat so it's either a neighbour's cat or a stray).

The trees all seemed to die fairly suddenly with the leaves quickly withering and falling off the trees. They all seemed to die in the same manner and at almost the same rate (all of the trees were similar in size). I was very disheartened by the loss which included a very nice 9 year old Japanese Holly, a miniature Wisteria (a beautiful little tree), a small Japanese Satuki Azalea, a small Pyracantha and a small Cotoneaster.

Today I discover the loss of several branches on what was a lovely shaped miniature Lilly Pilly that I styled about 12 months ago. It seemed to be suffering the same type of leaf/branch die off as my previous trees. The only reason I think this tree is still "kicking" is because it is large in comparison to the other victims and is (was) extremely healthy.

Has anyone had such an experience? If so, what steps did you take?

Following some research on the web I have sprayed the area around my plants (not on them) with watered down white vinegar. Apparently a cat has a sense of smell 40 times that of a human and cats hate the smell of vinegar. Hopefully this will keep them away.

[MattA]

If you search the forum you will find more than a few posts about cat's as pests...

I have had this problem once in the past, trees suddenly turning sick & dying in a short space of time... Discovered it was one of my partners cats using the pots as litter trays... the cat is no more.. "sorry dear I havent seen 'It' in a few days, I am sure it will turn up" (at the bottom of the garbage bin)

Nasty as it sounds, the only good cat is a dead one & before anyone jumps on me I own a cat, I also have chickens & rats/mice as a result... hence the cat... he also keeps the dogs inline

[kcpoole]

I have never had a cat problem with trees, but the neighbours ones used to mate under the house in winter!!!
Used to be out at all times of the night squirting with the hose and throwing rocks at them. I imagine someone running around the Neighbourhood Middle of the night in winter Starkers throwing rocks at cats
Used to keep a pile of them outside the back door

then I bought an electronic cat scarer / repeller and that fixed them mostly too

Ken

[Petra]

Cats psssng, dont kill trees over night. Could be possums,bats etc,etc.
or maybe even a satelight malfunctioning thingy happening.

[Webos]

Interesting point Petra...I've had a few branches on one part of a tree die back recently and couldnt work it out because they are fed from different parts of the tree. I was wondering if possums weeing from a branch above might be a possible suspect. We have hundreds of possums running through the canopy above the yard every night. Anyone had any experience with possum wee?

[Gakusei]

Hi All

@ MattA - I tried a search prior to posting but didn't get any results. I gather my search criteria wasn't adequate. Prior to owning Bonsai I was never a huge fan of cats, and the possibility of a cat/s killing my trees just tends to deepen my dislike of cats. Another local Bonsai enthusiast told me he has trapped cats and handed them into the ranger.

@ kcpoole - May I ask where did you get the electronic cat repeller and what brand it is? This might be worth having.

@ Petra - They didn't exactly die overnight but with my busy lifestyle I tend to only get to my trees every 3 to 4 days for watering (often every second day in summer). Chances are that if the trees were sprayed one evening and I didn't water for a few days after that, then by about the second watering (maybe anywhere from 6 to 8 days) the trees were showing signs of distress. From memory I thought it might have been heat stress so I gave them a diluted dose of seasol and soaked the pots in a bucket of the diluted solution. Unfortunately they continued to go down hill before appearing totally dead following complete loss of foliage. The fact that around 5 trees all died at the same time leads me to think that something like a cat might be responsible. I have never seen a possum around my place but I guess a bat is possible although I have never come across bat droppings near my trees. The only animal heard/spotted within the area has been a cat.

Thanks for the replies. I anyone else can help that would be appreciated.

[Bougy Fan]

if you only water at the intervals you have stated I think that would be the problem more than any kind of animal urine. Your trees are probably drying out from lack of water.


Tony

[Pup]

if you only water at the intervals you have stated I think that would be the problem more than any kind of animal urine. Your trees are probably drying out from lack of water.


Tony

Tony I agree, watering is the issue here. Bonsai need to be watered more frequently than that, especially in summer.

So as much as I dislike irresponsible CAT owners, those that let them roam from there yard.I do not think we can blame them.

More water is needed. At least once per day in summer.

Cheers Pup

[kcpoole]

It was an ultrasonic cat deterrent like this one( differnet brand and Model but similar)
http://www.cat-deterrent.co.uk/

I also think that if you are watering only every 2 days or more, then that will be the trouble
I water daily and in Summer ( have only just dropped one last week) twice a day

they had a link to this video which i thought was real funny too ( PS, no kittys were harmed I am sure )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_udqEp_YR4

Ken

[MattA]

AAHHHH now I have to agree with the rest... I think water be your problem or rather a lack of..... I water daily and during summer twice or even 3 times a day for real small trees ( I do not stand any pots in water trays apart from a few real thirsty mame that sit in trays of damp gravel well above any sitting water). With all the rain over the last week or so I have still had to water a few of the real big trees as the rain that gets past the canopy is not enough, most of the small to medium sized trees are loving it....

As you are unable to see your trees each day I would suggest a watering system on a timer, another dislike of mine, but I am in a position to be able to spend as much time as I want with my trees so have no need for such. There are a few members here who use them ( & water trays) to help keep trees alive especially over summer.

[Gakusei]

Hi All

Thanks for the advice. I will try and water daily as opposed to the current intervals. Where I live it had been a very mild Summer and even after two days the pots were still damp. Once Autumn came into season I backed off on watering every 3 to 4 days. I guess that's not frequent enough from what others are saying.

I enjoy watering my trees (when time permits) but find it hard to get to them every day (I work 6 days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day). I think as MattA suggested, an automatic watering system might be the go. I tried to set one of these up once before but without success because I was unable to find a micro/mist spray head fine enough to provide good coverage without washing away gravel/pebbles in the pots. The sprays were also too direct.

kcpoole - thanks for the advice on the cat deterent.

I am only too happy to follow the advice on this forum, so moving into winter I will increase watering frequency and see what happens.

Thanks everyone.

[MattA]

Hi All

Thanks for the advice. I will try and water daily as opposed to the current intervals. Where I live it had been a very mild Summer and even after two days the pots were still damp. Once Autumn came into season I backed off on watering every 3 to 4 days. I guess that's not frequent enough from what others are saying.

Thanks everyone.

Now you have me wondering... you say the pots were remaining damp even after a few days in summer. Where do you have the trees situated? Sun/shade? You mention the Taree Punjing & Saikei Club, it also has me wondering if your using a Punjing style of growing medium, this would account for the extra moisture holding ability. Tho you also need to take greater care when you do water, if the soil becomes too dry it repels water & while the surface looks moist the middle is bone dry.

Do not water to my or any other growers schedules, it will all come down to personal growing conditions, soil, light wind etc etc..I water to each trees individual needs.

[Gakusei]

Hello MattA

My trees are located on my back verandah. They would normally get the full wrath of the afternoon sun, however I have erected a bamboo screen which essentially acts to provide a nice level of "dappled" light. This screen tends to really knock the heat out of the sun but provides adequate light. The trees are fairly well protected from wind so it tends not to dry them out too quickly.

I understand what you mean regarding watering schedules and the possibilities of dry areas within the soil. All of these are extremely good points. When I can, I will "drown" my trees in water (sometimes with a diluted solution of seasol) to ensure that all air pockets and dry areas are hopefully eliminated.

My most recent "victim" is a Lilly Pilly (it is still alive but had some foliage loss) is in a fairly large pot which tends to stay relatively moist. I could be wrong, but I didn't think the damage it suffered was from a lack of moisture. The other trees I lost were in smaller pots but I had owned most of them for several years (since starting) so I had been through several seasons with them.

At this point in time I don't belong to the local club so I don't necessarily follow their methodology. My trees are simply potted using a very good quality, free draining potting mix. All have a pebble finish. Some have moss around the tree. None of them follow a strict protocol or theme.

At the end of the day, provided my problems are not from the likes of a cat, I guess this is all part of the learning experience. My you, it would be less painful to loose beautiful trees in the name of "practice"!!!

Thanks for your comments, advice and interest.