Can Cat Pee Kill my plants?

[H.C. Heartland]

I apologize and I hope that is not a disgusting title for a thread. But for over a year now we have had beautiful raspberry bushes in potted plants in our yard and all of a sudden they are dead. I don't know if I have been neglectful, or if it is the life span of the plant. However, there is a neighbors outdoor cat who has been jumping on our window ledge and we are wondering if he has been peeing on our bush. Can cat pee kill my plants?

 

[Jewell]

I have had dog pee (big dog) kill a plant (big sword fern) before where he always marked. I don't believe cat pee would kill raspberries. (At least I haven't had that problem and I have a couple of cats) Urea is a common ingredient in fertilizers. That said if the pot is small it could be like putting too much fertilizer on a plant if the cat was really soaking it all the time. Just an FYI, The raspberry canes only live a year then die. You trim them out and new canes should replace the old ones. Look to see if new canes are sprouting from around the base or else where in the pot. I just got finished pulling a bunch of raspberry plants that had come up from under ground roots a good 3' from my patch.

 

[Trellum]

As far as I know, yes, cat pee can kill plants. I've seen than happening, and my father in law also explained this to me a while ago. He basically told me a cat's pee has a lot nitrogen in it, that excess nitrogen can kill the plants. Of course some plants are easier to kill than others. You should be able to tell whether a cat has taken a leak on your plants tho (the smell is most of the times so strong!).

Sadly not much you can do about it, since it's not your cat And cats... well, they just pee wherever they please. I hope someone can come up with a good idea to prevent this from happening tho

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

Just a note on Raspberries. In the first season new shoots will grow but not produce any fruit. In the second season, the growth from season one will produce berries and new shoots should spring up from the ground. By the third season the shoots that produced berries are done and dead but the shoots from season two should be fruiting - and so on. Do you recall seeing new shoots from the ground last summer? If not, they may have been eaten by something. If you did, they should look alive by now and should produce fruit this year.

A lot of pee could kill a plant but I would look to other culprits first.

 

[H.C. Heartland]

Just a note on Raspberries. In the first season new shoots will grow but not produce any fruit. In the second season, the growth from season one will produce berries and new shoots should spring up from the ground. By the third season the shoots that produced berries are done and dead but the shoots from season two should be fruiting - and so on. Do you recall seeing new shoots from the ground last summer? If not, they may have been eaten by something. If you did, they should look alive by now and should produce fruit this year.

A lot of pee could kill a plant but I would look to other culprits first.

The first season it did not produce fruit. The second season it did but I did not notice seed bearing shoots? Into the third season, we had a large number of cats running through our yard from the neighbors property. Our pot was under the window where the cats would sometimes jump (even entering the house and breaking one of my tea pots). But now I am wondering if I missed the shoots. We are told by the young man who sold us the plant, that new arrivals will be coming in August. and so we are going to try for the process again. But I want to do my research first before this time so that we don't loose it again. Growing up we had wild berries at the side of our house and we did nothing to help them along. I always assumed it would be easy to care for berries, but so far it's been complicated. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Lostvalleyguy]

They wont be seed bearing shoots, just new shoots. The older ones (that produce fruit) tend to look woody. The newer ones pop up from the ground and will look green and flexible until late in the season. Once a stalk has produced its berries it can be cut out. You will know these the following year because they will have no growth and be dead. I suspect that something ate or broke the new shoots when they popped up (we had deer that would do that).

 

[H.C. Heartland]

They wont be seed bearing shoots, just new shoots. The older ones (that produce fruit) tend to look woody. The newer ones pop up from the ground and will look green and flexible until late in the season. Once a stalk has produced its berries it can be cut out. You will know these the following year because they will have no growth and be dead. I suspect that something ate or broke the new shoots when they popped up (we had deer that would do that).

I never even thought of the possibility of the cat eating it! That is probably what happened. I just looked up if it would have been dangerous for the cat and the site said 'no' that berries are no poisonous to Cats nor are the leaves of the bush if ingested. But if the berry were to get 'lodged in the nasal passage' than this could present a danger. haha I thought that was funny for some reason. I am now imagining Cats going in to eat my berries and them accidentally lodging them in their nose and being stuck like that all day. Maybe it is not funny, but it's helping not hate the cat who may have killed my raspberry busy. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Gardener]

Yes, it can actually harm your plants. Any sort of urine is really just a fertilizer, and any fertilizer becomes toxic to the plant if it gets too much. Depending on what the cat ate or drank, it might harm your plant. The cat pee plus fertilizer could be very bad for the plant and it might 'burn it out.'

 

[firelily99]

I would think that it could given the chemistry of pee. I would do as other people recommended and look for other causes like critters eating the plants or some other possibility.

 

[burtpovski]

I'm actually interested in this too. I see that there's a cat in my neighbour's place, and I'm really hoping that it doesn't come over to my place, but it's always coming... If cat pee DOES harm plants, what should I do about it?

 

[Chuck]

I'm actually interested in this too. I see that there's a cat in my neighbour's place, and I'm really hoping that it doesn't come over to my place, but it's always coming... If cat pee DOES harm plants, what should I do about it?

There is a simple remedy to cats using your potted plants as a litter box and your garden too. Just mulch it with pecan shell mulch. Cats can't stand to walk on the sharp shells, it hurts their feet

 

[H.C. Heartland]

I'm actually interested in this too. I see that there's a cat in my neighbour's place, and I'm really hoping that it doesn't come over to my place, but it's always coming... If cat pee DOES harm plants, what should I do about it?

I have heard similar theories posted above since asking the initial question but with other options such as pine needles and aluminum foil. I know its not pretty to have the foil in the pots but maybe after awhile the cats will find another place to pee. And if you catch the cat in the action you can always use a spray bottle with water to make them go away. But the cats that have been visiting my 'facilities' are too fast for me to spray them.

 

[Serendipity]

There are some theories that pee kills plants. I for one know that dog pee makes grass not be able to grow correctly in the right conditions. If you are really serious about keeping your plants safe, you could try asking your neighbor to not let the cat into your garden. If that works than you can explain to the cat owner that his/her cats pee is ruining your plants. Kudos and Happy gardening

 

[Whitewolf2578]

Any Urine can kill a plant, I had this hardy weed that I couldn't get out as it was growing under the AC unit outside so I decided to pee on it and bam it died. I think it takes a lot of urine to kill a plant though, so maybe it was your cats spot.

 

[H.C. Heartland]

Any Urine can kill a plant, I had this hardy weed that I couldn't get out as it was growing under the AC unit outside so I decided to pee on it and bam it died. I think it takes a lot of urine to kill a plant though, so maybe it was your cats spot.

That's a great idea actually! We need to bottle cat pee and sell it as a natural form of weed kill! haha