Tampopo (great name!);

Depending on how badly lopsided it is, you may just have to grow it out (i.e. wait until it gets two or three more rows of leaves then strip off the old ones). If it's not too bad, you could just take off the lopsided leaves now. It shouldn't have any problem recovering. These things do happen. (Great, now I have La Carlotta screaming, 'These things do NOT 'appen!'in my head. Too much 'Phantom of the Opera'.Gaaah.)

As for the cayenne, bitter apple may be less visible and less gummy. Others will know more about that.

Good luck.

Korina

Hi,
Have never had a problem with animals and violets simply becuase we never had pets. I was wondering if you put a Catnip plant near the violets would that distract the cat.
Fred in NJ

Have you seen those sticky cards sold to catch flying insects--or fly paper. Get that and put it all over the stand. Guarantee the cat won't go back after its first experience with these.

Nancy

Tampopo,

I have two cats, but they leave my violets alone so I don't have the problem that you have. I have never heard of catnip being a solution to keep cats out of other plants. I have heard of people growing wheat grass though. The cats munch on the wheat grass and then don't have an urge to eat other plants in the house. It is a little work though obviously.

Nancy, has a good solution. Cats don't like to walk on sticky things. The flypaper that she is talking about is kind of expensive. A less expensive alternative is to get a roll of transparent box strapping tape. Double it up and put several pieces around your violet area.

Larry

I use lemon or orange peel, most all cats hate citrus. I squeeze a bit of the oil from the peel on the leaves. Test it first! Make sure the plant doesn't have an allergic reaction! It works on my sofa to keep kitty away but it wears off quickly too. Hope this helps.
Dave

I've never had my cats bother the leaves, but I have had them eat the flowers off when they bloomed. I started growing kitty grass for them and now they haven't bothered my violets in years.
I hope I helped.

Trish

Cat Deterrents for your Garden:

Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), what works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. Birds aren't stupid, they watch for cats and stay away. Sometimes natural law comes into play and the quicker animal wins, it's natural law.

If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world. After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'.

* amonia soaked (corncobs, etc)
* aluminum foil
* bamboo skewers
* black pepper
* blood meal fertilizer
* bramble cuttings
* Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp
* catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards)
* cedar compost
* chicken wire (metal or plastic)
* cinnamon
* citrus peels
* citrus spray
* cocoa bean shells
* coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!)
* dogs
* electric fence for animals
* essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils)
* fresh manure(ditto)
* garlic cloves
* gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree
* gutter covers
* hardware cloth
* heavy bark mulch
* holly leaves
* keep the area damp, they like dry soil
* lavender
* liquid manure (good for your garden too)
* motion sensor sprinkler
* pennyroyal
* pinecones
* pipe tobacco
* plastic forks
* predator urine
* red wine vinegar
* river rocks over the exposed soil
* rocks, crushed
* rose bush clippings
* rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only)
* short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart
* six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up)
* Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water
* squirt gun with water
* talk to your neighbors
* tansy
* thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings
* toothpicks
* upside down vinyl carpet
* vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam
* water bottle on "stream"

NOT RECOMMENDED:
*** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me.
*** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way.

Give them their own areas:

(To keep them out of where you don't want them)
(If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters)

+ pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later.

+ give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason)

+ if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too.

+ Barley Grass
+ Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store
+ Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade
+ Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.)
+ Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called nepeta cataria, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to.
+ Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum)
+ Flax
+ Oat Grass
+ Jacob's Ladder
+ Lemon Grass
+ Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch
+ Mints
+ Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out.
+ Sandy area
+ Silver vine (Actinidia polygama)
+ Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive)
+ Sweet grass
+ Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass)
+ Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips)
+ Wheat Grass
+ Wheat Berries
+ Valerian

This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violetgw@care2.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

i'm putting in a vote for the clear tape sticky-side-up. I had a cat once that liked to get up on the high shelves and sleep around the porcelain figurines (ofcourse she liked the expensive ones best:)). i put the tape down, and one morning i woke up and it was all in her fur. She never slept up there again!

i stuck my plants on a narrow nightstand in the corner of the room.the plants have a plantlight but theres no room for kitties to jump on this for a green feast.... i hope.

Hehehe...I have three cats at home, and lots of violets...
No room for kitties to jump- that is the most dangerous one; kitties will make room by kicking the pots to the ground. Oh, and they would love to watch them fall...

Sticky see-through tape rocks. Works like nothing else; my cats hate it and my husband swears by it. They are all so horrified of the tape stuck to them that they would run every time they hear me putting it down on the tables...Give it a try.

Olya