CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Now that it is winter in Northeast Ohio, many gardeners turn their attention indoors to the houseplants that carry us through the darker months. In my case, this means resuming an ongoing battle with keep our cat, Pearl.

Like many cats, our spry, 10-year-old rescue cat is obsessed with eating and pawing our plants. My efforts to thwart her remind me of the cartoon characters Tom and Jerry, except in this scenario I am Tom, bumbling in my attempts to stay one step ahead, and she is Jerry, effortlessly slipping past every barrier I set up.

One problem with cats and houseplants is their tendency to paw at the soil as if it were a litter box, particularly for floor plants. I easily addressed this problem by placing river rock on top of the soil to discourage her from stepp

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