Our cats are happiest when they can explore their surroundings, and if you can give them a well stocked garden to play in so much the better. So if you want to create the perfect environment for your cat, what sort of things should you be growing in your garden?
For an amateur gardener, cat grass is a plant that cats make a beeline for and, luckily, is quite easy to grow. If you can’t find the seed in your local garden centre, you should be able to find it for sale from seed merchants.
Start by removing any large stones from the area to be seeded and rake the soil until fine and crumbly. Use a stick to create shallow drills about half an inch deep and 2 inches apart. If the ground is dry, water the drill prior to sowing the seed thinly, cover with sieved soil or compost. It usually takes about two weeks for the shoots to emerge, during this period, keep the ground moist. Cut the grass, when it reaches 6 inches high, to keep it tidy.
It’s reported that cat grass contains natural oils that is good for their digestive system.
For more ambitious gardeners, trees offer a great deal to cats. However, you’ll need to decide on what size of tree will suit your garden best. Apples trees make good choice for both you and your cat. They benefit from being fairly easy to grow in he UK and come in all sizes to suit any size of garden, they can even be grown in pots! Commercial trees are grown on ‘root stocks’, these are used to control the height of a fully grown tree. The smallest root stock is “M27″, go for if you intend to grow your tree in a large pot, but useless as a climbing tree! The “M9″ is slightly larger, making it useful for a very small back garden, expect it to grow no more than about 6 to 8 feet. “M26″ is a root stock probably ideal for most small gardens, it grows to around 10 feet. The “MM106″ is known as a semi-dwarfing root stock, it is a very popular choice being good for the average sized garden, final height for this type of tree is around 12 feet. The most vigorous, the “MM111″, grows up to 20 feet so making it unsuitable for most gardens.
Bear in mind that as the trees get more restricted in height, they begin to need more care and attention. For example, “M27″ trees will need careful attention to watering and feeding throughout their life. At the other end of the scale, a “MM106″ root stock allow a tree to thrive even in poor soils.
Another big benefit of having a tree with a dwarfing root stock, is that they start fruiting when young. An “M27″ tree will fruit in a couple of years, but the “MM106″ trees may take around 6 years to fruit.
Once established your tree will be providing a great place for your cat to explore and reward you at the same time with delicious fruit.
Rob Tyrrell is cat owner who enjoys gardening, he works as an artist and specialises in pet portraits. For more tips on art or to commission a pet portraits from photos, go to his web site at www.robtyrrell-petportraits.co.uk.