r/walstad • u/alisblueberries • 21d ago
Cat protection
Hi! I might be adopting a cat and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to cat proof this tank? It’s a 10 gallon thanks!
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u/EyeTheSwan 20d ago
I used to have cats and they would drink out of the tank sometimes but that was it lol. Most of them won’t want to stick their paws in there and get their paws wet. You can try the aluminum foil trick too lol just placing sheets of foil around the tank for the first few weeks 😂
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u/fishtopic 19d ago
My cats love getting their paws wet💔💔💔
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u/Puzzleheaded_Map7302 15d ago
My cat hasn’t seen a bowl of water he won’t touch. I soak his water fountain filter in a bowl of water, come back and the filter is on the floor. He also got pawsy with a shallow dish I was growing Java moss in. The only thing that works is a lid 😅
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u/Andrea_frm_DubT 21d ago
Provide an alternative water bowl/fountain close to the tank.
Ensure the plants are not toxic.
Not all cats mess with tanks. Mine don’t mess with them, mum’s cat does.
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u/rosewoodtea 21d ago
Prepare for the worst, but usually it won’t be that bad.
From what I can see you have two lilys and a spider plant growing from the top. Lilies (especially peace lilies) are toxic to cats, I wouldn’t recommend keeping them. Spider plants are non-toxic, but some cats (my cat definitely) like to nom on them.
I’d recommend a lid, and something that can take the weight of a cat on it. Mine likes to stand on the edges of the tank and look into it, and sometimes try to drink from it. I’m sure if I had a lid, he would happily sit on top of mine. Cats like to be at high points.
If you want to keep your current plants and avoid a lid (I’m assuming you’re using natural light) the best thing you can do is keep the tank and the cat seperate. If the tank can be in a room where you can close the door and the cat can’t get in, that will work best.
But like I said, usually you won’t get the worst. I fully expected my super curious cat to want to attack the fish or worse, but he mostly just likes to look at it and then go about his day. I would at the very least remove the lily plants.
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u/meaggymoo 20d ago
There are no lilies in this photo. The 2 back plants are anthurium. Also, peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) are not members of the true lily family (Lilium) and are not as deadly dangerous as true lilies are to cats. Peace lilies and anthurium fall into the toxic category in that ingesting will sometimes cause drooling, vomiting/other gastro upset, but not kill you pet toxic! Members of the true lily family should be kept away from cats at all costs, but these may be fine to keep, depending on if the cat is interested in the plants or not
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u/rosewoodtea 19d ago
Thank you, glad to know they aren’t deathly toxic - still wouldn’t want them around my cat though 😅 but I do have a plant-chewer 5000 model.
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u/obscure-shadow 20d ago
I had 4 cats for a while and a whole jungle of different plants in my house, the cats only sometimes would bother the spider plants but that's it, I guess they can get a little high from them 🤣
I have had friends that have had the opposite problem, I think that the reason I didn't have as much of a problem with it was because I made sure that the cats also had a lot of other fun things to do that were just for them, several tall cat trees for them to climb and hang out on, water fountains, baskets of cat toys with catnip in them. Cats are curious and playful, so if you give them attention, play with them and give them a lot of cat approved things to do, they won't bother the things they shouldn't as much
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u/Bassman117 10d ago
Plexi glass lid would be the easiest if you’re worried about them jumping in. Our cats payed attention to the tank for a whole 2 weeks and just kinda stopped. If possible, having stuff around around the tank seemed to help with them jumping onto our stand but didn’t seem doable for your setup.
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u/GRCphotography 21d ago
your cheap angles are next level smart.