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We have a (supposedly) Maine Coon and Persian mix. I have put some herbs (parsley and chives) onto our balcony. On the right side, there is also some flower, I forgot which kind it it.

The chives were on the rightmost side, and the cat would jump onto that railing and chew off the chives. Since chives seem to be bad for cats, I moved them into the middle. Now she climbs over the parsley to get to the chives. She does not care for the plant, nor for the parsley. It seems she wants to eat the poisonous stuff.

Our cat eating chives

Do we have to worry, or will the small amounts that she occasionally eats not harm her? I could move the chives away, the balcony is the only spot with a lot of sun in our flat :-/

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  • Raise them up in a hanging basket, the chives probably look like cat grass to her.
    – Joanne C
    Aug 31, 2014 at 1:53
  • Same issue here - my cat steps over containers of kitty grass and devours the chives. The pet store professional suggested rubbing coconut oil on his paws as a lubricant for fur ball removal, as this is the result he's trying to get from the chives.
    – user7697
    Jul 28, 2016 at 16:28
  • I have wild garlic and my cat eats the garlic leaves as she craves it and corn stalks as they start growing. May 18, 2020 at 21:02

2 Answers 2

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According to the ASPCA, chives are toxic to cats. Perhaps you can put them in a hanging basket to keep them out of reach of your cats.

The ASPCA also has a list of toxic and non-toxic plants that you may find helpful.

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    Chives come from the onion family. Onions and cats don't mix...
    – Joanne C
    Aug 30, 2014 at 20:01
  • 2
    I moved the chives away before I let her onto the balcony this morning. She seemed a little puzzled that the chives were gone. We will get some cat grass for her to chew on. Aug 31, 2014 at 13:03
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Instead of keeping the chives away from the balcony, I do think that you should confine your cat from the balcony. From the photo in the post, the cat was sitting on the balcony which is very dangerous.

1) Animal abusers may give it a push

2) Cats do commit suicide when stressed

As such, the risk of putting your cat beside the balcony is higher then getting poisoned by eating the chives. Hope this helps. :)

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    I think you might need some references to support the suicide assertion. Also it is unlikely that home balcony will have "Animal abusers {that} may give it a push" Jan 5, 2015 at 11:00
  • Oh it's home balcony, sorry I thought it's those railing outside the flat. But logically it's also considered dangerous as accidents may happened. I had read website like yahoo, people do feedback too that stress cat does commit suicide in certain circumstances.
    – Win.T
    Jan 5, 2015 at 11:38
  • I would use some sources to actually see if you're right. Not saying that you're wrong but just to check
    – Derrick K.
    Jan 8, 2015 at 3:44

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