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The stem of one of my potted plants was slightly chewed on by a cat. Nothing that would seriously damage the structural integrity of the plant, but it did puncture the surface with a few small tooth marks. Will the plant heal on its own? Should I be worried that damage to the surface of the stem would provide entry vectors for disease or parasites? And if so, is there anything I can do to ameliorate this risk?

EDIT: the cat is safe and healthy. The plant is a small chili pepper plant, which are indeed slightly toxic to cats, but I kept a close watch on the cat and he was (and continues to be) in excellent health. Don't think he got enough of it in his mouth to harm him. The plant is also fine, as far as I can tell, though I hesitate to close this question because a more general answer about what degree of surface puncturing is dangerous to potted plants might be helpful to some future person.

Empiromancer
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Without a picture I will hazard a guess that that plant will be fine. the chewing would have to have been the entire circumference to kill the plant...we need to know what plant this is, its environment, definitely a picture. Is the stem herbaceous or is it woody? Please send a picture and tell us every detail you could imagine about your situation and plant. Nothing is too little...okay?

My biggest worry right now, is your cat. There are very many plants that are very toxic to cats and dogs. Especially indoor plants!

Please send a picture! How is your kitty doing? No salivating, no overly cleaning its mouth and face, is he eating and peeing/pooping okay? Drinking more than usual water?

Let us know asap, okay?

stormy
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