Cat Uses Plant Pots as Litter Tray!

Two years ago I adopted a calico cat from a rescue home.  She was littler trained until recently when I bought a large, indoor, potted plant.  Now she likes to use the plant as her potty and then she kicks the dirt all over the floor, like she would litter.  She will still occasionally use her litter box, as to laugh at me when I vacuum.  I was wondering if there were any home remedies to keep cats out of potted plants and back to their litter boxes. (Trixie Poole, Virginia Beach)

There are plenty of over-the-counter cat deterrents available that use smell to deter your cat from particular areas, but this would be an expensive solution if you had many plant pots. Your cat obviously enjoys the soil element of the plant pot, and this is not surprising, especially if she is an indoor cat, since this is a natural instinct when doing the toilet. One suggestion I have is to put a thick layer of gravel (perhaps one inch worth) on top of the soil around the plant and then move the pot to another location. Your cat will not like the feel of the gravel against her paws and this just might encourage her to go back to using her litter box.