Cat got into my seeds

I had my seeds in a closed off room and my husband accidentally locked a cat in there. It looks like he somehow managed to step on every pod in my tray and napped on them. I didnt see any nuggets or smell any pee, but some of the white pieces in the mix are now yellowish which makes me leery. Should I scrap it or keep it?

I'm going to send my husband to get new mix when he gets home and start that tray all over. It was tomatoes & peppers that I just started Sunday. I'll just be a few days behind the window of starting them indoors.

The good news is the cat didnt touch my other tray & my seedlings are safe in the basement under light.

Start anew. Better safe than sorry.

You could start over, like QB said OR you might try starting over AND keeping the same flat going. Or just keep the same flat going.

Cats don't usually pee where they sleep and you'd *know* if the cat went in the tray. The smell is unmistakable. Also, you know that cats usually make a hole to go in and then try to cover up their business. My guess is if your cat went in there, you'd have little soil left in the pods & a mess everywhere else.

Now I think more about it, your biggest problem might be soil compaction if the kitty stepped on the pods. I might just keep the tray going but try to gently fluff the soil to alleviate any compaction.

HTH!

On the bright side, the cat functioned as a heat mat, thus helping to incubate your seeds!

I agree with quiltbea. Probably best to err on the side of caution and get more going. That said, before I put protection up last season. I did have our cats tromping about in my beds. My seeds came up just fine. They're tougher than we give them credit for

I smelled the tray again and didnt smell anything. I think he just used it as a bed and the soil is indeed very impacted and hairy. I think Ill keep this tray going, fluff it up, and see if I can get anything going. Ill do a 2nd tray just in case. There is a mysterious mini greenhouse looking thing in the basement. Im going to see if a tray will fit in it. This old house has a lot of hidden treasures.

One of cats, Jiji chan, is a fiend for anything green.
He is absolutely forbidden from the room with my starts in it. Ever since he carried off a whole pot of tarragon I get after him with the spray bottle if he so much as looks hard at the door.

Well the other day he got in there. I caught him quick. He was just pacing around the standing greenhouse I keep heated for peppers and such, no doubt casing the joint.
I grabbed the spray bottle, and he engaged evasive maneuvers. He went through the shelves of plants that don't need extra warmth, knocking down the Holy Basil and the Echinacea on his way out. The tulsi fell cleanly and neatly, and I think I saved most of it. The echinacea on the other hand, bounced and skittered and fell through the slats of the bottom shelf. I am pretty sure it is done for.

Our furry family members that walk on their arms certainly keep us hopping!

The cat wound up nursing a wet bottom, and I vocalized the air blue, really, sailors were fleeing.
You see, I have what I refer to as The Pansy Curse. I cannot grow pansies, petunias, or echincea to save my life. If I get them to germinate at all, they keel over and die or fall prey to some freak accident. That echinacea was doing really well, so the deities dictated a cat.
I started them early, just in case I had to start them again, and it looks like I will be doing just that. I think I will get my eldest daughter to grow me some next year, she will swap it to me for the meconopsis and european mandragora that I have no trouble at all growining!

My daughter's cat likes to go in the kids bedroom and sleep on the bed of the ONE that is allergic. I told her I was gonna build a screen door! Might be an idea for you room NightMist!

sorry..still chuckling at image of the cat casing the greenhouse.

I had a cat once..well a daughter did...that would eat every tomato seedling when I put them out to harden off on the porch! Just them! Oh, and she also ate hen'n'chicks! I could not figure out for the longest time where my chicks went and would replant every year! Then one time I caught her eating the flat of them I had just gotten from a lady to replace mine again. I decided that I would NOT have them while the cat lived. Darn cat live 13 yrs!

bahahaha NightMist that story was hilarious! Are you a bard, by chance?

My cats go in the room where my tomato seedlings are growing and hang out next to the plants. At first I was paranoid that they would eat them, but they haven't. They just like being near them. And I think that's pretty cool.

I think if your cat peed in the tray you would know it. I think you're probably safe, at least from that.