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A grandma kneels in a garden bed planting tomato seedlings while a cinnamon Abyssinian cat digs a hole beside her. 13 / 26

Ruth Was Planting Tomatoes. Saffron Was Working on a Project of Her Own.

AI imageabyssinian catvegetable gardenplanting

It's planting day in the vegetable bed. Ruth kneels in the dark, freshly turned soil in her denim shirt, silver braid hanging over her shoulder, pressing earth gently around a young tomato seedling with her fingertips. A shovel and a green watering can wait by the weathered fence. Right beside her, Saffron has decided to help in her own way. The Abyssinian is digging enthusiastically, one front paw scooping a neat hole in the dirt while she stares down into it with total focus, a little spray of soil flying behind her.

Digging comes naturally to cats, whose instinct is to scratch and bury in loose soil, which is exactly why freshly turned garden beds are so tempting. That habit can unfortunately turn a vegetable patch into an outdoor litter box. Laying chicken wire or a layer of pinecones over newly planted areas can discourage digging, as can giving cats their own spot of loose sand elsewhere. It's also worth knowing that tomato plant leaves and stems are generally considered toxic to cats if eaten, though most cats ignore them. Garden fertilizers and slug pellets should always be stored securely and used carefully around pets.

Saffron's hole probably isn't going to grow any tomatoes. But Ruth doesn't seem to mind her enthusiastic assistant, and the garden is certainly livelier with her in it.

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