Oncidium and Cats - the animal not the orchid

[josterha]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought an oncidium hybrid from my local Trader Joe's. The instant I brought it home and place it on the table, one of my cats (Keiko) immediately was sniffing the flower and rubbing against it. The next morning, my other cat, Boris, had jumped up on my orchid table and was chewing on the leaves. This was a very worrying behaviour, since they have never bothered any of my orchids before (although, they do seem to enjoy them). Then I realised that I've only had phals and paphs before.

I had to immediately move the plant to another growing area that is off-limits to them. I hope the plant survives! The flowers don't smell fragrant at all to me either, so that's all the more surprising. Has anyone else had an experience like this?

Thanks,
John