Will my Mango seedling survive after being attacked by my cat?

Question

So, I been growing a Mango plant from seed, which was going quite ok I think.

Yesterday my cat found this plant and eaten or whatever the leaves of the seedling, so all of its leaves are now gone, the stem is still intact and not broken or anything.

Will my seedling have a chance to survive or is it doomed? If is has a chance, should I do something extra to save it? Will it create new leaves?

[Update]: After 2 weeks there seems not much changed, I am still giving it water and the stem and the base are still green.

Mango seedling

Mango seedling without leaves

The killer

...I was just pruning it for you! Or is there some long-running inimical hatred between cats and mangos we are normally not aware of? — Ecnerwal, Jun 07 '22 at 17:07
"That mango had it coming. I'd do it again in a heartbeat." -- the cat — Don Branson, Jun 07 '22 at 18:14
Cats do like to eat grass-like plants sometimes. You might need to offer some sacrificial grass to the feline menace to divert it from your mango. — Danila Smirnov, Jun 09 '22 at 02:49
It still looks exacly the same, it is not rotting, no mold and still as green as it was. It just looks like it happened yesterday, I am still watering it (I know it is probably going to be wasted time, but whatever). I don't see any new roots or something. In the meantime I started to grow a new one, this is going good and its now about 20CM in height and still growing. — Bart, Aug 22 '22 at 09:27
It died :( It was starting to get brown and looking unhealthy. — Bart, Nov 05 '22 at 15:52

score 7 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 07 '22 at 12:24

7

I can't promise it will live, but I've seem mango seedlings survive some pretty rough treatment.

The main thing is to keep your cat or anything else from inflicting more damage. I think it has a reasonably good chance of pulling through if no cats or caterpillars get a chance to defoliate it again.

If it survives, post pics.

answered Jun 07 '22 at 12:24

Escaped Lunatic

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I will later today also put a picture on here of the status how it looks now, if it survives i will – Bart Jun 07 '22 at 12:40
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A couple of others pointed out that the growing tip was removed. That is a considerable disadvantage, but mangos are a bit tougher than the average tree seedling. Keep it safe and watered and it might decide that stories of its death are premature. – Escaped Lunatic Jun 08 '22 at 07:22

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 08 '22 at 01:26

Your cat has completely removed the growing tip, i.e. the bit that branches. I'm sorry to say your mango seedling will die once its energy is used up. You cat was just doing what cats do, which sometimes includes destroying things you care about! Next time you grow a mango seedling (or have anything else in your house you care about your cat not destroying), put it somewhere your cat can't get it!

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 08 '22 at 06:28

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Firstly, your cat isn't stupid because that's normal animal behavior. Secondly, the growing part has been removed. So, it won't survive

answered Jun 08 '22 at 06:28

KMarto

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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Jun 08 '22 at 06:36
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I'm glad that you affirmed that the cat isn't in fact stupid, that was a really important piece of information. – Mihael Keehl Jun 08 '22 at 11:20
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I understand cats are carnivores. Stupid cat. ;-D – mcalex Jun 09 '22 at 03:56

Will my Mango seedling survive after being attacked by my cat?

3 Answers3