Obsessing with a Plant

Question
I have an 8 month old kitten, Sharon, have had her since she was 6 weeks old (we also have a 1.5 yr old male, Ozzy who is an angel).  I have TONS of plants in my house.  About 4 months ago, we discovered that she likes the soil inside the plant pot.  (I use miracle grow soil) We also figured out that she peed inside a pot once, and another time pooped in a different plant (both being floor plants).  Also would find that she digs the soil, leaving a mess around the plant.  I took it as a sign that she was a high maintenece cat and cleaned the litter boxes more frequently.  She stopped digging in the plants.
Now, its 4 months later.  She's doing it again, she does it when I am not home, only.  When I come home, if I can get my hands on her, I show her the soil by putting her face in it, and growl (4 cats in 10 years, growling is my way of telling them they did something bad).  She runs away, I hope to God she understands that I do not want her to do this anymore.  I also cleaned the litter boxes that same night.  3 days later, she's done it again each day, ONLY digging, no peeing, no pooping, just digging....why does she do this? I want make a motion detector spray bottle, where if she does this when I am at work, the bottle will feel her motion and spray the crap out of her, but really...I have literally 30 plants if not more in the house.  Floor plants are the worst, as it's easy for her to access.  Is there anything I can do to make her hate it, or stop doing this?  Please help!  

Answer
Dear Caitlin

Thank you for your question.
Using a growl to show your cats they have done something wrong is a great idea.  You can only use this though if you catch them in the act!

So for Sharon and her plant obsession:-), you can only growl if you catch her playing with the plant.  I would advise for you not to rub her face into the soil, as she will not understand what you are trying to tell her!  What she will learn is that when you return home she receives a unpleasant growl and a unpleasant rub of her face in the soil!  And she could develop a fear-related behaviour.

Cats really don't like the smell of citrus!  You could try soaking some cloth with citrus and placing them on and around the plants and soil and hopefully this will deter Sharon going near the plant.

Kind Regards

Richella