If you’re a plant parent and also caring for your beloved furry cat friends then you’ll be interested in knowing what indoor plants are safe for your feline friend. Indoor plants have so many benefits, they purify our air, boost our mood and look wonderful. However, some species can be toxic to our pets and it’s important to know what plants to keep out of reach if your cat likes to have a nibble.
Cats are curious creatures that can decide to nibble on your houseplants. Unfortunately, many common houseplants are toxic and potentially fatal to cats.
With the right information, tips and tricks you can have it all and enjoy both your healthy plants and pet cats living harmoniously.
There are too many cat toxic and non toxic plants to name them all but we have put together some of the most common house plants and some great resources where you can look up specific indoor plant that you own to see if they are safe for your furry friend or research your next plant purchase.
Common House Plants - Toxic To Cats
Aloe
Plant family : Liliaceae
Toxic Principles: Saponins, anthraquinones
Symptoms: Vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea. The gel is considered edible.
Somewhat surprising that this indoor plant is toxic to your cat as it is known commonly for it's medicinal purposes. The toxic compound in aloe is saponins, which is a naturally occurring detergent found in various desert plants such as Yucca schidigera and Aloe vera
Symptoms typically appear six to 12 hours after the cat ingested the plant. If you suspect your cat has ingested aloe, stay calm and immediately take the pet to your veterinarian along with any remaining parts of the aloe plant.
Cordatum - Heartleaf
Plant family : AraceaeToxicPrincipals : Insoluble calcium oxalates
Symptoms: Oral irritation, pain and swelling of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing
As sweet as these vining plants are you will want to keep them safely out of reach from your cat. They are a vining plant and therefor an occasional pruning will help to keep our cat from deciding to play with long trailing stems.
Devils Ivy - Epipremnum aureum
Plant Family: AraceaeToxic Principles: Insoluble calcium oxalates
Symptoms: Oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing.
Another beautiful trailing plant this indoor plant can grow quickly. The devils ivy will do well to be places in a hanging planter out of reach or on a high shelve where it's long yellow and green foliage can be admired by you and your pet cat.
Fiddle Leaf - Philodendron bipennifolium
Plant Family: AraceaeToxic Principles: Insoluble calcium oxalates
Symptoms: Oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing.
Snake Plant, Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, Good Luck Plant
Plant Family: AgavaceaeToxic Principles: Saponins
Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
Peace Lily -Spathiphyllum
Family: AraceaeToxic Principles: Insoluble calcium oxalates
Symptoms: Oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing.
Monstera
Family: Araceae
Symptoms: Oral irritation, pain and swelling of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing.
Common House Plants Non Toxic To Cats
While there is no doubt that you can still own all of your favourite plant varieties if you simply find them safe homes away from your beloved pet cat, sometime it is good peace of mind when you have plants that you know are not toxic. We've listed some wonderful common house plants that will not cause your fury friends any harm if they do decide to have a munch.
- Anthericum Comosum - Ribbon Plant, Spider Plant, Spider IvyPlant
- Areca Palm - Cane Palm, Golden Feather Palm, Yellow PalmPlant
- Callethea - Calathea spp.Plant Family: Marantaceae
- Dwarf Palm - Good Luck palm, Parlor palm, Chamaedorea elegans
- Ivy Peperomia - Plantinum Peperomia, Silver leaf Peperomia, Ivy leaf Peperomia
- Japanese Aralia - Formosa rice tree, Glossy-leaved paper plant, Big-leaf paper plant
- Kentia Palms - Forster Senty Palm
Tips for keeping your cat away from your plants
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Begin with knowing what plants are toxic to you cat so you can either place it out of reach or start collecting plants that are cat friendly.
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Place your plants in out of reach places, such as a high shelf or in a hanging basket.
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Place some citrus oil around the area your plant are living. Cats don’t like citrus and this will deter them.
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Cut back any long stems from your vining plants so that your cat won’t be tempted to turn your plant into their new exciting toy.
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Give your cat plenty of play time and appropriate perching spots away from your plants so they are happy in their home.
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Get yourself some cat grass. Cats that eat grass routinely may have more regular gastrointestinal tracts, fewer hair balls, and less constipation. Plus the chlorophyll in grass helps keep a cat's breath fresh! This will enrich their environment and direct them to eat the plants you want them to.
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Don’t worry you don’t need to hide your herb garden. Cats can eat most herbs, rosemary, thyme, basil and sage are all safe for cats to have a munch on.
We hope you have found this list of cat friendly indoor plants useful so you can keep on collecting wonderful indoor plants and growing your urban jungle.
Toxic Indoor Plant Resources