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Poinsettia

post #1 of 15
7/25/07 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 
I've heard poinsettia is poison to cats and I've heard they're not. Which is it?
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post #2 of 15
7/25/07 at 1:17pm
YES they are ..

www.aspca.com look up plants
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post #3 of 15
7/25/07 at 1:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
YES they are ..

www.aspca.com look up plants
Actually, I couldn't find Poinsettias in the toxic or non-toxic list on that site.
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post #4 of 15
7/25/07 at 1:29pm
I just realized that .. but I do KNOW they are
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post #5 of 15
7/25/07 at 1:33pm
My MIL said she heard they weren't but I'm skeptical. I did find the following on the Cat Fancier's site.

Poinsettias are generally over-rated in toxicity. If ingested, poinsettias can be irritating to the mouth and stomach, and may cause mild vomiting or nausea.

And they do list it under their toxic list http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html
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post #6 of 15
7/25/07 at 2:33pm
Even if they are or aren't, I wouldn't let my cat nibble on it. You just never know. As with people, some cat's reactions could be worse than others.
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post #7 of 15
7/25/07 at 2:53pm
I called my vet about this and spider plants last year... they said yes pointsettas are poisonous to cats but spider plants are not (the spider plants are very grass like... my mom has one in a hanging pot in the dining room and when we were home last year and Ollie's oat grass was low, he took the liberty of jumping on the dining room server to chomp on spider plant )... my mom keeps pointsettas in the house around xmas time... we just make sure to pick up anything that falls off and Oliver is not interested in them in the slightest - doesn't even look at them... the spider plant is the only plant other than his grass that he's touched
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post #8 of 15
7/25/07 at 3:00pm
To be on the safe side, I'd say it was poisoneous. And we don't have any live plants in the house. Personally I'd rather be safe then sorry with plants.
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post #9 of 15
7/25/07 at 5:15pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I'd rather be safe than sorry, but I definately know spider plants are ok cuz my cat chomps mine all the time. Usually pepper will keep him away but I just found barfed up spider plant today so the pepper must be wearing off
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post #10 of 15
7/25/07 at 6:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by luvmycat1 View Post
Yeah, I'd rather be safe than sorry, but I definately know spider plants are ok cuz my cat chomps mine all the time. Usually pepper will keep him away but I just found barfed up spider plant today so the pepper must be wearing off
Yeah, when I'm slacking on keeping fresh grass available, mom's gotta flip the hanging parts of the spider plant up into the pot to keep Ollie away, haha... speaking of - need to plant more grass!
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post #11 of 15
7/25/07 at 6:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by katachtig View Post
My MIL said she heard they weren't but I'm skeptical. I did find the following on the Cat Fancier's site.

Poinsettias are generally over-rated in toxicity. If ingested, poinsettias can be irritating to the mouth and stomach, and may cause mild vomiting or nausea.

And they do list it under their toxic list http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html


I'm rather safe than sorry, we bought some beautifully arranged fake poinsettias last year (due to the cat reason) and the plus side is, we get to use them every Christmas for years to come!!!
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post #12 of 15
7/25/07 at 8:01pm
I read a year or two ago (don't have the source at this point, but it was in the major new media), that they recently discovered that they are only very mildly poisenous, as the one post above states. That for years, it was thought they were deathly poisenous, but that's not the case at all.
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post #13 of 15
7/26/07 at 7:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pennicat View Post
I read a year or two ago (don't have the source at this point, but it was in the major new media), that they recently discovered that they are only very mildly poisenous, as the one post above states. That for years, it was thought they were deathly poisenous, but that's not the case at all.

That's what I have heard as well. The thought now is that they would have to eat huge quantities for it to be poisonous to them.

My Siamese from years ago loved Asparagus Fern. My room mate bought a beauty and when we came home from work a couple days later we realized she had eaten most of it.
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post #14 of 15
7/26/07 at 8:27am
Funny...I`ve heard that spider plants are somewhat poisonous to cats. (Actually there are a lot of plants that are.....maybe most are not bad not enough to KILL them, but enough to make them sick)
When we got our first kitten I got rid of ALL our plants but 1 ...(just in case...cause different sites say different things when I started looking up "plants poisonous to cats") The one I did keep was high up on top of the entertainment center and I did`nt think the kitten could even reach it.
It was just one of those common green and white vines with sort of heart shaped leaves that a lot of people have. (Phylodendrin....not spelled right, I know)
Anyhow....one day I found some vomit next to the entertainment center ...with little pieces of green leaf in it! (Apparently he was a better climber or jumper than we had thought.
THE PLANT GOT DUMPED OUTSIDE!!!! The only ones I have now are silks!
I`ve been told that I have a GREEN THUMBand I love plants...but they are not a part of my decor now that we have cats. I`m too scared to take anymore chances.
Linda
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post #15 of 15
7/26/07 at 12:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stampit3d View Post
Funny...I`ve heard that spider plants are somewhat poisonous to cats. (Actually there are a lot of plants that are.....maybe most are not bad not enough to KILL them, but enough to make them sick)
When we got our first kitten I got rid of ALL our plants but 1 ...(just in case...cause different sites say different things when I started looking up "plants poisonous to cats") The one I did keep was high up on top of the entertainment center and I did`nt think the kitten could even reach it.
It was just one of those common green and white vines with sort of heart shaped leaves that a lot of people have. (Phylodendrin....not spelled right, I know)
Anyhow....one day I found some vomit next to the entertainment center ...with little pieces of green leaf in it! (Apparently he was a better climber or jumper than we had thought.
THE PLANT GOT DUMPED OUTSIDE!!!! The only ones I have now are silks!
I`ve been told that I have a GREEN THUMBand I love plants...but they are not a part of my decor now that we have cats. I`m too scared to take anymore chances.
Linda

I think you are wise. I have gotten rid of most of my plants. I have one hanging in the corner totally out of reach of the cats and one on the top of my medicine cabinet in the bathroom - again out of reach of the cats. I really want my cats more than I want plants. My outside is beautiful with lots of flowers and plants so that's enough for me.
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