Toxic Plants?

Hello there.

I just got my new kitty today, and completely forgot about the plants in my house.

I remembered as he started to explore my pothos, and quickly moved him to a plant free room for now.

Is pothos toxic? I have google'd it, and am getting mixed responses. Some sites say yes it is, some say no it isn't. So I guess I'm looking for personal experiences for now. I will ask my vet on Thurs. and for now, the kitty will stay in the plant free room to be on the safe side.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=174854

this link has tozic cleaner , plants and other things

Thank you I have read that one, as well as many others. Unfortunately some are contradictory, some say yes it is toxic, others say no it isn't.

I'm looking for personal experiences. Has anyone had pothos and a kitty who nibbled on it?

I'm confused with the contradictory info out on the www. I will be asking my vet on Thurs. and see what he says.

This tidbit may help. The effects of ingestion are quite nasty.

The Pothos (Golden Pothos, Devil's Ivy) appears on all my toxic plants lists.

Toxic lists:

ASPCA
Pawprints and Purrs
Cat Fanciers' Association
PetEducation.com


Non-Toxic:

Pawprints and Purrs
Cat Fanciers'

Thanks, I did ask my vet, and they agreed that pothos is poisonous. I have 2wks to get rid of my plants now.

I've always had a pothos around and it's the one plant I've never had cats bother.

Hang it up or move it to a room where the cat isn't allowed.

Houseplants are my hobby and I have a lot of them, including many pothos - with Aroids being my specialty. I've never had a cat chew on the more "toxic" plants but I've seen them chow down on the poor palms till they look really scraggly.

Pothos plant sap contains oxalate crystals which will cause irritation in the kitties mouth, throat and stomach. A vet call or visit may be necessary after ingestion.

NOTE: There are some really toxic houseplants I will never have. Anything in the Lily family (including cut flowers) are especially poisonous and should not be around cats.

A plants common name can be deceiving so before you bring it home do some research to find out what what they actually are. For instance, a "Peace Lily" is not from the lily family, but is a Spathiphyllum (and has the same type of sap that a Pothos does). A "Cardboard Palm" (Zamia furfuracea) is NOT a palm but a cycad and very toxic. Sago Palm is also not a true palm but a cycad and again...toxic with the seeds being deadly.

If you have a cat that will chew on any plant it probably would be best to either not have them or stick with non toxic plants.

Here's a list of cat safe plants from the Cat Fanciers Association. http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants-non-toxic.html

Albus has been caught sampling my dumbcane. He hasn't gotten sick from it yet, but I guess I'm going to have to hang it up.

Is there anything else I can do to prevent him from eating it?

I have a pothos, two 5' tall snake plants, an aloe, and a pepper plant. If I remember right, they're all on the toxic list - except the pepper. I was going to move my plants into my bedroom when I got Harley, but she doesn't even bother with them. She's given three of them a cursory sniff (the two snake plants and the pepper), but she doesn't really care about them.

Snickers didn't bother with them either, except to stand in the dirt of one of the pots.

I have quite a few pathos plants, but I keep them hanging for the most parts and the cats just rub their cheeks on them.

I can't keep Aloe in the house anymore, as Max likes to eat it (which then makes him throw up all over the house, as it is a purgative,) and can't keep my ponytail palm in the house as Ginger tends to prefer the leaves of that palm to cat grass.

But as long as you have the pathos hanging out of reach, you shouldn't have to worry about it.