Not poisonous garden plant (vine plant / espalier)

anne3007

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Hey all,

My three cats are able to go outside, also out of the garden. I know that the neighbor could have toxic plants just as well, but in any case I want to have my own garden as safe as possible for my cats.

I have a sort of pergola in my garden, which was first covered by a grape. I removed it since it is toxic to cats and I don't eat all those grapes anyway ;).
It is now quite bare, and I'm looking for a good alternative. A plant that matches a bit (so a vine plant or espalier), and preferably a plant that can withstand frost during the winter. But most importantly, one that is not toxic to cats.
I know there is only a little chance that they will eat from the plant, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
Does anyone have any ideas? I've done a lot of googling but I can't find anything yet. Also, considering the fact that  I do not have lots of knowledge of plants, and perhaps I demand too much ( withstand frost, suitable for pergolas, and not toxic to cats)..that might make it a little bit more complicated.. ;) 

I hope anyone over here has some ideas?

(Sorry for my not perfectly English, it's not my native language, but hope you do understand me )
 
 

mrsgreenjeens

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All I can tell you for sure, is that the plants listed in this thread ARE bad for cats:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/174854/101-things-that-can-harm-your-cat

So perhaps you could take this list to your local plant nursery and tell them what you are looking for in a plant, then compare it to this list...if it's not on here, voila, your've got your plant!
 
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anne3007

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Yeah I can find many websites with toxic and non toxic plants but that is a whole list without a category (like vine plant category), so it is much work to check 200 plants on google if it is a vine plant .. However, I'd rather see website's with non toxic plants than with toxic plants. I think this is not going to be easy.. :( Of course I can ask it in the store but I asked it before and they have no idea whether it's toxic or not. They usually only know how to take care of the plants.. :(
 

handsome kitty

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I just replaced 4 deadly day lily plants.  We went to the nursery and my daughter who has a smart phone googled every plant we liked.  Most were bad.  I know roses are safe for cats - I have one without thorns and one like a tree(?) thick stem w/o thorns then thorns on smaller branches.  I picked up some cat mint which my cat loves to chew on.  Not a vine but definetly cat friendly.  I also pick up some snap dragons and impatiencts.  I think most vines are not cat friendly.  Maybe you could plant a small tree that the cat could climb.

BTW the nursery workers were not sure which plants are cat friendly.  
 
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anne3007

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Thanks for your reply. Many plants are toxic, unfortunately :(. However, it is kind of confusing, because some website's say a rose is toxic ( just an example) and other websites say it isn't.

Don't know what's true and I need to be quite sure that it is safe for my cats. 
But I have read something about roses, yes. That they aren't toxic usually. I was only afraid for the thorns. Didn't know there are roses without thorns ;) Haha, as you can see I know nothing about plants. I will take a look at that, thanks for the tip ;)

Yesterday I did search again and I found the Tuscan / Star Jasmin isn't toxic either, and winterhard. But there is another website that says Jasmin is toxic. So confusing :S I thought I was finally sure about which plant I could buy..
 
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handsome kitty

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I think if you read some of the articles on the web it will explain how toxic they are to cats.  i.e. some just make the cats mildly sick while others cause major organ damage.  With roses, it is the thorns that are the concern.  You can always check w/your vet. 
 

fluffys warning

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My son is in the Navy and sent my wife a beautiful flower arrangement for Mothers day. This Monday, I’m very sad to say I had to put our cat to sleep because the beautiful flowers contained lilies which are deadly toxic to cats. Of course none of us knew this until the Vet asked if we had lilies at our house. I feel something like this could be easily be prevented with a warning of the dangers from florist and retailers. Most flowers already come with a tag or how to care for info, why not a warning to pet owners?

I would think something could be done to warn pet owners, when deadly flowers are shipped unknowingly to someone’s house and kills their pet. Seems very inhumane to me.
 
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anne3007

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They should do that!
I knew that lilies are very toxic to cats, but many people don't know that. Besides, there are much more plants which are toxic to cats and dogs. Most people, however, don't seem to understand why I am worried about this. They ask me: oh, but cats don't eat plants, do they? Or:  they know when a plant is toxic, so they won't eat from it.

Unfortunately, that is not true. Not all cats might eat plants in the yard, but there is always a chance.

Over here, sellers usually have no idea whether a plant is toxic or not. So I really can't ask it in the store, since they often know nothing about it. 
A tag with a warning would be a great solution. I saw some plants with a tag  'toxic : yes. Do not eat. But that is meant for human.. :S Hopefully they will put this information specifically for pets on all the plants in the future, because I have heard it too many times, that a cat died from lilies or any other toxic plant.

I am going to do some research again ;)
 
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LTS3

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 Most flowers already come with a tag or how to care for info, why not a warning to pet owners?

I would think something could be done to warn pet owners, when deadly flowers are shipped unknowingly to someone’s house and kills their pet. Seems very inhumane to me.
I don't think it's fair to say that florists need to put a warning on their flower arrangements to warn pet owners of possible toxicity. The florist has no idea if an arrangement is going to a house that has pets. Many florists, and even well intentioned buyers, aren't even aware that certain plants and flowers are toxic to pets.

Some Human foods are harmful, even toxic, to pets if ingested but you're not going to see warning labels on these.

It would be better to place a flower arrangement in a safe place away from pets until it can determine if the flowers are toxic or not. The ASPCA has a great list of safe and toxic plants: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control It's not a comprehensive list of every single plant that is harmful so if you're unsure, err on the side of caution and keep the plant away from the cat or outside or even give it away to someone else.

Personally I think pet owners should print out a list of potentially harmful / toxic plants and foods and be familiar with some of the more common items than to rely on a retailer to tell you if something is harmful to your pet.

My two cents
 

handsome kitty

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Lillies are so toxic to cats it might be a good idea for the florist to at least warn people about them.  If even the pollen gets on a cats fur, then ingested when the cat grooms it can kill the cat.  They don't even have to eat the flowers.  I was in my yard clipping the buds before I replaced the 4 day lilies in my yard.  

The rescue and shelters could warn people when they adopt a pet as well.  The gave us a list of things the cat would need and a list of area vets.  I only knew about the lillies because my daughter googled all the plants in our house and yard.  
 

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You are correct in saying that you cannot control what your cats can get into when they leave your yard so, if you truly  want to be "safe not sorry" and you are looking to protect  your cats, you should keep them on your own property. If you cannot, you should build a cat enclosure so that you KNOW they are only being exposed to a safe environment.

As for cat safe vining plants, I am also looking for some information. I am building a cat enclosure on the side of my house and want to provide shade in a safe manner. So, I have no information for you except to say that, unless there is some reason for letting your cats roam the neighborhood, the really only sure way to keep them safe is to control their environment so they do not go out of your care and control.
 
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