Aside from the Cat Grass I grow for the cats we have *1* houseplant. I am terrible with plants--I've even been accused of having a black thumb.
The one houseplant we have is cared for by my husband, and lives at the top of a 6' book case.
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House Plants?
- Thread starter Winchester
- Start Date
My hobby is tropical houseplants and I have a house that is full of them with many plants in every room. The cats leave them alone except the ones that I have designated as "theirs" - which are the Parlor Palms (Chamaedorea cataractarum - sometimes called "Cat Palms"). This palm is in the grass family and is totally edible.
All my cats were trapped as feral or stray so they spent some of their life outside. I think this makes them somewhat more aware of what is edible and what is not.
Most tropical houseplants are considered "toxic" because of the oxalic acid and will upset your kitties stomach and perhaps burn their mouth. Poisonous plants (those in the Lilly family - INCLUDING FLOWERS) should not be around cats. Please do some research. Names are not indicative of the species of the plant. (i.e. Peace Lilies are not from the "lily family" and Sago Palm are not true palms - Sago's are Poisonous). Orchids are fine around cats.
I've noticed with my three that only grassy/fluffy type plants are the ones they want to chew on. Thick leaved plants such as rubber plants or fiddle leaf figs are left alone.
I love my cats and love my plants and have managed to have both live happily together.
All my cats were trapped as feral or stray so they spent some of their life outside. I think this makes them somewhat more aware of what is edible and what is not.
Most tropical houseplants are considered "toxic" because of the oxalic acid and will upset your kitties stomach and perhaps burn their mouth. Poisonous plants (those in the Lilly family - INCLUDING FLOWERS) should not be around cats. Please do some research. Names are not indicative of the species of the plant. (i.e. Peace Lilies are not from the "lily family" and Sago Palm are not true palms - Sago's are Poisonous). Orchids are fine around cats.
I've noticed with my three that only grassy/fluffy type plants are the ones they want to chew on. Thick leaved plants such as rubber plants or fiddle leaf figs are left alone.
I love my cats and love my plants and have managed to have both live happily together.
People can eat orchids too!Originally Posted by AudioCat
My hobby is tropical houseplants and I have a house that is full of them with many plants in every room. The cats leave them alone except the ones that I have designated as "theirs" - which are the Parlor Palms (Chamaedorea cataractarum - sometimes called "Cat Palms"). This palm is in the grass family and is totally edible.
All my cats were trapped as feral or stray so they spent some of their life outside. I think this makes them somewhat more aware of what is edible and what is not.
Most tropical houseplants are considered "toxic" because of the oxalic acid and will upset your kitties stomach and perhaps burn their mouth. Poisonous plants (those in the Lilly family - INCLUDING FLOWERS) should not be around cats. Please do some research. Names are not indicative of the species of the plant. (i.e. Peace Lilies are not from the "lily family" and Sago Palm are not true palms - Sago's are Poisonous). Orchids are fine around cats.
I've noticed with my three that only grassy/fluffy type plants are the ones they want to chew on. Thick leaved plants such as rubber plants or fiddle leaf figs are left alone.
I love my cats and love my plants and have managed to have both live happily together.
But again, growing them I know how hard they have to work to grow them so I couldnt bring myself to eat their beautiful blooms!
I LOVE stargazer lillies and I keep them outside, not only do they require full sun, but I also dont want kitties getting sick!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #24
I'll probably end up keeping my plants in my office and not taking any of them home because I do worry about the cats eating leaves and such. Since I spent a lot of time here at work anyway, the plants make things a little nicer, I guess.
But I'd love to have a small herb garden in my kitchen window. We have herbs in the garden outside and I love to go out and pinch a few leaves of basil, oregano, etc in the summer to use in our food.
I doubt hanging plants would even work in our house. Believe me, nothing is sacred around our furkids. They go everything, on top of the entertainment center in the living room, on top of the cabinets and the fridge in the kitchen.
MargeCat, I've always read that citrus is not toxic to cats and that most cats won't have anything to do with citrus because they don't like the smell. When I had my calamondin orange tree, my cat, Hydrox, didn't try to eat the leaves. (But he did pee in the planter.
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But I'd love to have a small herb garden in my kitchen window. We have herbs in the garden outside and I love to go out and pinch a few leaves of basil, oregano, etc in the summer to use in our food.
I doubt hanging plants would even work in our house. Believe me, nothing is sacred around our furkids. They go everything, on top of the entertainment center in the living room, on top of the cabinets and the fridge in the kitchen.
MargeCat, I've always read that citrus is not toxic to cats and that most cats won't have anything to do with citrus because they don't like the smell. When I had my calamondin orange tree, my cat, Hydrox, didn't try to eat the leaves. (But he did pee in the planter.
