Someone gave me a hardy mum plant as a gift.
I found my cat smelling(not eating) it today.
Is the smell alone toxic to cats?
I found my cat smelling(not eating) it today.
Is the smell alone toxic to cats?
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Is the smell of Mums Toxic
- Thread starter GranolaLouise
- Start Date
Chrysanthemums are somewhat toxic to cats.
www.aspca.org
The insecticide, pyrethrin, which is toxic to cats, is extracted from chrysanthemums. Therefore, mums, will also be toxic but not as much because the extract is more concentrated than the natural flower.
If your cat eats mums, you might see such symptoms as vomiting, diarrhea, hypersalivation, incoordination and/or dermatitis.
(Taken from the citation, above.)
While the smell of mums, itself, probably won't hurt a cat, it's probably not a good idea to have mums in the house if you have cats. If a cat eats mums it could become very sick, requiring a trip to the vet which could be very expensive. If your cat eats enough of them it could face a life threatening illness.
Here's the rub... It all depends... It depends on the size of the cat and how much it eats. There are many other factors that might make the danger greater or less. We could go on and on about how toxic mums really are and what situations could be more or less dangerous.
When I was a teenager, we kept Easter lilies, during the holiday, in the house with a cat. Lilies are very toxic to cats but we never had a problem because the cat never went near the plants. We always kept them up where the cat didn't go. Nothing bad ever happened.
Today, both of our cats like to chew on houseplants so I would never even consider having lilies in the house, no matter where they might be kept.
If you put houseplants into three categories, 1, 2 or 3, based on toxicity, where 1 is least danger and three is the highest, Easter lilies would be a 3 and mums would be a 2.
If it was me, I wouldn't keep mums in the house because our cats would get into them. I just wouldn't want the hassle of dealing with such a problem if (when) our cats got into them.
If your cat is not the type to eat houseplants, I wouldn't worry so much.
Since the plant was a gift, I might be inclined to keep it for a while but put it up where the cat can't get into it but, then, get rid of it. Later on, I just wouldn't keep mums in the house, at all.
Bottom line: It all depends on the cat. Keep the plants up, out of the cat's reach but, better still, just don't keep dangerous plants in the house, at all.
Chrysanthemum
If you think that your animal is ill or may have ingested a poisonous substance, contact your local veterinarian or our 24-hour emergency poison hotline directly at 1-888-426-4435.
The insecticide, pyrethrin, which is toxic to cats, is extracted from chrysanthemums. Therefore, mums, will also be toxic but not as much because the extract is more concentrated than the natural flower.
If your cat eats mums, you might see such symptoms as vomiting, diarrhea, hypersalivation, incoordination and/or dermatitis.
(Taken from the citation, above.)
While the smell of mums, itself, probably won't hurt a cat, it's probably not a good idea to have mums in the house if you have cats. If a cat eats mums it could become very sick, requiring a trip to the vet which could be very expensive. If your cat eats enough of them it could face a life threatening illness.
Here's the rub... It all depends... It depends on the size of the cat and how much it eats. There are many other factors that might make the danger greater or less. We could go on and on about how toxic mums really are and what situations could be more or less dangerous.
When I was a teenager, we kept Easter lilies, during the holiday, in the house with a cat. Lilies are very toxic to cats but we never had a problem because the cat never went near the plants. We always kept them up where the cat didn't go. Nothing bad ever happened.
Today, both of our cats like to chew on houseplants so I would never even consider having lilies in the house, no matter where they might be kept.
If you put houseplants into three categories, 1, 2 or 3, based on toxicity, where 1 is least danger and three is the highest, Easter lilies would be a 3 and mums would be a 2.
If it was me, I wouldn't keep mums in the house because our cats would get into them. I just wouldn't want the hassle of dealing with such a problem if (when) our cats got into them.
If your cat is not the type to eat houseplants, I wouldn't worry so much.
Since the plant was a gift, I might be inclined to keep it for a while but put it up where the cat can't get into it but, then, get rid of it. Later on, I just wouldn't keep mums in the house, at all.
Bottom line: It all depends on the cat. Keep the plants up, out of the cat's reach but, better still, just don't keep dangerous plants in the house, at all.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thank you for that reply! She definitely has no inclination to eat the plant, but she did sniff it.
I really don't think she would nibble on it because a plant is not her thing, but I don;t want to take any chances. Keeping the plant around her is playing roulette. Cats try things just because it's part of their curious nature.
I really don't think she would nibble on it because a plant is not her thing, but I don;t want to take any chances. Keeping the plant around her is playing roulette. Cats try things just because it's part of their curious nature.
If your cat doesn't eat houseplants, I wouldn't be super worried.
Just keep them up where the cat won't be able to reach them.
Still, if I had my druthers, I wouldn't keep mums in the house. It could save a lot of hassle, if something went wrong.
Just keep them up where the cat won't be able to reach them.
Still, if I had my druthers, I wouldn't keep mums in the house. It could save a lot of hassle, if something went wrong.
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2014
- Messages
- 3,674
- Purraise
- 6,976
I would not have it inside. Why risk it. It isn’t worth hour cats health to have it inside.
As for Lilly plants and flowers, all parts of the plant are toxic including the pollen that can drop onto the floor if it is kept up high. I have seen families where one cat died after bringing a Lilly into the home. By died, I mean a slow horrible death from acute renal failure. The other cat in the home was fine. So, who knows. Maybe some cats aren’t as sensitive, maybe not. Thankfully there have not been tons of studies done to figure it out.
Why risk your cats health at all, just to have a plant inside?
As for Lilly plants and flowers, all parts of the plant are toxic including the pollen that can drop onto the floor if it is kept up high. I have seen families where one cat died after bringing a Lilly into the home. By died, I mean a slow horrible death from acute renal failure. The other cat in the home was fine. So, who knows. Maybe some cats aren’t as sensitive, maybe not. Thankfully there have not been tons of studies done to figure it out.
Why risk your cats health at all, just to have a plant inside?
