Why is EVERYTHING single plant toxic to cats??? How do you guys keep houseplants?

[wafflesnomnom]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but it didn't fit any of the others. I want to add some plants to my house but when I was walking through the garden centers and looking at the toxic plant lists to cats, every single plant is listed as toxic... How do feral cats survive when there's deadly boxwood, pine, lilies, tulips etc everywhere??? Does anyone have a list of definite non-toxic plants for cats that aren't super rare or hard to find? Everything I wanted to have (ivies, hibiscus, ferns etc) are all a no-go =.=

 

[Willowy]

Here's the list of plants that are non-toxic to cats: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/anima...on-toxic-plants?field_non_toxicity_value[]=02

I think outdoor cats have other things to do than nibble on plants. Whereas indoor cats (or cats in an enclosure) get bored and decide to eat the plants. So that's probably why it seems like outdoor cats don't have trouble.

Also, when a source says that a plant is toxic to cats, research it to see HOW toxic it is. Some plants are only "toxic" because they'll cause an upset stomach if the cat eats too much. Well, that's to be expected, really. You might decide you could have those plants, if your cat isn't inclined to eat too much. But other plants are actually fatal or extremely damaging and you'd want to avoid those entirely of course.

 

[paiger8]

I'm not a huge house plant fan, but I love flowers. My cats will destroy any arrangement I bring home, so I purchased "real feel" flowers from Hobby Lobby and have several floral arrangements of those around the house. 

You could always invest in some real looking faux plants? Bonus is, no upkeep or watering.

 

[Margret]

I keep my plants in the bathroom, where I can lock Jasmine out and where it's easy to keep them watered.  But I lock Jasmine out not because the plants will hurt her, but because she'll hurt the plants.

Margret

 

[wafflesnomnom]

I have come to terms with the limits of which plants I can own and have decided to embrace the succulents and mosses. Who needs flowers anyways >...>

 

[hellomisskitty]

I have come to terms with the limits of which plants I can own and have decided to embrace the succulents and mosses. Who needs flowers anyways >...>

I, too, have embraced succulents [emoji]128541[/emoji] And I do have one faux orchid...it's really quite lovely and not nearly a finicky as real orchids are!

 

[NewYork1303]

I have a few plants that I believe are at the upset stomach level of toxicity. One vine that is kept out of reach on a shelf they actually can't get too. I also have Lucky bamboo that they don't touch. One jade plant and a cactus. No flowers. 

 

[DreamerRose]

I have a dozen or more houseplants, but Mingo doesn't bother them. At least not now. I have a peace lily and every time it bloomed, he would chew off the flowers. I put it on a stand, and he's quit that. Basically, I keep the plants off the floor. A pothos is in a hanging basket, ivy is on the mantel, orchid on a stand, and African violets on a baker's rack. I love the flowers on the violets.

 

[caitini]

I have cactuses. It didn't take long for my cats to learn they weren't good for eating

 

[sophie1]

Spider plants, some ferns & palms, polka dot plant, and African violets.  No aloe vera, jade, or lilies unless they're well out of reach, or maybe under glass.  No pothos or ivy.  I do miss trailing green leaf plants. 

I found that my plants suffered less when I started growing cat grass.  Two pots so they can always have fresh grass seems to work.  If there's a plant you particularly want to protect, put one of the cat grass pots right next to it.

 

[Draco]

My cat likes to chew plants- I can't have them in the open.

The only plants I have are in my geckos tank. I made it a live viv with plans growing inside and the cats can't get to it, looks pretty nice!

there's lots of nice plant terrariums, and if you can hang the plant out of the cats' reach, that'd be great too.

 

[piano cat]

I provide cat grass inside and it keeps the cats away from my house plants.  I learned the scary way that if I don't they WILL eat things that might not be good.  Just some foamy bile, would have had to eat many more arrow head vine than we have to cause dangerous results but we did get rid of it and did immediately vow never to let the cat grass die out again.  The outdoor, feral, cats eat regular lawn grass regularly, it keeps them regular.  

 

[hbunny]

I'm like the OP, I gave up on having indoor plants, but in the winter I have two pineapple plants that I grew from the tops of pineapples that I bring in.  One is huge now, the other a bit smaller.  The only thing they've done to them is one likes to sit in the exact middle of the smaller one and smash it down with his butt.  I have a potato vine in a pot outside but I think it's going to croak before the summer is over.

I do have a ton of roses, gladiolus, azaleas, hosta, and canna lilies outside in my flowerbeds, but none of the outdoor cats seem to even go near them.  They sleep under the bigger rose bushes sometimes.  The only problem I have with that is they like to use my flowerbeds as large litter boxes. 

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• hbunny
• Jul 1, 2016

 

[lisahe]

One of our cats get very sick last December after (we're pretty sure) eating part of a plant: she left some really stinky, really green poop behind a chair and had a rather costly vet bill. We threw away most of the last of the plants after that. Pretty much all that's left is a few African violets. (At least they're my favorites...) My husband built a plant cage that we put the others in: it's not especially attractive (it's a temporary solution, slapped together) and perhaps its best attribute is that the cats like to lie on top of it. (It's made with Pet Screen, which is very sturdy and makes a nice sort of hammock for them.)

I can't seem to find that there's a company that makes plant cages for cat people but it seems like a good market opportunity for the right person! I've seen suggestions of using bird cages but...

 

[hbunny]

 
One of our cats get very sick last December after (we're pretty sure) eating part of a plant: she left some really stinky, really green poop behind a chair and had a rather costly vet bill. We threw away most of the last of the plants after that. Pretty much all that's left is a few African violets. (At least they're my favorites...) My husband built a plant cage that we put the others in: it's not especially attractive (it's a temporary solution, slapped together) and perhaps its best attribute is that the cats like to lie on top of it. (It's made with Pet Screen, which is very sturdy and makes a nice sort of hammock for them.)

I can't seem to find that there's a company that makes plant cages for cat people but it seems like a good market opportunity for the right person! I've seen suggestions of using bird cages but...

I love that idea of a plant cage.  I've never thought of that!

 

[Draco]

I was thinking something like this- a mini green-house. they come in so many styles

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• Draco
• Jul 1, 2016

Birdhouse-Terrarium.jpg

• Draco
• Jul 1, 2016

 

[hbunny]

Oh wow I love that mini-greenhouse!   I'm already thinking where could I put one?

 

[sargon]

There are a lot of nice plants that aren't toxic to cats.  Most ferns, most palms (except for the evil (lilly level toxic) sago palm, which isn't even a real palm as I recall), including the ponytail palm ( actually a succulent), and most succulents.   For myself I have some pygmy date palms ( which have thorns, so they can hold their own against a cat I suspect ), that i replaced some corn plants with, a couple of Christmas cacti, a fern (that replaced an ivy), and will probably pick up a ponytail palm, or small parlor palm to replace a peace lilly.

The ASPCA link some one already posted is invaluable, so I'll post it again http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/cats-plant-list ,so so look up a few ferns or palms or succulents you like, then cross check against the ASPCA list just to be sure you don't have an exception.

A few common and inexpensive cat friendly plants are, as I recall (do double check yourself ) cat palms, pygmy date palms, and bamboo palms;  Boston and macho ferns; Christmas cacti and ponytail palms.   They are all decent indoor plants you can find at most any garden center.  The Christmas cactus and ponytail palm are easy care, the rest are medium.

 

[bronty]

I bought some fake plants/ flowers for decoration and my kitten immediately started to chomp on both of them. I'm so bummed, i really want to keep them. Any ideas?

 

[Margret]

 
I bought some fake plants/ flowers for decoration and my kitten immediately started to chomp on both of them. I'm so bummed, i really want to keep them. Any ideas?

http://pets.thenest.com/grannicks-bitter-apple-safe-cats-8612.html


I haven't tried this, and, as the article indicates, it doesn't work for some cats.  I would suggest that you wash your hands with soap after applying it -- you don't want to get it on your kitten's fur, or into your own food.  You can probably find it at a local pet store, so you won't have to wait for Amazon to deliver your first bottle.  After that, if it works for you, get refills as cheaply as possible.  If you do have to wait for your first bottle, put the fake plants in a drawer or some such place, where your kitten can't get at them in the meantime.

Margret