While keeping them alive may be an entirely different story, I have always had a thing for houseplants. I love the instant breath of life they bring into a space; the touch of nature that makes you feel good to be in its presence.
It wasn’t until I adopted my cat a few years ago, though, that I realized how many of them can be toxic to animals. While I personally haven’t ever heard of a pet becoming sick after eating a houseplant, some are known to actually be fatal, so it’s best to be as safe as possible!
Here are my 5 favorite plants that, according to the ASPCA, are totally safe for pet owners – I have each one of these in my home right this minute!
If you fall in love with a plant and it happens to be unsafe for animal ingestion, you can always hang it! Just make sure that it’s securely hung and that there’s no possible way for your pet to come in contact with it.
Have any pet-safe plants to add to the list? Please share!
For more information on toxic & non-toxic plants for animals, go here.
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I’d never heard of hoya or majesty palm. They look and sound great. I’m not so good at keeping plants alive either but the ones I do keep alive my cats tend to avoid. Apart from leeks. One of them will pull them out by the roots, run away and eat them all up. No problems at all (apart from I am then without leeks).
Lavender also seems cat-friendly, the cats hate the smell of it but they enjoy the shade it offers. This, of course, is anecdotal. Not sure if it is poisonous but I’ve never heard anyone say their cats got sick from it….
So glad I found this post because it’d never even occurred to me that some house plants could be dangerous for pets if they ate it… Moving in with my boyfriend soon and we both absolutely looove and need to be surrounded by nature, but he has a dog so this is definitely something I’ll keep in mind!
xoxo Sara
http://www.restlessnomads.com
Thanks for this post! My cat got sick and we had to put her to sleep a few months ago because she ate a lily. There are so many flowers and plants out there that are toxic and it’s unfortunate how many people don’t know about it. Check out the list of the toxic plants and be sure to spread the word on the toxic plants! Thanks!
Your hoya plant is beautiful!! I had never heard of one until today. I love my money tree and orchids. Did you make your hangers for your potted plants?! I would love to know how you made them or where you got them!
Hey you forgot cat gras! Not exactly the most gorgeous plant to have but it IS a plant – and it actually benefits your cat. In a for humans rather unfortunate way but you gotta pay the the price if you keep a wild cat at home :D
Cat grass is also a great way to divert your cat’s attention away from your other houseplants, and the spider plant is another that is safe and easy to grow.
awesome post! i assume these are safe if dogs consume them too? also if you chose to have bamboo never transport the plant outside, always keep it potted, its super invasive!!!
Thank you for this post! It’s so helpful!
– Christina http://www.cityloveee.blogspot.com
Great post! These are a few of our favorite pet-friendly houseplants to add to the list:
Watermelon Peperomia (Peperomia argyreia)
Rex Begonia (Begonia rex)
Staghorn Fern (Platycerium bifurcatum)
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
Pony Tail Plant (Beaucarnea recurvata)
Lemon Button Fern (Nephrolepsis cordifolia ‘duffii’)
Baby Rubber Plant (Peperomia obtusifolia)
Haworthia (Haworthia)
xx, The Sill team
Simply gorgeous! Thanks for sharing these, the majestic palm is very very pretty. Bookmarking
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com
I love all of those plants! I am definitely going to have to look into a couple of those :) So far my dogs seem very uninterested in eating plants (other than grass) but I would hate for them to think that it was okay to eat an inside plant and have it be toxic.
yay!!! I’ve been desiring a post like this forever, mahalo Brigette! Oh yes, of course for da kitties,
CATMINT- especially when it’s budding! xo
both bamboo (as pictured) and money tree are not safe for cats. please everyone, do the research.
A great post! But like some have said, a few of these aren’t safe. Please do research and always follow a blog that uses info from the ascpca, like http://www.leafandpaw.com
I recently read that the common houseplant Lucky Bamboo is not actually bamboo, I think it may be a dracaena, or something in the same family. It is toxic to cats, maybe dogs too, unlike true bamboo. So watch out for that one
The bamboo pictured is indeed not what you want, Bamboo Palm, aka Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) is the proper one to have with cats and dogs. Also there is a Money Bonsai which is supposed to be safe for pets, the botanical name is (Pachira aquatica). Money Plant (Philodendron scandens) is the version that is Poisonous to pets. Hope this clarifies a little.
Thank you for identifying, I’m the new pet owner :)
Bamboo i heard is toxic to pets. Might want to double check that one