DEAR PET TALK: I love plants, but need to know what plants are safe to have around indoor kitties? Are there plants to avoid that would be harmful to a cat if they ate them?
— CAT MAMA GARDENER
DEAR CAT MAMA GARDENER: There are plenty of plants that are harmless, so let’s focus on those first.
According to Amber Batteiger, veterinary technician who is also the public relations and communications manager at Embrace Pet Insurance, safe options include: spider plants, Boston ferns, areca palms and calatheas.
I always tell people that “non-toxic” doesn’t necessarily mean your cat won’t chew on it, though, so placement still matters. Cats are naturally curious and tend to explore with their mouths, so even safe plants should be kept in spots where you can monitor them.
Recently, I wanted to start some spider plants from the runners, and found that every single leaf (!) on the spider plant (which was at waist height in its own planter) had been chewed, probably by our orange cat, Vinnie. He would have had to stand on his tippy-toes to do the job he did, so now I’m looking for a high shelf!
We also looked for gardening specialists, and found Anup Mutalik, chief editor at Houseplants Nook. Her qualifications are that “we’re 7 people in a Brooklyn brownstone with hundreds of houseplants and three cats.”
She has “done extensive research on toxicity of houseplants, cross referenced with ASPCA data.” Houseplants Nook has created a variety of lists including “cat toxicity chart for 50 popular houseplants” and “indoor plants not toxic to cats.” (Visit houseplants.nook and have fun exploring!)
The most dangerous plants to have in your home if you also have a greens-seeking cat are: peace lily, pothos and true lilies. These plants are “linked to kidney damage with repeated exposure.”
So why do cats seek out greens — and then urp them up?
One theory is that because cats don’t have the right enzymes to digest greens, eating grass will help them vomit the indigestible parts of prey. Remember, a cat’s diet in the wild is a lot of fish and bird sushi — without the rice. Cats will eat bones, fur and feathers.
Yet why do housecats, who get lovely, pre-processed prey in a can continue this practice? Perhaps cats are pre-programmed to eat something green if they have a tummy-ache. Grass helps them eliminate fur (from a swallowed hairball), from the other end, so to speak.
What plants are okay for cats? Here’s a list of plants you could grow indoors, that are suggested by PetMD.com: wheatberries and barley grass will grow quickly. And catnip and cat thyme are stress relievers. But if your kitty persists in nibbling the spider plant, or your “lucky bamboo,” consider hanging planters!
Sally Cragin is the director of Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and Community Education. Text questions to 978-320-1335.
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