We often talk about the benefits of house plants for indoor air quality. If you're a pet owner, you might not know that some of the most common plants can be harmful (and even fatal) to Fluffy or Fido. To avoid unexpected vet visits, I've compiled a list of some of the most common toxic plants for cats and dogs.
I was shocked reading this list because I have many of these plants either indoors or out and have not personally encountered any problems. But in the interest of safety, I wanted to share the information with you so you can take your own pet's habits into consideration and judge for yourself.
The following plants are toxic to both cats and dogs (unless otherwise noted) along with clinical signs of poisoning:
• Aloe Vera: Vomiting, depression, diarrhea, anorexia, tremors, change in urine color.
• Asian Lily: Vomiting, inappetence, lethargy, kidney failure, and death is possible. Cats are only species known to be affected (toxic to cats only).
• Asparagus Fern: allergic dermatitis with repeated dermal exposure. Berry ingestion could result in gastric upset (vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhea.)
• Begonia: Oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing. Tubers are the most toxic.
• Baby's Breath: Vomiting, diarrhea
• Calla Lily: Oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing.
• Corn Plant: Vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, hypersalivation, dilated pupils (cats).
• Cycads (Sago Palm, Fern Palm): Vomiting (may be bloody), dark stools, jaundice, increased thirst, bloody diarrhea, bruising, liver failure, death. 1-2 seeds can be fatal.
• Daffodil: Vomiting, salvation, diarrhea; large ingestions cause convulsions, low blood pressure, tremors and cardiac arrhythmias. Bulbs are the most poisonous part.
• Geranium: Vomiting, anorexia, depression, dermatitis.
• Jade Plant: Vomiting, depression, ataxia, slow heart rate (rare.)
• Pencil Cactus: Irritating to the mouth and stomach, sometimes causing vomiting, but generally over-rated in toxicity.
• Ribbon Plant (Corn Plant, Cornstalk Plant, Dracaena, Dragon Tree): Vomiting (occasionally with blood), depression, anorexia, hypersalivation, dilated pupils (cats).
• Tulip: Vomiting, depression, diarrhea, hypersalivation. Highest concentration of toxin in bulb.
The above is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but plants I've encountered pretty often without knowing their toxicity. For a full listing of toxic plants for pets, please see ASPCA's searchable database.
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Lilies are fatal to cats. Toxicities vary, but lilies are much more toxic than most plants, and can cause total renal failure within 24 hours. If you have kitties, don't keep lillies in the house at all. This goes for flower arrangements too.
Exactly, yolio! Thank you for expanding on the two varieties I listed above.
Sadly Stargazer (Asian) Lilies are my favorite flower. And so many of us favor Cala Lilies, Daffodils and Tulips for cut arrangements (Trader Joe's always seems to have inexpensive bouquets of them!).
Is the depression just based on exposure, or does that occur only after ingestion?
@greenstacie that's a very good question.
i looked it up and for tulips/narcissus it says the bulbs contain toxins that result in the above symptoms.
it doesn't say which part of the corn plant is toxic, but from all the descriptions of other plants I believe it would require direct contact to produce symptoms.
here is a video and further information on some of the most toxic plants:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/17-common-poisonous-plants.aspx
@mchin - Thank you! I have several jade plants, and I like them in part because my cat doesn't like them and stays away from where they are. He doesn't try to nibble, but if it's a matter of just being in the same space as them affecting him, I'd get rid of them.
My landlords had a gigantic pencil post cactus in our shared patio area. Everyone was constantly bumping into it and breaking off the poison pencils and getting rashes. It was hideous.
I've had good experience keeping my cats away from my plants by spraying the plants with Bitter Apple Spray.
Thanks so much for posting. My cat ate a lily plant and thankfully did not die but I had to spend over $1,000 in vet fee's keeping her on an IV for 2 days to make sure she didn't go into renal failure. I think most people have no idea just how dangerous they can be.
There is a great book called Poisonous2Pets written by Nicole O'Kane, a great reference book for pet owners
I was just going to google this when i saw it on here. My puppy was messing with the aloe vera plant in our yard. He seems fine(I don't think he ate any) but I'm going to have to pull it out after reading this article. All of my other puppies and dogs I've ever had have never even eaten a plant but new puppy is a whole other story.
Cut tulips, daffodils, and iris will not harm your cat if s/he wishes to nibble. It's the bulbs you don't want to bring indoors, and all part of the lily you must avoid. Cats will probably stay away from daffodils and narcissus because of the smell, but my own cat has snacked on tulip petals for years and not gotten sick.