Well, since I highly doubt you want to poison your kitten to "teach him a lesson" (as operator suggested)... Try this link:

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants.aspx?plant_toxicity=non-toxic-to-cats

Below is a brief list of ‘pet friendly’ flowers and plants:

Common Name | Scientific name
African daisy | Arctotis stoechadifolia
African violet | Saintpaulia spp.
Alyssum | Allysum spp.
Bachelors buttons | Centaureaa cyanus
Begonia | Begonia spp.
Celosia | Celosia spp.
Common Snapdragon | Antirrhinum majus
Easter Daisy | Townsendia sevicea
Orchids | Barbrodia, Sophronitis, etc.
Peruvian lily, Brazilian lily | Alstroemeria spp.
Rose | Rosa spp. (Trim Thorns)

If ingested these will still probably cause some vomiting, but not because these are poisionous.

http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants.aspx?plant_toxicity=toxic-to-cats

Whoops :) someone beat me to the link

You can purchase or sprout yourself some "cat grass" and your kitten will munch on it -- that may then dampen his enthusiasm for non-lethal-to-kitten-flower purchases you make (at least that's what I find works in our house in the winter when the cats are craving greens and I'm craving some sunny looking tulips).

This is the one vice my cat still has. He doesn't destroy plants, but there are nibbled little corners on a few that are non-toxic. He was also scratcher when he was little so we tried the spray to keep him off certain furniture, we also tried the sticky tape idea, but the little devil would just scratch around it and he would lick the furniture where we had put the Stay-Off spray!

The squirt gun method has worked best for me. We kept a spray bottle filled with tap water at hand and if he got into or onto something off limits - squirt. He learned pretty quickly and 4 years later he doesn't get onto certain tables/counters. If you can "designate" off limits areas in this way, you can get away with flowers in those spaces - which is how I make it work. Good Luck!

I grow cat wheat grass for my no-longer-kittens. They leave my other flowers alone, mostly! I get the seeds at PetCo.

One cat does like to eat enough grass to throw up, the little bulimic, so I monitor his bites -- he gets three serious mouths full, and I take it away and put it on the window ledge where he can't get to it -- we also display some vases there, so no space for him. He sits nearby, wistfully staring at his grass, trying to soften us up into letting him have all he wants. We who clean up the barf, however, are not easily seduced! (It wouldn't be so bad if he did all this outside, but mine are indoor cats.)

Don't use narrow bottomed tippy vases, use things with some width to the base, and maybe put some marbles or other weight in them for stability. My cats like to flick their tails near tall things like vases, and could easily knock a bud vase over without any intent to do so. Also, don't put your flowers where you end to play with the kitty.

You ought to get a bouquet of your fave flowers and keep a close eye on him to see if he even tries to taste them. I've had plenty of cats/kittens in my life and I can only think of one that actually nibbled on my flowers/plants, but she was not the sharpest crayon in the box in many respects! Most know to stay away from plants that aren't good for them -just think, their feral brethren aren't eating every plant in sight!

My cats leave all of my plants alone, but I started with African violets, which they ignored. Years later, they ignore every plant . They are indoor cats, so dirt and leaves don't have the same appeal they might have to outdoor/indoor cats. When I bring in a bouquet of flowers, they are of course interested, so I use a heavy vase and I also bring in a few twigs from outside --I wave the twigs after putting the vase of flowers out, and that usually works-- they want the sticks instead of the flower stems. I once kept all my garden herbs indoors and they sniffed, but did not taste or touch. When I planted the herbs outside, rabbits ate them all.

I have a cat who would love to munch on flowers- especially baby's breath- but cat grass does work as a good deterrent. Right now I have a pot of cat grass in the bay window next to potted paperwhites and both our cats leave the flowers alone completely in favor of the cat grass!

Operator- that is a deadly and very costly lesson to learn. I had a roommate who unknowingly brought a lily home and my 4 month old kitten ate it and nearly died. It cost me $2000 at the emergency vet. Somehow I don't think he learned a lesson. I certainly did, but I guarantee you if there was a lily in my living room, he'd still take a bite. They aren't humans, after all.

Fresh herbs are a nice alternative to cut flowers. I put parsley, sage, cilantro what-have-you in vases and use them for cooking and decoration. If the kitties nibble on them -- no big whoop.

To answer your question, though- I have a print out of the toxic plants and keep everything up on bookshelves and in other high places. He rarely notices them if they're out of his sight.

Most cats actually don't nibble on plants. They are carnivores after all. The big exception is grass and grass-like plants, so spider plants and such like that. (All my cats have loved spindly leaves.)

Most cats, also, are more intelligent than dogs when it comes to food. While my beagle will take another bite of something that tastes awful in the hopes that the next bite will be better, cats tend to take one bite of something nasty and then avoid it.

While there are, of course, exceptions -- cats are all fascinatingly different -- I would say try it out on a day when you plan on being around all day. Just avoid spindly leaves in your bouquet.

You might also try having at least one surface that you train the cat to not go on, where you could display flowers, such as your dining table or a sideboard or such.

When I first adopted my cat, she leapt up on the kitchen counter. Uh, no thanks. So after gently removing her and cleaning the counter, I put several large sheets of foil up there. Next time she tried it, she DID NOT like the foil (but wasn't hurt or traumatized) and in the year and a half since, she's never tried it again.

Now, she's not as much of a climber as some cats, so that may not work with a hardcore mountaineering type of kitty, but you could try it.

No lilies ever. They are deadly poison to your cats, and even if like most people's cats, your cat doesn't eat plants, if your cat brushes against the lily with its huge pollen covered stamen, and then later grooms himself, guess what? It's still ingested lily. An expensive (luckily in dollars, and not in life) emergency room lesson from me to you.

Rian, I was a veterinary nurse. This is a TERRIBLE forum for this question. Many answers are wrong if not downright dangerous. Please ask your vet for a list. You'll never get through the "Toxic" list. Cats have an unusually low amount of glucuronyl transferase enzymes in phase 2 metabolism; this means that many substances are toxic to them. One Tylenol can kill at cat or damage their liver irreparibly before you can even get them to the vet. Assume ALL plants are toxic until your vet gives you the thumbs up. Please don't get your medical advice from an interior design blog. Best wishes with your new family member! :)

One of my cats, while a full time carnivore, is a part time salad eater. He loves spinach, lettuce, and cabbage. My other cat, not to be out done, likes to gnaw on banana peel...

Don't let your cats eat flowers. Just don't. Even if the flowers are "safe", you don't know how they were grown, transported, preserved, etc.

Get a wall mounted vase - maybe something like this http://www.chive.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=dopink - and everyone can enjoy looking at (not eating) flowers.

Emmi, it only took two comments for someone to post a link to the VERY detailed and easy to use ASPCA listing of safe and unsafe planets. I'd say that's good advice!

Any commenters saying "eh leave it" probably just don't know anyone who had a cat die or almost die from plant poisoning. Thank you for pointing out the medical reasons why cats have to be treated differently from people when it comes to some substances.

On the topic of lilies...

My boyfriend brought home a beautiful mixed bouquet last Valentine's day, a few lilies mixed in. My mom happened to be visiting that week, and watched my cat proudly prance in the room with a yellow ring of pollen around her mouth. Long story short, we lost a beautiful NYC day that could have been spent outside monitoring the pest for any warning signs. She may have used up one of her nine lives, but she was fine. I haven't received flowers since.

Rian, one of my cats is a big-time plant eater (to the extent that he's learned what the CSA box means and goes bananas when he sees it until I give him some of whatever leaves are in there--lettuce, spinach, basil, whatever) and when I buy flowers, I keep them on top of the fridge, one of the few places he can't get to. Another trick I've tried is to keep them in the fridge when I'm not home, then just take them out and put them on the counter when I get home; problem with that is that you have to be super-vigilant while you're home, which is pretty hard to maintain. One thing I used to do when I had better plant-growing conditions is to buy (cat safe) plants that have fuzzy leaves, since cats seem to hate those; if the plant flowers, they may still eat the flowers, though.

I wouldn't suggest spending lots on plants now, while he's a kitten, because odds are he will knock them over, dig in them, use them for a litter box, etc. I would wait until he's older and a bit less nutty (kittens are maniacs) before trying; you can also cover any bare dirt with stones to discourage bad behavior. And avoid spider plants, as cats especially enjoy eating them. As people above have said, he may have no interest in plants or flowers. You don't know until you try.

Try training the kitty not to jump up on tables and counters first. It's more hygienic for food prep surfaces and the kitty won't knock breakable/spillable stuff on the floor, so it's a good idea to do that anyway. After kitty's well-trained, you will probably be able to place your flowers on the table with impunity. I say probably, because even though it works great for my two kitties, results may vary depending on the cat.. gotta love their unique personalities.. ;)

@Kaete and the Minnesota Department of Public Health lists begonia as mildly toxic with **special concern to cats. Even absent that contradiction, some of the comments here are completely irresponsible. What if Rian took someone's advice here and her cat became severely ill?

@Kaete don't get me wrong I love AT to death, I just think it's the wrong forum. I think we are generally an amazing community here with lovely advice otherwise (and great recipes, yum!). :)

I disagree with those who suggest that cats being carnivores, they never touch plants in the wild. They do, because once in a while, they like to get their fibers, and plants is where they get them from.

The strays around my house are partial to certain plants, but they go way beyond grass.

I have had a few cats, and the one I have is the worst. He will eat any plant, even bad tasting ones, or at least so I believe after having seen him eat leek greens and onion shoots on more than one occasion. I have tried everything, but his curiosity and playfulness are stronger than his displeasure with sticky things, foil and the like. I even tried the nasty spray made with concentrated hot pepper ingredients, and while he seems to suffer when he tastes it, he STILL eventually goes after the nasty-tasting plant. He is one of the sharpest crayons in the box, but he is just too much into eating all kinds of things, one of his favorite treats being carrot juice.

Therefore, I keep plants out of his reach. This is the only solution I could find. You might hope yours isn't bad like mine. I would try different cat friendly plants like catnip in pots as a deterrent and then sparingly buy flowers for myself and see how the cat reacts. Each cat is different - let's hope yours has limits to the damage it is willing to inflict!

I look up each plant individually before I buy it to make sure it is not on the ASPCA's toxic list. Also, try putting plants in a cute little terrarium or greenhouse. Ikea has a nice one that's moderately priced but you can also find them at antique stores. I read that spraying the leaves of plants with a mixture of black pepper and water will help deter kitties from eating them but I haven't tried it.

Here's a link to that ikea greenhouse:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70186603/

I agree that this isn't quite the question to be posing to design folk, but here's my two cents:
Kittens are crazy! My crazier/smarter cat (the other one I consider to be more curious/dumber) liked to take a house plant and dump it over when she was young. Then play in the dirt. I don't have a green thumb, and I only bought one or two plants during my apartment life. I learned that it's not worth it - for me or the plant. But I live in Miami, so....
Anywho, if you want to try, you should first thoroughly research what is non-toxic to cats. While your cat is young, try putting a plant or two somewhere where he can't reach it. Eventually it won't be such a "OMG what is this new awesome thing?!" to him. After a month or so of living with a plant, he might be less inclined to designate it as his favorite chew toy (or dirt playground like Maisy).

Wall Vases! You can display your flowers at nose height without worry that your kitty will get into them (^_^)

Cat grass is a great way to distract him from the green things that he shouldn't eat.

For my cat, eating the flowers isn't the big problem. He likes to drink the water instead (including three-day-old plant-permeated greenish stuff.) Mack developed a number of strategies for 1) getting to, and 2) knocking over vases. Do NOT put your flowers in a precious cut-crystal vase on a high moisture-sensitive table. Do put rocks in the bottom of the vase, and test the vase for tippiness. Assume that no matter where you put the flowers, your brilliant cat will overcome all obstacles to get to them.

Mygoodness, that cat absolutely knows it's sitting for a portrait! I generally use kitty grass, but I don't let them nosh on it unsupervised so it goes under a cloche in between, because when they throw up it can pull the color out of some upholstery materials. I prefer to bring in a sprig of fresh catmint/catnip and let them chew on that. When I do both regularly, every few days, they leave my orchids and ferns alone.

Your best bet is to go buy some cat safe flowers (I personally love African daisies!) and see how your cat reacts to them. I have 3 cats and only one is even remotely interested in my plants. He doesn't "eat" them, but rather sees them as toys to bat at and gnaw on. Therefore I keep my lily and ferns up high on top of my TV stand, which he can't figure out how to get onto. One of my cats CAN get up there, but the only non-cat-food thing she ever chews on is plastic tape (true story) so I don't have to worry about it. If your cat ends up giving all your flowers and plants the cold shoulder, then it should be fine to keep whatever plants you like. Being that your cat is still a kitten, and that cats are little stinkers to begin with, you also have to worry about the related problem of them knocking things over for the fun of it (my plant-chewing cat also likes to do this, which is why I can't keep narrow vases anywhere he can reach). /sigh. cats: gotta love em!

Oh no! Don't let the kitty eat the flowers and get sick. You'll end up with barf all over the place, and you may end up with a dehydrated kitty at emergency vet. I've been there after an unfortunate day with a kitten who loved bar soap...

With three very "busy" cats in my small apartment, I gave up plants and flowers completely until I discovered a great solution by accident. I had mounted metal candle holders to my wall that consisted of a metal ring (bolted to the wall) that held a glass piece that was meant for a candle. The glass piece was removable. I found that once the glass was removed, the metal ring was a perfect size to slide a clay pot into and voila - wall-mounted plant and/or flower holders. I put potted orchids in the metal rings, but I could also have floated flowers in the glass candle holders, too. These candle holders were purchased at a bed and bath store and were inexpensive and easy to mount. I suppose that little shelves mounted to the wall would provide a similar solution.

I know from experience that a bored or determined cat will get into almost anything, but this worked for me. Also, make sure you have lots of scratchy posts and toys so that your baby is busy with his own "stuff." Good luck!

What other people said about not having any poisonous-to-cats plants even if you think they're out of reach.

Even with non-poisonous plants, a cat who likes to eat plants doesn't tend to learn his/her lesson! One of my cats is a total plant-chomper, and I've come home and found headless roses and very gnawed-up stems including bite marks all over the thorns.

Forget daisies entirely; you know that cat toy that's like a shuttlecock with a heavy/bouncy middle surrounded by fluffy floaty feathery things? A head of a daisy is really no different than that, and when it's on your table with the petals a-blowing in the breeze, they're going to liberate it.

Resurrecting this thread - def be careful with what plants you have for a cat, but when you have cat-safe plants and can't stop the cat from eating them, there is a simple solution - bitter spray!

Vets use this to stop animals from chewing at their wounds. It doesn't hurt plants. Get a bottle, spray the plant with it, your cat will try it once or twice and never again. Don't inhale while you spray it though.

You can get it at pet stores.