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I'll say it's always good to be safe but that I've never had a cat try to eat a plant that's toxic. I've had sago palms around my cats forever and they've never gone for it. Maybe it's because they're indoor/outdoor but their instincts tell them: no!

this is why i still have only one sad plant. i just wouldn't feel safe chancing it.

Some animals go for houseplants, some can't be bothered, but you never know when they might change their minds (it does happen, unfortunately). If you don't want to take chances with your pets' health, the ASPCA website has an extensive list of plants that are known to be poisonous to animals, as well as a long list of plants that are known to be safe. Hope this is helpful.

Put the bad plants high up or hang them, so the kitties are not even tempted.

Putting plants up high or hanging them just makes my cats see them as a more tempting challenge. Luckily, all they wanted to eat were the spider plants, which are not toxic (note: spider lilies ARE toxic, spider plants are not) but once the cats got through with them, they weren't really plants anymore - just little nubs of stem. I've had to choose more substantial, not frond-y, plants, these don't tempt my kitties at all, luckily.

I used to sprout grass seeds every week and the cats liked to nibble that. Use untreated grass seeds or oat grass just for cats.
I have a wardian case for some plants that kept the plants and cats separated, not because the plants are dangerous but because they looked awful after the cats eat the blossoms off.

Nothing I have ever grown hurt my pets but the poisoned pet food, some of which is STILL on store shelves, killed several of my pets and cost me thousands in vet bills and cremation expenses.
Testing paid for by private pet owners is finding horrific toxins in pet food.

http://www.petfoodrecallfacts.com/

Good info! I once had to rush my Jack Russell puppy to the animal hospital in Boston after he ate some yew berries in my parents' backyard - they were right next to the raspberries, which he'd already figured out were edible. Fortunately, after lots of activated charcoal and vet bills, he was fine, but I've definitely been careful about my choice of flora since then.

What about other plants that are poisonous for humans (ie little curious babies)?

I saw that same plant at a restaurant this weekend & I was wondering if they know it's poisonous! It wasn't sitting near any food or tables, but still there's the chance something could happen. I'll mention it to them next time I'm there.

My parents have a sago palm in the backyard... our 17-year-old cat has never attempted to eat it...

Yew is poisonous to people too. It played a role in at least one of Agatha Christie's novels.

My cat turns up his nose at most everything I put in his dish but put out a vase of flowers or a potted plant and he's right there chowing down, so I'm very careful about what I leave around.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807E5DE1631F934A2575BC0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
Oliver Sacks (the well-known neurologist) has a thing for cycads, the family of plants that includes Sago palms. One of his books goes into great detail about them as well as focusing on colour blindness.

The above linked article from the NYTimes talks about cycads.

oh my goodness! we just bought a cute sago palm from Ikea and though we have no pets, we have one very curious 2.5 years old!!! I better throw it away!

After lurking for a few months, I am finally emerging to write my first comment... This is one subject where I feel very strongly that it's better to be safe than sorry, because every pet (and infant, for that matter) is different. In March, we adopted two one-year-old cats, nearly-identical twin brothers. Before bringing them home, I did my research and gave away all my beautiful plants that the ASPCA website and other sources said were toxic. One of the cats, Marcello, never shows any interest in the plants that I kept, nor in the wheatgrass that we set around the plants as a distraction from eating the plants themselves. The other one, Etienne, has tasted all of the plants, and devoured a few down to stubby twigs. And of course, he eats the wheatgrass with great enthusiasm. I firmly believe that he would have eaten the toxic plants if we kept them around.

If you've ever looked at a list of plants that are harmful to animals or children, you know there are a seemingly infinite number of plants that are poisonous in a small or large quantity.

I'm not a cat person, but training your dogs and children not to eat plants in the house or in the yard is important. Living in a plantless environment in an effort to err on the side of caution makes as much sense as saying you'll never ride in a car to avoid car accidents.

I think people should take the welfare of their pets seriously. Pets should be as important to you as a child, and therefore you should be aware of the hazards in your home. If you have a pet, it's health should be more important to you than having plants in your home.

To LilyC:

Cats are not as easily trained as dogs are. Cats are not pack animals, and therefore do not necessarily accept a human as their pack leader or authority figure like a dog would. No one here has suggested to "live in a plantless environment to err on the side of caution". However, it is suggested to choose plants for your home wisely, choose non-toxic plants, so that one's pet can live without accidentally being poisoned.

Cacti (with big thorns) seem to be able to cohabitate quite happily with kitties. :p

Wow, I was completely ignorant of how toxic sago palms are! I guess it's a good thing mine randomly died a couple days before I got my cat.

Always good to be cautious but if you are feeding many of the commercial pet foods the food is FAR more likely to kill or sicken your pet than any house plant.

http://itchmoforums.com/index.php

There's also a difference between a poisonous plant that will kill your pet and a poisonous plant that will give your pet a stomachache. Unfortunately, a lot of alarmist resources don't differentiate between the two or bury the information in the fine print. It's certainly a good idea to minimize health risks to your pets, but if your pets don't show much interest in eating your plants, it doesn't make sense to throw out plants that will cause relatively minor problems.