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Hello Chris:

I have a ficus tree in my apartment. My cats have eaten the leaves and thrown them up without any injury to their system. Now they leave them alone.

At some point I researched the ficus tree and am almost certain it is considered an irritant rather than a poison.

Leslie

Rubber trees are non-toxic to cats. And the leaves are thicker so less desirable to crunch on.

I beleive that the plant in the picture is a Schefflera which is listed as a non toxic plant.

Scheffleras are large and graceful tropical plants often used in interior decorating. They are superb long-lived houseplants.
HEIGHT/SPREAD

Scheffleras are usually 2 to 3 feet tall when sold, and grow to 8 feet or more in height. It is possible to prune them to maintain a lower height.
ORNAMENTAL FEATURES

Scheffleras are grown for the attractive patterns formed by their leaves, and for their tall and shrubby form. The leaves are composed of oval leaflets arranged in an umbrella spoke pattern. Young plants have small leaves with only three to five leaflets. In older plants the leaves are dramatically larger, eventually developing up to 12 leaflets, each up to 12 inches long.
PROBLEMS

In the home, plant diseases are very rarely a problem. Too much or too little water plus insects and mites are the main problems. Mealybugs, scale insects and mites are common pests of scheffleras.

Root rot usually results from a soil mix that does not drain quickly or overly frequent watering.

Dead areas form on leaves several days after exposure to excessive cold. Maintain temperatures above 50 ° F. Do not place plants near air conditioning vents. Low light can cause leaf yellowing with spindly, weak stems. Leaf drop can be caused by excessive watering, by low humidity, or by chilling.
CULTURE

Scheffleras prefer medium to bright light.

Water scheffleras thoroughly, then let the soil dry to ½ inch deep before watering again. Never let a plant sit with water in its saucer.

Scheffleras prefer day temperatures between 65 and 75 ° F. Nighttime temperatures should remain above 60 ° F. Keep plants away from heat vents, radiators, open windows and air conditioners. Hot or cold drafts will damage plants.

Fertilize scheffleras regularly either with a water-soluble or a time-release houseplant fertilizer. Feed according to label directions. Plants growing in reduced light will need less frequent fertilization than plants growing in bright light.

Repot overcrowded plants at any season, using a general-purpose potting soil. To keep plants small, prune just above a leaf. Propagation is by seed, cuttings and air layering.

I think a type of bottle palm would be safe for the cats and the foliage would stay out of reach. I seem to see these a lot down in the big shops that carry trees.

Whenever we had trees or plants we had to prevent them digging around the plant to go potty. I personally lost a 4ft avocado tree (grown from seed) and at another time I narrowly saved a 6ft lime tree. Cats will want to dig into the plant even if they have a clean litterbox nearby. I don't have a beastie right now but wonder how I'll save my lanky 7 ft. ficus if I adopt one. The concerns would be how to prevent digging or urination with out making tending to fallen leaves and watering too difficult. I'm tending toward getting two pieces of plexiglass cut to go around the base of the tree. And having that elevated on posts attached to the pot to allow air flow to the plant's dirt. All my best laid plant plans have been foiled by cats so that plan is likely to fail as well. Any thoughts to deal with this problem?

That's right, ficus is another good choice for cats and there are some varieties with beautiful leaves. If anyone has problems with digging, you may want to try constructing a 'cover' with chicken wire. People who have squirrel problems often do this to stop the squirrels from digging up and eating the bulbs. chicken wire over the soil may stop the cats from digging and you can still water the tree. You may have to get creative, but the wire and some needlenose plyers and a drill should be all that is needed to make this happen for most trees in a pot.

Cover the soil with rocks. That stops the digging. Your cats may toss a rock or two around the room, but your plant will stay intact.

Okay, last one - flowering maple is safe for children and I am almost sure it is safe for cats. It can grow to six feet tall, has beautiful blossoms almost all year and the lower areas of the branches stay somewhat bare of leaves.

And another suggestion for keeping the cats away is using citrus. You can put lemon or orange peels to keep them away. But like other animals, if the need or desire is great enough they will overcome any foul odor to get what they want.

I have about 30 or so indoor plants (you can see them by clicking on my name) - including several of the "toxic" variety - and 2 indoor cats.

My cats don't eat my plants as long as I make sure I grow cat grass specifically for them to eat. I buy Cosmic Kittycat Grass, and grow it in its own special pot. It lasts about 5 - 10 weeks if you keep it trimmed, and when it starts to get brown, you just sprout another kit, pull out the old stuff, and pop the new stuff in.

I put polished rocks in the base of all my bigger plants, which keeps the kitties out, and also improves the decorative appearance of the plants! I have also used loosely balled up tin foil as a temporary measure.

I had a dragon tree, that is listed in the toxic plant category, before I adopted my kitty 7 years ago. She really likes to chew it. (she doesn't like cat grass, ignored it completely. she likes things 'tough' to chew on, such as plastic bags.) Since it's been so many years, I guess it's not really that toxic? Now that I moved to a new apartment with very little natural light, I am wondering if there are any plants that is good for the cat to chew on and lives in a low light situation? Thanks!!

Rocks (mentioned before) or pine cones (mentioned in Animal House Style) on the soil surface save it from digging.

Archie,
Scheffleras are listed by the ASPCA as VERY poisonous to housepets!!!!
Check out this website of the Animal Poison Control Center:
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_common

I just wanted to put on here some links for help with finding cat-safe plants....Remember to check out the different names a plant might be called (trees may or may not be on the lists).

Here are some links:

Poisonous list:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/

Non-poisonous list:
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants-non-toxic.html

If you want to grow fresh air in your dwelling you can google the NASA research or get How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants that Purify your Home or Office by Dr. B.C. Wolverton.He headed the research at NASA.

Out of the 50 plants these are listed as safe for Cats on the earthcouncil.net listing:

Areca Palm / Chrysalidocarpus lutescens
Lady Palm / Rhapis excelsa
Bamboo Palm / Chmaedorea seifrizii
*** Rubber Plant / Ficus robusta
Dwarf Date Palm / Phoenix roebelenii
Boston Fern / Nephrolepis exaltata “Bostoniensis”
Gerbera Daisy / Gerbera jamesonii
Parlor Palm / Chamaedorea elegans
Wax Begonia / Begonia semperflorens
Prayer Plant / Maranta leuconeura “Kerchoveana”
Dwarf Banana / Musa cavendishii
Dendrobium Orchid / Dendrobium sp.
Spider Plant / Chlorophytum comosum “Vittatum”
Peacock Plant / Calathea makoyana
Moth Orchid / Phalenopsis sp.

*** in the rubber plant family Indian Rubber, Variegated & Fiddle Leaf Fig ARE toxic so make sure you get the Swarf, Chinese, Amercan, Japanese or Baby Rubber Plant variety

I ended up researching this after seeing All You Need for Fresh Air: 3 Essential Green Plants ... only to find out that the Areca Palm is ok for cats but not the other two...