I would love to know how to prevent cats from eating plants. Every time I try to bring a plant in or get flowers from my husband, they eat the plant and break the vase (needless to say, I dont get flowers very often anymore).

I have two plants that are toxic to cats (according to the ASPCA's website and a bunch of others) and while my one cat has eaten it in the past and been fine, the plants now live on top of very tall bookcases. There is no way for the cats to get up there so the cats and the plants are now safe :) The only other word of advice I can give is to try to switch your beloved plants with non-toxic plants. Not easy, I'm sure! If you do end up finding a four-legged friend though it will definitely be worth it -- after spending an hour in the Animal ER waiting room and hearing horror stories of cats with swollen tongues, vomiting, crying, etc... I realized its just not worth the risk.

I recently bought a "money tree" and was happy to learn that they are non-toxic to pets (I did the research before buying). Its a really lovely plant and supposed to be very easy to care of!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suziegoombs/2374623753/

Another idea I've heard of is to provide your cats with their own kitty grass to munch on. The reasoning is that if they have easy access to green stuff they won't try as hard to eat your plants. While this may help alleviate the issue its still not an excuse to keep toxic plants around cats. Bitter sprays may work for some but they sure as heck didn't work for me.

Also that picture is ADORABLE

I only buy plants that are on the "nontoxic list".
I've also found that my cats really only like to chew on long,
stringy, wispy-leaved plants...but maybe my cats are just weird. :)
I've bought non-toxic, hearty plants and they've survived--they've been nibbled on a bit now and then, but once the spray bottle comes out the cats remember that it's not worth it anyway.

That picture is so cute.

Yeah, I can't keep plants in my house because my cats will do anything to get to them - they chew them up, dig out the dirt, etc. They'll perform acrobatic feats to get to the high spots where I started putting potted plants. I once got them some cat grass hoping they'd eat that instead. They ate it down to the soil, killed it & then proceeded to eat my basil as well.

My cat does not eat houseplants--and neither did the previous one. So many are toxic, the only solution is to place them out of reach if you are concerned.

I had a rotten experience at a nursery with a guy basically saying "I have no idea what cats shouldn't be around. If it's poisonous, your cat will figure it out by barfing up whatever was eaten." It's true that very few plants are deadly, but not the best customer service in the world. So my advice is "ask for guidance at a nursery" - but call in advance to make sure there's someone at your shop that has that expertise.

Buy some Bitter Yuck in a pet store (PetPeople Ohio FTW!). The Bitter Apple or Bitter Cherry doesn't work as well, but Bitter Yuck is VERY nasty tasting. It's not harmful to plants and as soon as your cat even smells the stuff it will not want to eat your plants. I would try it on non-toxic plants first, just to see what your cat's reaction is, but it's worked perfectly for us.

Good luck!

My cat never ate my (poisonous) houseplants til one day he got hungry and chomped off a couple leaves, and then I was that crying, hysterical cat mom in the pet ER. Just get rid of them. Trust me, they are not worth the $$ and tears.

Lillies (especially Easter/Peace variety) are VIOLENTLY toxic to cats. As in, they shouldn't be in the same house because inhaling the pollen can cause kidney failure, and your cat could be dead in 8 hours.

I'm now in a plant-free house, but I'm okay with that after the big scare. And the cat is still alive, but his tummy was never the same.

I like to keep catnip plants around for my cat to nibble. I keep them inside little bird cages and he can eat whatever grows outside of the cage. It's kind of funny, the plant takes on the shape of the cage! I've also seen people put plants inside hamster/other cages or make little chicken wire cages.

Cats who eat oat grass, cat grass, fresh organic sprouted anything safe for cats grass like the taste of fresh sprouted stuff so much that they will walk past flowers to go gnaw on the grass.

Cats fed dry kibble often eat plants in a futile attempt to replace the nutrients missing in such a horrid diet for cats. Cats CANNOT digest certain foods, just are hardwired to eat meat and dry cat food causes diabetes in felines.

They are desperate to get what they need and I cannot blame them.

Every Sunday I start a new batch of oat grass, a handful of organic seeds, very cheap, a week, has cut vet bills by 80%-that and throwing that disease causing dry cat food in the trash- and keeps kitties happy.
And my other plants free of toothmarks.

Another hint, spiky sweet gum balls or loops of ordinary sticky tape on top of the soil will usually keep them from peeing in the plants soil.

Two cats, previously 3, (may kitty r.i.p.) Apple LOVES eating plants, he's silly. Max doesn't care, but he thinks they're toys sometimes... plus the smell gets into them and makes them act funny. :D

I LOVE PLASTIC!

Meowmers ate some of my daffodil plant the other day & threw up all over the rug in the kitchen. he then managed to fold the rug over the barf so i thought it was my boyfriend not wanting to clean it up.

then i put the plant up high...

I have three cats. Only one is bad enough to bother the plants. I have put them up high and she just jumps high to get at them. The bitter apple stuff was a joke. I currenly have some lucky bamboo that I snuck in the house when she was in the basement. I've had it for about a year and it's hidden behind a piece of sculpture. I know when she finds it, the sculpture will be broken, and the plants chewed. That is my fear. I don't even really get to enjoy the plant because it must remain hidden. I have decided that when the lucky bamboo gets found, I will just have a plantless house. And I agree, the kitty in the photo is adorable.

This is such a great question!! People who like cats often tend to be people who like plants, and sadly, it's hard to work out an arrangement for the two to live happily together.

I take it as a design challenge to find ways to make my house seem pleasantly full of foliage yet safe for my two kitties. Solutions so far: plants mounted on the wall, plants on high shelves, plants on stands, using cat grass and wheat grass as a distraction, hanging baskets, and scheming on my part (low plants that are impossible to get at).

Incidentally, my cats are only occasionally interested in plants. They entertain one another pretty well. I've always been a big advocate of always getting two cats rather than one (preferably littermates) to give them a playmate and discourage them from searching around the house for things to play with. I think that their socialization with one another has gone a long way toward making them relatively easy on our plants, furniture, etc. 2 cats rather than just 1 is therefore my indirect, totally subjective, and somewhat counterintuitive answer :)

My two cats killed many spider plants, palms & bamboo before I gave up trying to grow those plants. I do have quite a few other plants still, but they have no interest in them - never did. Just in case though, I keep them far out of reach (even took down curtains they have climbed up before!) I think they just like plants with long wavy leaves. I've made sure the rest of my plants are non-toxic, and much sturdier, no long dangly-style leaves or fronds.

I grow grass for them, starting a new planting every couple of weeks or so, and they are very happy with that.

My cat (rip) was an avid flower eater, I think she liked the smell actually. She never once bothered my little rubber tree but always tried to get at the spider plant (which apparently is one of those plants you're not supposed to have if you have cats.) But, I kept it up high in a window and trimmed short enough so she couldn't reach it. I also frequently bought and/or grew her some wheatgrass plus had dried catnip on hand. Even learned which flowers she was more likely to leave alone (anything pointy or resembling grass, though, was fair game.) The only flower I never bought were roses - she chewed off all the thorns once (and got sick, of course.)

Fortunately my cat has never been the climbing type. I adopted from a no-kill shelter and asked for a kitty which wasn't prone to mischief. She wouldn't pass up anything that looks grass-like until I started to plant wheat grass for her, and misted the rest of my plants with that bitter yuck. I've accidently tasted some, and it's not pleasant. In summary - adopt (if you can) a tubby ol' cat who needs love, avoid lillies, high shelves, yucky spray. If you decide on a dog - I still haven't figured out how to keep them from digging in large potted plants. Best of luck.

Great link sidstiles, much easier and less depressing than the "toxic" list.

My question is how are all the indoor/outdoor cats making it without our interference? In the south and coastal regions, many 'houseplants' are also grown outside in the ground. Is free-range grass really the simple answer?

I gave up on plants. My kitties ignore kitty grass but will jump to any heights to chew on/destroy every other plant I've brought in.

Put the plants on top of furniture you know the cat can't climb. Get some plant hangers (I have some macrame ones, so if you're into retro...). Install special plant shelves that the cat can't reach. Put plants outside, if you can. Donate your plants to friends so you can still visit ;)

Oh please, please, get rid of the toxic plants if you're contemplating another cat. There's just no point tempting fate, and if you've ever watched an animal suffer you'll understand why. Maybe your old cat nibbled on a bit of something once and was fine, but different cats react differently to different substances, and it's just not worth the risk.

Wow! Thank you all for your responses! There are a lot of good suggestions. When I finally make my decision to get a cat, I'll look into non-toxic plants and find a home for the other plants, just to be safe. Also, the bitter spray sounds good. Even better....like Djluckonline said....there's always plastic! :D Thanks again for your help. Cats sure like to get into everything. ;)

P.S. That non-toxic plant list is great....and I love that money tree! I also added the adorable top photo to my screen saver. :)

One word: cacti. I don't know if they are toxic or not—but it really doesn't matter since my kitty leaves them alone, for obvious reasons.... :)

Seriously, you need to ask? Get rid of the toxic plants! Some pets are naturally curious and, while you can try to train the pet to stay away, they are still animals and curious creatures. It's really not worth the risk of losing a pet just so you can have a pretty lily in your house. There are a number of online resources that can point you to excellent alternatives. (I'm speaking from experience, I have at least one plant per room indoors and had an entire courtyard landscaped with non-toxic plants.)

ditto on the tall bookcases. i try to place them strategically out of my cat's reach which i know can be hard sometimes. i've also had luck with terrariums. you can do the kind with lids on them and make them heavy enough so that he / she can't tip them over.

most glossy plants are toxic. so, just avoid them. give your toxic plants to someone as a gift. you may like those plants, but it's not worth a pet dying or a vet bill.

once you get rid of the toxic stuff, you can further prevent plant destruction. put toothpicks in the soil & make a garlic, pepper mix w/ water. there are lots of tips on martha.

I just can't get over how effing cute that cat is.

I used to buy flowers and have them in the house, but since we got cats they're all over eating them. BitterYuck does nothing with my cats. They'll still be all over the plants. It made having a Christmas tree more exciting since they liked to climb into the tree.

I just have plants outside on my balcony and keep flowers on high shelves. I might get the grass for the cats though. Also the plants in wire cages (maybe a small bird cage) seems like a nice design idea.