12 Pet Safe Houseplants
JOIN THE MOVEMENT, SAVE THE FUR BABIES! Find out which 12 Pet Safe Houseplants are non toxic and which ones are deadly.
Anyone that knows me well, knows that my fur babies are one of the most precious things to me. I am truly an animal lover which is what made me decided to write this post about plant safety and 12 Pet Safe Houseplants. Since I am also a floral designer by trade I do end up using a lot of different kinds of flowers and plants. I often get asked if I work with flowers how come I do not have live flowers in my home all the time? Well is is simple a lot of cut flowers and plants are poisonous to pets, and if given a choice between pretty flowers and my fur babies….easy choice 100% fur babies all the time. While pretty these plants inevitably lure in my fur babies and they have been know to take a taste every now and then. Which sends me running to the computer and looking up toxic plants for felines on ASPCA site more times than I can count.
Our tribute to our sweet girl, that passed over Rainbow Bridge at the ripe old age, of 19 years old from natural causes, on May 8, 2018. Even though she loved when I worked with flowers, she never ingested anything that caused her any harm.
Using this picture as a prime example, it was taken several years ago during a busy wedding production. As you can see my oldest (which by the way is still with me today at 18 years old and was not harmed in the making of this photo) has taken an interest in an alstroemeria corsage I had laying on the counter. Alstroemeria aka Peruvian Lilies are toxic to pets in large quantities. According to the ASPCA the Peruvian lily in excess can pose a problem to cats and dogs. Alstroemeria is from the tulip family, its bulbs contain tulipalin A. The tulipalin A component includes potentially harmful toxins that can cause diarrhea, mouth irritation, vomiting, salivation and digestive irritation in pets.
THE DIRTY DOZEN- 12 Houseplants to AVOID if you own pets
These plants will cause sever reactions, organ failure and even result in death!
Each plant name below has a clickable link to a picture for reference. I am sorry I could not personally photograph any of these since they are poisonous to pets, as I do not and will never have them in my home.
- Anthurium
- Calla Lily (all lilies {tiger lily, day lily, stargazer lily & oriental lily} are poisonous just don’t do them)
- Chinese Evergreen
- Dieffenbachia
- Elephant Ear
- English Ivy
- Oleander
- Philodendron
- Schefflera
- Spathiphyllum (aka Peace Lily)
- Easter Lilies
- Poinsettias
Also just because your houseplant or favorite flower is not listed here it does not mean that they are safe. Even Snake Plants and Fiddle Head Ferns which are among some the most popular house plants can cause you serious issues over time. So for our house we only buy the faux plants, and even then my fur babies will still try to eat the plastic.
Please notice that the above list does not include cut flowers that go in vase arrangement so please don’t think you are in the clear. I can tell you that any type of lily is dangerous to all pets, as it will cause renal failure and possible death. Tulips, Alstroemeria, Babies Breath, Anemones, Peonies and Hydrangea are other offenders which can make you pet very sick as well, mainly gastric upset. Now I know if you own a dog and you put the flowers up high you are probably going to ok. Just make sure as the flowers dye to pick up any petals, stamens, or leaves that might shed onto the floor, as they are still problematic.
I find while many may think that the choices are boring that all Roses, Orchids, Gerber Daisies (only), Snapdragons, Sunflowers and Zinnias are completely safe for pets that have the desire to munch. I do from time to time add in other types of flowers into my home but I usually refer the ASPCA poisonous plant guide prior to leaving them out un attended in my home. Another great source for plant shopping is The Sill, they have a full listing of Pet Friendly House plants and even better they will ship anywhere in the US. Plus they have a ton of really cute containers too. I do find that particularly with felines, more so than dogs, that they crave the ability to chomp down on plants. I seems to soothe there tummies and helps to relieve hairballs. Since this seems to be an issue in our household I decided to plant actual cat grass and catnip available in the herb section of your local garden shop. I placed the plants into containers that are low, easy to get too and outside. Since they have plants of their own to consume I find this also helps to cut down on the amount of incidents when I do have fresh flowers in the house. As you can see 3 out of my 5 cats agree!
THE GOOD GUYS- 12 houseplants that are SAFE for pets (non-toxic)
- African violet
- Air plants
- Ferns (Maidenhair, Boston, and Bird’s Nest)
- Orchids
- Peperomia (aka Radiator Plant)
- Prayer Plant
- Spider Plant
- Zebra Plant
- Schlumbergera (aka Christmas Cactus)
- Most Palms (Lady Palm, Bamboo Palms, & Parlor Palms)
These are wonderful plant choices to put into your home, without any worry of accidental ingestion by your pet. I can personally attest to the Orchids and Christmas Cactus we have both and have had zero problems, plus they look beautiful year round.
Another great post that I love which is a great resource for Outdoor plants is the Top 10 Deadly Poisonous Plants You Should Avoid in Garden by my friend Peter Weeks he reached out to me about adding it to my post and I agree it really is a great reference guide to my article check it out. Also this post on how to create a First Aid Kit for your Dog is amazing and could save it’s life. Love this article, want to see more..be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter here so you never miss a post!
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SHOP MY PET FRIENDLY FIRST AID OPTIONS:
Wow! What great info! I didn’t know half of these were dangerous to my fur babies!
My son got a cat recently and I didn’t even consider that I had so many house plants! Luckily he was safe around them, Will definitely share this post.
One of my dogs eats everything, so I’m always so afraid with houseplants and even taking her outdoors other than my own yard. This is a great article.
Thank you I am so glad you enjoyed it. I hope it comes in handy. 🙂 thanks for stopping by!!
Yes and cats are the worst to hop up on a table and munch on a plant if their tummy’s are upset. Glad you found the list so you can be safe now.
I know it’s a supervising list. A friend of ours had their pup go into renal failure after leaving dead poinsettias with in reach over the winter holidays. It was truly heartbreaking.
Wow, I can’t believe Lilly’s are poisonous. Very informative resource Jennifer, I will pass this along to my daughter with the new puppy!
Omg, I’m so happy I saw this. I’m getting my puppy on Friday and I didn’t even think about house plants! Thanks for this list. I’ll make sure to take it to the nursery.
Putting this list together was such a great idea! I knew that poinsettias were poisonous to animals, bu that’s about it. Thanks so much for sharing!! 😀
Such a wonderful post and life saving tips for our beloved pets. It is fantastic that you are also promoting the ASPCA, a charity close to my heart! Good work. I love your blog and feeling everyone I know about it.
Finally some writing useful posts! Thank for having a content with lists and knowledge for real people. I love my pets and this could save there lives! Go forth and prosper!
Very informational post, great list of plants to avoid in a easy to view format. I have a new kitten, not many plants be it is good to know for future knowledge. Thanks!
I did not know that house plants could be so deadly to cats and dogs. Thank you for posting this is actually a very useful article, must bookmark for later.
Thanks a lot for the blog.Really thank you! Fantastic.
There is some interesting information in this article. I will look into it further. Good article, thanks and we want more from you! Added to Goggle via RSS
We love your simple blog menu, plus you’ve got most unbelievable content. We find that this subject matter is exceptionally vital, since we have several pets, that munch on plants. Thanks for all the pieces to our pet life puzzle!
Great read, such a wonderful use of your time to try and save peoples pets from plants that could kill them. It amazes me how many people do not know this stuff. you have good heart and clearly want to use it to change the world. Book marking for all you amazing posts.
I along with my fur buddies ended up looking at the all the nice helpful hints from your website. Sending you much appreciation for being so kind and considering terrific topics most pet owners are really unaware of. My personal sincere gratitude thank you
This website can be a such a reference source for all of the info you wished you knew about this and didn’t know who to ask. I had no idea there were so many poisonous plants. Thanks for the initiative to get the information out there.
Thanks for all of the hard work on this topic. This is a subject matter close to my heart. I am also a supporter of the ASPCA like yourself. You’re carrying out a glorious job and saving millions of animals with all the work you do. Thanks you my fellow animal friend, we must protect these beautiful creatures which truly are gods gifts to us.
I wanted to say thanks for saving my fur babies. Had no idea that so many plants were toxic.
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WOW I had no idea that there were so many toxic plants. I have 3 just in my living room, and I wondered why the dog would barfed every time he chewed a leaf. Literally he was probably one bite away from deaths door. Thanks for saving the fur babies.
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I really enjoyed reading this article and wanted to thank you for the usefulness of it. I think I will pin it for easy reference. I had no idea that there were so many deadly plants out there.
I simply wished to say thank you for such a informative post. This is a huge probable with most pets owners, they have no idea that plants are so toxic and deadly. It is good to see that you have focused on the issue and provide proper information.
I have two kitty cats and I am so glad that I found this post. I had notice one was eating one of my houseplants an then throwing up. I figured it was because they had a hairball, but after reading this list I think it was because of the type of plant. I will now be purchasing the cat grass at PetSmart for them and my houseplant was donated to my mother-in-law.
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I just loved your blog, it is very informative, and I have shared in it on Twitter and Facebook hope you don’t mind?
Thank you! I really appreciate that! I appreciate you sharing my page with you friends, it means a lot that you want all of your friends to know about my blog.
This is a very useful guide I need to pin this post for reference. I really do not know that so many plants were toxic to pets.
Nice post with tons of great information, I can really understand why you want to educate everyone on this matter. It is easy to prevent this type of poisoning if you just know the rules.
Such a wonderful read for all the pet owners out there, it will help to keep you home pretty and fur babies safe.
What a insightful post I am sure that your are helping so many pet owners by putting this value information out there.
Good information for any pet owner, I have to say I had no idea that there were so many poison plants. Thanks for this life saving information.
I just wanted to let you this is such a wonderful read and can really save a pets life. I hope that more people take the time to read the post.
This is a wonderful post, I must say I had no idea that so many plants were harmful to pets. I will repost this to my facebook, to get the word out.
I am so sorry about your kitty we love our pet that is for sure. Such a deeply insightful post in the life of a pet owner.