What houseplants are safe to have around pets?

If you don’t want to spend time and energy devising pet-proof protection for your houseplants, the easiest way to avoid the problem is simply to only grow plants in your home that won’t harm your pets. They may still try to make a snack of your plants, of course. You should try to keep you pets away from houseplants in general but, if they do find a way to get at them, you want those plants to pose no real threat (and hopefully your plant will make it through the experience too).

Plants that are safe around pets

There are so many species of plant that it’s impossible to know whether each and every one of them is or isn’t poisonous. That means that you should be very careful about which plants you allow in your home. When you’re buying plants, be sure to ask the expert at your local plant nursery if the plants you’re interested in are safe for pets. You can also do some research at home to make sure. A few plants commonly for sale that are safe for pets are:

• Bamboo
• Blue echeveria
• Spider Plant
• Christmas cactus

These types of plant will add beauty to your home but won’t be a hazard to your pets.

Plants that you should not have in your home
Just as important as only purchasing pet-friendly plants is being sure not to let poisonous plants into your home. If you’re given a plant as a gift, be sure to do some research before accepting it. Poisonous plants should not be accepted as gifts. Keeping your pets out of the animal hospital is worth rejecting someone’s present. Here’s a short list of some common plants that are actually poisonous to your pets:

• Aloe Vera
• Elephant Ear
• Sage palm
• Ivy

At Bellamy-Lawrence Animal Hospital in Toronto, we want to help you give your cat a healthy life. If you notice any of these symptoms that your cat may not be feeling well, bring your cat in to see us or contact us to find out the ways we can help.