5 Toxic Plants Your Cat Should Stay Away From

Cats liven up a household and provide a constant companion who shows her affection by rubbing up against your leg or purring. Plants offer a little bit of nature brought inside the home to make the house feel more welcoming.

You may love both cats and plants, but they don’t always mix. There are some plants that your home should be without, if you are going to have cats.

We have listed a few common plants that people like to have in their homes that should be definite no-no’s if you plan on having a cat anywhere near them. You’ll have to decide which one you want to keep around.

Lilies

These are fairly common household plants, but they are also highly toxic to cats. Not all lilies will harm your cat, but some of them cause irritation, rashes, and even kidney failure.

Your cat only needs to eat a few petals to become seriously ill, so as lovely as these plants are, you want to keep them far away from your cat. Even if you have an indoor cat and your lilies stay outside, it’s not a good idea to keep them around. Your cat can get out or you might just forget that you have toxic plants and let your cat outside to play. The following varieties of lilies are all toxics to cats:

• Tiger
• Easter
• Japanese Show
• Day
• Peace
• Peruvian
• Asiatic
• Calla

Daffodils

This is another kind of flower that is lovely but also deadly. Lycorine is a compound within these flowers that can cause severe vomiting and related digestive issues. Whether your cat eats a bulb, flower or part of the stem, it will likely suffer from diarrhea, indigestion, vomiting, dehydration and abdominal pain. You’ll want to keep these flowers far away from your cat. While they are not always fatal, they can certainly complicate health problems in sickly cats, and that can lead to death.

Tulips

This plant affects cats in different ways depending on what part of the plant they eat. The bulb is the most toxic part, and it can case an increase in heart rate and respiration.

This needs to be treated by a veterinarian as soon as possible. It may not be fatal, but it can be very bad for your cat’s long-term health. The plant itself is not as toxic, but can create something similar to an allergic reaction in your cat. If your feline ingests the stem, flower or leaves, then it may experience irritation, rashes, vomiting, diarrhea and variety of other problems related to the skin and the digestive system.

Sago Palm

This is plant you are more likely to find in warmer climates, such as Texas or Florida. It looks lovely and quite tropical, but it can be dangerous to your cat. The seeds and the leaves are the dangerous components here, and these can cause your cat to experience bloody stool, diarrhea, liver failure and eventually death in some cases.

How much your cat ingests and your cat’s health conditions will determine how dangerous the plant is to them, but it’s not something that you want to take a chance with. There are other palms you can keep in your house that are much safer for your cat.

Oleander

Most people will place oleander outside, and this shrub creates some beautiful flowers that really liven up any house with their vibrant colors. The flowers are very delicate, so they may fall apart and find their way onto the ground or near where your cat hangs out, even if you try to keep some distance between the pet and the plant.

If your cat happens to ingest the flowers or the leaves, then your pet may begin vomiting. This plant can also slow down the heart rate, and the more the cat eats, the slower its heart will beat. This can end in death, if your cat ingests too much. How much that is depends on the cat, really, but this is a highly toxic plant, and you don’t want to take any chances with your cat.

Your cat may not know well enough to leave some plants alone. It may be curious and want to try out whatever you have growing in the yard or the house. The old saying of curiosity killing the cat is one you should take to heart. Even if your cat is not prone to eating plants, if the cat becomes hungry enough, there is no telling what may get eaten.

It is better to be safe and not have these plants or any of the other deadly plants anywhere that your cat can access to them. These are just a few of the toxic plants your cat may try to eat, so make sure you check any plant for safety before you buy it or add it to your home.

For more information you can visit felineculture.com – a site for happy, healthy, and adventurous cats who are fueled by nature.

Related posts:

How to Create a Safe Environment for Your New Dog Can Cats Eat Oatmeal Can Cats Eat Asparagus How Much and How Often Should You Feed Your Cat What Can Cats Eat Besides Cat Food