Do you have a green thumb? Is your home filled with greenery all around, in the yard, on the balcony, on the window sill, and on your kitchen counter? Do your cats enjoy unrestricted access throughout the house? Then it is time you learned which houseplants are toxic for your furry pet and remove them immediately. Cats, especially kittens, are curious creatures and tend to explore the spaces around the house. If, by chance, they happen to play with, or nibble on some of the houseplants listed below, then take them to the veterinarian immediately and seek medical attention:
- Asparagus fern
It is a very pretty ornamental plant that grows extensively in warm humid atmospheres. Preferred as decoration both indoors and outdoors, this plant is not really a fern, but is related more to the asparagus. The scarlet berries that grow on this plant right after the blooming of its white flowers in the spring season are toxic to cats. Contact or ingestion by felines can cause indigestion, vomiting, and diarrhea. - House pine
It is similar to asparagus fern in its name. It is not really pine, but looks like one and is used as a decorative plant outdoors, especially during the Christmas season. Ingestion of the sap from its leaves can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and can make your cat’s skin sensitive, itchy and red. - Tiger Lily
This houseplant is an ornamental plant that bears strikingly beautiful orange and black flowers. While this plant has edible parts like the flower buds, roots, and shoots, and is useful to humans as a medicine, it is extremely poisonous and life-threatening for cats. Ingestion, however small it may be, must be brought to the veterinarian’s notice immediately. Even little pieces of the petals or leaves, or pollen dust or a sip of the water from the vase in which it is stored can cause vomiting, severe kidney failure and sometimes even death in cats. - Hyacinths and Tulips
Bulbs of Hyacinths and Tulips contain toxins that are poisonous for cats. If your pet has ingested these, irritation, pain, and inflammation in the esophagus and mouth is the first symptom. Gastrointestinal problems follow, along with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive drooling, increased heart rate, and difficulty in breathing. - Aloe Vera
This houseplant has many medicinal uses for us humans, but it contains saponins and white latex that endangers cats. When ingested in small quantities this plant causes mild poisoning. Typical symptoms caused are lethargy, poor appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, and discolored reddish urine. - Lilies
They are breathtakingly beautiful air-purifying plants and if you are lucky enough to have a pond with many of its colorful flowers, make sure your cat stays far away from it because all parts of the lily flower are dangerous for them when ingested. Lily poisoning can be fatal to cats. Signs of lily poisoning are lethargy, loss of appetite, dehydration, kidney failure, and seizures. - Jade
Jade plants are one of the most ideal houseplants. The waxy oval-shaped leaves add a pretty green decor to any living space. However, they are extremely toxic to cats and poisoning may cause vomiting, loss of muscle function, and might reduce heart rate.