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Are These Plants Dangerous to Cats?

Hi Judy, I have many houseplants and am getting my first ever cat. Want to make sure that I remove all toxic houseplants from the home before i bring my cat home. Could you please help me determine if I should remove these plants all together from my home, or if you think they are ok to leave in my home? Of course better safe than sorry, but want to know your expert help if possible. Thx!

Hi Lucy,

The first plant is a philodendron xanadu. These plants are considered poisonous and should be kept away from pets and children. You can read more about common houseplants that are poisonous in my book (it has pictures to help you recognize common plants that are poisonous.  Don’t Feed Me To Your Cat! A Guide to Poisonous Houseplants.

The second plant is a dracaena warneckii. Dracaena warnekii plants are considered slightly poisonous especially to dogs and cats.

There are some ways to keep your cat away from your plants:

Put moth balls on top of the soil.The smell keeps the cat away.

Cats do not like citrus fruit, so place lemon peels or orange peels on top of the soil. Place a piece of yellow sticky insect card next to the fruit to catch any plant pests the citrus might attract.

Spray the leaves with diluted hot sauce.

Place tin foil over the dirt, cats hate walking on tin foil.

Buy a catnip plant which the cat will love and then hopefully ignore your plants.