Plants or flowers are wonderful for giving homes a welcoming and bright feeling, but if you have a feline friend, make sure that beautiful plant isn’t toxic for cats.

Particular indoor and outdoor plants are toxic to cats and should be restricted from your home. While in some cases, just parts of a plant might be poisonous, we highly recommend that you completely avoid having these plants in your home or garden for the safety of your pet. If you are unsure whether or not a plant is toxic to cats, don’t hesitate to ask your local Greencross Vets.

Lilies

Although lovely, lilies are extremely toxic to cats, even in small amounts, as they can cause kidney failure. This is the most common type of toxic plant that is seen in cats.

Aloe Vera

While great for soothing human burns, aloe vera is actually toxic to cats causing vomiting, depression, diarrhoea, and a lack of appetite.

Azalea and Rhododendron

Eating just a few leaves can cause serious problems for your cat. You may notice your cat doesn’t want to eat, is drooling, has diarrhoea, and is in a depressed and weakened coordination. If they continue to lie around or rest, this prolonged lethargy suggests poisoning and necessitates an immediate vet checkup.

Baby’s Breath

Often found in bouquets and floral arrangements, baby’s breath can cause your cat to have gastrointestinal upsets including vomiting.

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum is not as toxic as other plants, but it is a common Australian plant that when eaten can cause quite a bit of irritation along with vomiting, diarrhoea, excess saliva (hypersalivation), and dermatitis.

Daffodils

With the bulbs being the most toxic part, daffodils will cause vomiting, excess saliva, diarrhoea, potential convulsions if a large amount is eaten, low blood pressure, tremors and an abnormal heartbeat.

Ivy

Ivy foliage is more poisonous than its fruit and can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, hyper salivation, and diarrhoea.

Morning Glory

Morning glory can cause hallucinations along with gastrointestinal upsets, agitation, tremors, disorientation, loss of body movement and anorexia.

Poinsettia

This common Christmas decoration may cause discomfort and irritation to the mouth and stomach of your cat, sometimes causing mild vomiting.

Tomato Plant

Great for salads, but not so great for your cat as tomato plants can cause hypersalivation, lack of appetite, severe stomach upset, and diarrhoea.

Tulips

It’s the bulb, which rests at the bottom of the plant in the dirt, that is the most toxic part of a tulip. While this is usually fine for a cat that doesn’t dig, it’s best to avoid planting tulips in your garden as they can lead to stomach upsets, drooling, loss of appetite, depression, convulsions and an increased heart rate if eaten.

If your cat insists on munching on your houseplants, provide them with plants that are healthy for cats to ingest. Catnip is a great alternative as it has the added benefit of aiding digestion and eliminating hairballs. Should your cat eat part of a poisonous plant, don’t hesitate to rush them to your local Greencross Vets as soon as possible. If you can, take the plant with you for ease of identification.