Houseplants Toxic to Cats and Dogs

Most toxic houseplants cause a painful but short-lived reaction — drooling, pawing at the mouth, some vomiting — rather than anything life-threatening. A small number are genuinely dangerous, and lilies stand apart from everything else: a cat that chews any part of a true lily or daylily can go into kidney failure, and that is an emergency. If your pet has eaten a plant, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435.

The ones that are genuinely dangerous

These are worth knowing by name, because the difference between them and the merely irritating plants is the difference between a bad afternoon and an emergency.

True lilies and daylilies, for cats. This covers the genus Lilium — Easter lilies, tiger lilies, Asiatic and Oriental lilies, stargazers — and Hemerocallis, the daylily. Every part is toxic to cats: petals, leaves, stem, pollen, and even the water in the vase. A cat that brushes pollen onto its fur and grooms it off can take in enough to cause acute kidney failure. Signs begin with vomiting and lethargy within a few hours, often appear to improve, then progress to kidney failure over one to three days. Treatment started within the first several hours dramatically changes the outcome; treatment started once the kidneys are failing often doesn't. If you have cats, don't have these plants or accept them in bouquets. Dogs are far less severely affected and usually get GI upset rather than kidney damage.

Note that several plants called "lily" are not in this group. Peace lily, calla lily and lily of the valley are different plants entirely — the first two are oxalate irritants, and lily of the valley is separately dangerous for a different reason (it affects the heart).

Sago palm. Not actually a palm, and not something to keep casually around pets. Every part of a Cycas revoluta is toxic and the seeds are the worst. It causes severe liver damage in both dogs and cats, and dogs in particular tend to chew them. Vomiting and diarrhoea come first, then liver failure over the following days. This one has a meaningful fatality rate even with veterinary treatment.

Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale). Causes severe gastrointestinal bleeding, organ damage and bone marrow suppression, sometimes with a delay of several days before symptoms appear.

Oleander. Affects the heart. Very small amounts matter. More of an outdoor and patio plant in most climates but sold as a container plant in cooler ones.

Kalanchoe. Sold everywhere as a cheerful flowering succulent, and it contains compounds that affect the heart. Most pets that nibble one get only vomiting and diarrhoea, but larger amounts can cause an abnormal heart rhythm. Worth taking seriously rather than assuming.

Amaryllis and other flowering bulbs. The bulb is the most toxic part. Amaryllis, daffodil and hyacinth bulbs cause severe vomiting, drooling, and in larger amounts tremors or a drop in blood pressure. Dogs that dig are the usual patients.

Cyclamen. The tuber concentrates the toxin. Small nibbles of the leaves cause drooling and vomiting; a dog that digs up and eats the tuber can develop heart rhythm problems.

The common irritants: unpleasant, rarely serious

A long list of popular houseplants share the same mechanism. Their tissues contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals — microscopic needle-shaped structures that are released when the plant is chewed and embed in the lips, tongue and throat. The effect is immediate and painful: drooling, pawing at the face, a reluctance to eat, sometimes vomiting, occasionally swelling.

In most cases the pain stops the animal from eating much, which is why serious outcomes are uncommon. The genuine risk is swelling of the mouth and throat severe enough to interfere with breathing, which is rare but does happen — so a pet with visible facial swelling or any difficulty breathing needs a vet the same day.

The plants in this group include monstera, all philodendrons (both the climbing and the upright kinds), pothos, peace lily, dieffenbachia (often called dumb cane, and among the harsher ones), ZZ plant, arrowhead vine, calla lily, elephant ear and anthurium. Dieffenbachia has a reputation for causing more pronounced swelling than the others.

If your pet chews one, rinse the mouth out with water and offer something cold — a little milk, yoghurt or a lick of cold water — which helps flush the crystals and soothes the tissue. Symptoms usually settle within a few hours. Call your vet if drooling persists beyond a couple of hours, if the animal won't eat or drink, or if there's any swelling.

Mildly toxic: expect an upset stomach

A second group causes gastrointestinal upset without the oxalate sting. Snake plant, aloe vera, dracaena (including corn plant and the thin-leaved varieties), asparagus fern and English ivy all contain saponins or related compounds that cause vomiting, drooling and diarrhoea. Cats that eat dracaena sometimes show dilated pupils and an unsteady gait alongside the vomiting. Jade plant causes vomiting and lethargy in both cats and dogs, by a mechanism that isn't well understood.

Rubber plant and the other ficus species, including the fiddle leaf fig, have a milky sap that irritates the mouth and skin. Ingestion tends to produce drooling and vomiting; contact with the sap can cause skin irritation.

These are the plants where a careful owner can reasonably keep the plant and manage the access — high shelves, hanging baskets, closed rooms — rather than giving it up.

And poinsettia deserves a correction: its reputation is far worse than its behaviour. The sap irritates the mouth and stomach and a pet that eats some will usually drool and may vomit, but it is not the lethal plant it's often described as.

Plants that are safe

If you want a green room and a relaxed relationship with your animals, these are reliably listed as non-toxic to both cats and dogs.

Spider plant is the classic — safe, easy, and so attractive to cats that many will chew it happily. It isn't poisonous, though a cat that eats a lot of any plant material may vomit it back up. Boston fern, bird's nest fern and staghorn fern are all safe. Among palms, parlour palm, areca palm and ponytail palm are fine; sago palm, as above, is not a palm and is not fine.

Calathea and the prayer plants, peperomia in all its forms, African violet, phalaenopsis orchids, bromeliads, hoya, Christmas cactus, haworthia, cast iron plant, Swedish ivy, burro's tail and money tree (Pachira aquatica) are all non-toxic. Between them you can fill a house.

"Non-toxic" means the plant won't poison your pet. It doesn't mean an animal can eat an unlimited quantity of leaves without vomiting — any large amount of plant fibre can upset a stomach.

If your pet has eaten a plant

Take the plant, or a piece of it, away from the animal, and check inside the mouth for fragments. Don't try to make your pet vomit unless a vet tells you to — for some toxins, and for oxalate irritants in particular, it makes things worse.

Then call. In the US, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is on (888) 426-4435 and the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661, both staffed around the clock; both charge a consultation fee. Outside the US, your own vet or an emergency clinic is the right first call. Have the plant's name ready if you know it, along with roughly how much was eaten and when.

If you don't know what the plant is — which is common, especially with a bouquet or a plant that came without a label — photograph it before you go, including the leaves, stem and any flowers, and identify it on the way. A photo ID in the Planted app names the plant, which is the hard part — once you have a name you can check it against the ASPCA's list in seconds. Worth doing before a plant comes into the house rather than after.

Do not wait for symptoms if a cat has had any contact with a true lily. That is the one case where you should already be on the way to the vet.

Living with pets and plants

Height helps less than people expect with cats, who treat a high shelf as an invitation. Hanging baskets away from furniture work better, as do rooms you can close. Dogs are more straightforward: keep the tempting plants off floor level and out of reach of a bored animal, and be particularly careful with bulbs, which many dogs will dig up.

Giving cats something of their own to chew genuinely reduces interest in your plants. A tray of cat grass — oat, wheat or barley — or a pot of catnip gives them a legitimate target, and most will use it.

Be careful about what comes in the door rather than only what's on the shelf. Cut flower bouquets are the most common source of serious lily exposure in cats, and they arrive as gifts from people who have no idea. It's reasonable to tell friends and family you can't accept lilies.

If the plants you're keeping need troubleshooting as well as pet-proofing, why monstera leaves turn yellow and how often to water a snake plant cover two of the most common ones on this list.

Common questions

Are monsteras toxic to cats?

Yes, mildly. Monstera contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, so a cat that chews a leaf gets immediate mouth pain, drooling and sometimes vomiting. It's painful but generally not dangerous, and the pain usually stops them eating much. Rinse the mouth with water and call your vet if the drooling persists for more than an hour or two, or if the face swells.

Is a peace lily dangerous to cats?

Much less than a true lily, despite the name. Peace lily is not in the Lilium family and doesn't cause kidney failure. It's an oxalate irritant like monstera and pothos: expect drooling and mouth pain rather than an emergency. A true lily or a daylily is a completely different situation and needs immediate veterinary attention.

What are the safest houseplants for cats?

Spider plants, Boston and bird's nest ferns, parlour and areca palms, calathea, peperomia, African violets, phalaenopsis orchids, hoya and Christmas cactus are all non-toxic and easy to source. Pairing them with a pot of cat grass gives your cat something acceptable to chew, which tends to save the rest of your collection.

How much of a toxic plant does a pet have to eat to be in danger?

It varies enormously by plant, and for most of the irritant group the pain is self-limiting — animals stop after a bite or two. For true lilies and cats, though, the amount is very small: a couple of petals, a few leaves, or pollen groomed off the fur has been enough to cause kidney failure. That's why lilies are treated differently from everything else on this page. When in doubt about any plant, call a poison line rather than trying to estimate.