House Plants That are Harmful to Pets

According to the Humane Society, "More than 700 plants have been identified as producing physiologically active or toxic substances in sufficient amounts to cause harmful effects in animals." Protect your pet by knowing about the poisonous plants in your home.

  1. Plants

    • Plants that are poisonous to pets include dieffenbachia, philodendrons, hyacinths and aloe vera. The ASPCA has a complete list at its website.

    Types of Pets

    • Different house plants are poisonous to different pets. For example, day lilies are non-toxic to dogs, but cause kidney failure and death in cats.

    Symptoms

    • Watch for digestive symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting. Weakness, loss of appetite, depression and leg paralysis are other signs of toxic distress. Coma, low heart rate and heart collapse are more serious, and death is possible.

    Prevention

    • Perfect Paws suggests taking all poisonous plants out of reach of cats and then reintroducing them one at a time. The idea is to train the cat first on a non-toxic plant using hot pepper sauce as a deterrent and perfume as a cue.

    Expert Assistance

    • Call the veterinarian immediately if you suspect that a pet has ingested a plant that is poisonous to him. If you have such plants where the pet can reach them, be on guard for symptoms of toxic distress and report them immediately.