Pet-Friendly Houseplants 🐶🐱
Protect Your Furry Friend, Choose Houseplants Safe for Pets!
Houseplants not only help to add character to your home or office, but they also help you to become a better indoor and outdoor gardener. Choosing which kind to add to your indoor jungle can be tricky, especially when you have a little one to look after! Yes, it is true that some houseplants expose our pets to serious health risks, and thus should not be easily accessible to them within our homes. We should provide our curious critters with a safe environment, free of these plants that can do them harm. However, instead of ruling out caring for indoor plants altogether, we simply need to know which ones pose no risk to our pets. We’re here to let you know about some of the best pet-friendly houseplants that you can bring home!
Great Picks from Our Stores:
What Separates Pet-Friendly from Harmful Houseplants?
First, it’s important to clarify that the term “pet-friendly” does not signify that your pets should eat them. We consider plants to be pet-friendly when direct contact and/or consumption of them by pets does not harm the pet’s health or well-being. Seems basic enough, right? By simply going the extra length to verify that your plant is pet-friendly before purchasing, you can provide a safe environment for your furry friends.
Toxic Effects
So, what are the dangers of plants that do not qualify as pet-friendly? Without going too graphic, your pets can face a wide variety of health issues when coming into contact, and especially consuming certain houseplants. For the most part, gastrointestinal issues rank among the most common causes for concern. Problems such as stomach aches, obstructions, indigestion, irregularity, vomiting, and nausea may occur. Hypotension and abnormal heart rates may stem from the consumption of certain species, as well as seizures or cardiovascular issues. On the surface, you may notice certain plants can cause skin and eye irritation, drooling, oral pain, and difficulty swallowing. Emotionally, pets may also become dazed or depressed as a result of ingesting such plants. For more information on possible effects of toxic plants, as well as lists of species to avoid, visit these links:
How Necessary is it to Ensure My Plants are Pet-Friendly?
Unless you have full confidence in your pets to not pay any attention to your houseplants, then you must choose your collection carefully. Plain and simple, pets can be quite inquisitive. Whether it be your houseplants’ scent or their visual appeal, they could attract your pets into consuming them. Playful pets could try and swat and chew on leaves, especially cats that love dangling items. Dogs have an instinct to lick people and things, as the hormones released into their bloodstream when doing so cause them to feel calmer.
You may have also heard that when pets feel ill, they may try and settle their stomach by eating plants. Or, as a result of their mostly meat-based diet, they may try and consume plants for an occasional boost of fiber to their systems. Lastly, pets may simply nibble on plants out of boredom, or for taste and nutritional value, just as they would in the wild. Most likely, boredom is the best motivator.
For all of these reasons, the best way to ensure that your pets are free from harm’s way is to choose only pet-friendly houseplants to bring home.
Happy Houseplants, Happy Pets, and a Happy You!
Finally, now that you know more about the effects that toxic houseplants can have on your pets, you can create your very own indoor jungle filled with your favorite pet-friendly houseplants! If your home does happen to contain 1 or more toxic houseplants to pets, there are several alternative measures that you can take to help drive pets away from messing with them. The best deterrent is an odor that pets consider offensive! For example, you can sprinkle small amounts of cayenne pepper around your leaves to ward off pets. Just remember, if your plant produces edible portions, consider that you may experience an unwanted peppery taste when consuming. Also, cats despise citrus! With care, you can lightly spray diluted lemon juice on your leaves, or place a peel in the soil to ward off your curious kitty. Note: Doing so will change the pH of your soil, raising its acidity. Too strong of a concentration of citrus juice will also burn the leaves.
Remember, these plans are not 100% guaranteed. The best decision is to not take a chance with your pet’s health, and instead choose pet-friendly houseplants to fill your home. Your furry friends will thank you!
More Great Pet-Friendly Plants!
We hope that this gives you a better understanding providing a safe home environment for your loved ones (plants and pets, that is!). The next time that you want to add a gorgeous new houseplant to your home, visit our stores and talk to one of our knowledgeable greenhouse team members. We’ll gladly help you pick out the purrfect pet-friendly plant and provide the best care tips. For now, here is an additional list of pet-friendly plants that you can find in our stores:
- Air Plants
- Basil
- Blue Echeveria
- Bromeliads
- Calatheas
- Cat Grass
- Christmas Cacti
- Echeveria
- Lipstick Plants
- Musa (Banana Palms)
- Orchids
- Parlor Palms
- Pileas
- Pony Tail Palms
- Prayer Plants
- Sage
- Thyme
- Venus Fly Traps