Certain common household and garden plants are poisonous to cats. There are over one hundred plants that can cause serious symptoms when ingested.
Common Plants That are Poisonous
Baby's Breath:
- Baby's Breath is a flower with small white blooms that is used as a filler in many bouquets.
Lily:
- There are many different types of lilies and most are common in the home and garden.
- All types of lilies are suspected to be toxic to cats.
Elephant Ear:
- The Elephant Ear plant is known for large leaves that resemble an elephant ear.
- This plant is used in many gardens.
Hydrangea:
- Hydrangeas are colorful plants with a large head of blooms.
- The flower heads are toxic to cats if ingested.
Marijuana:
- Marijuana is common for cancer or AIDS patients.
- Everything about the plant is toxic to cats.
Poinsettia:
- The Poinsettia is known to bring joy and beauty to the holiday season.
- This plant has a very low toxicity but can still cause problems to a cat when ingested.
Health Problems That Can Occur From Toxic Plants
Many health problems can occur when a cat ingests a toxic plant. Sometimes health problems can occur by inhaling the plants fumes as well.
- Baby's Breath: Vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy and lack of appetite can occur when ingested by a cat.
- Lily: Kidney disease - severe and sometimes fatal - can occur by ingesting lilies. A cat does not need to eat a large amount of the lily plant to become ill. Gastritis - vomiting, loss of appetite and lethargy - can occur within the first two hours of ingesting the plant. After eating the plant, a cat can become very dehydrated.
- Elephant Ear: A cat's tissues are affected when the cat has eaten an elephant ear. Irritation, pain and swelling of the tissues can occur.
- Hydrangea: The toxicity level of a hydrangea to a cat is very low. But if eaten by a cat, the cat could have stomach pains which results in vomiting. A cat can also become very weak if the plant is ingested.
- Marijuana: Symptoms that a cat might have after ingesting marijuana or inhaling the smoke from marijuana are around the same symptoms that humans receive from the plant. Lethargy, being uncoordinated, depression, vomiting, slow heart rate, seizures and even a coma can occur when a cat is around this plant. Cats will have the above symptoms for a long period of time, much longer than a human keeps the symptoms.
- Poinsettia: Poinsettia plants have an extremely low toxicity to cats. There's debates on whether the plant is actually poisonous to a cat. Symptoms have occurred after a cat has ingested the plant though which does make this plant somewhat of a danger to cats. Symptoms include vomiting and gastrointestinal tract irritation.
What to Do When a Cat Ingests Toxic Plants
The Cat Fanciers' Association, Inc. has an article - Plants and Your Cat - that lists all of the plants that are toxic and/or poisonous to cats.
If a cat ingests any toxic plants, a call to a veterinarian needs to happen even if the cat has not yet shown symptoms.
The catnip plant can be eaten and enjoyed by a cat. Catnip grows great and stays healthy indoors and outdoors.
The copyright of the article Dangerous Plants For Cats in Cat Care is owned by Carly Duff. Permission to republish Dangerous Plants For Cats in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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