As cat owners, we must learn more about cat health and the plants toxic to cats and ensure that we have a safe environment for our cat or kitten.  If you currently have plants inside and don’t know if they are poisonous, better take them all out of the house until you talk with your veterinarian.

IMPORTANT: Before going on with the article, let me tell you that if you have any suspicion that your cat may be poisoned, you should take him to the veterinarian immediately.  It’s better if you can bring along a sample of the object causing the symptoms.

If you can’t get emergency help for any reason, don’t doubt to call ASPCA’s Poisoning Call Center at 1-888-4ANIHELP. They will charge you$55 to keep on running this non-profit organization. Be sure to check their complete list of plants poisonous for cats.

We must avoid poisonous plants for cats

Insecticides as Poison to Cats

Sometimes the problem is not the plant itself, but the insecticide sprayed on it.  Did you know that plants you buy at common places are often sprayed with insecticides? Be very careful if you have a cat.  These insecticides can cause the plants to be poisonous, causing serious health damage.  And it doesn’t require a big amount of chemicals to become this dangerous.

How to avoid it? Well, the key is information.  If you want to buy a safe plant, be sure to know where it’s coming from and ask the vendor about their use of insecticides and the effect on cats. If they can’t give you a clear answer, better buy the plant at another place.

Keeping Your Cat From Chewing on Plants

The best step to ensure that your cat is free of intoxication risks is learning how to stop your cat from chewing on plants.  Training them to avoid this behavior can significantly lower future risks. One way to do it is using lemon juice.

Dilute lemon juice and regularly spray it on the leaves.  This juice is not well tolerated by cats and kittens so they will quit chewing the leaves after feeling the taste. However don’t do it on poisonous plants, these plants must be taken out completely, only use this method on safe plants as a form to condition your cat without running any risk.

Catnip - preferred by cats

Another Solution: Their Own Plant to Chew

Your cat can also have available their own greenery to chew whenever they like.  Cats need the plants to help them keep a good digestion and to help them eliminate hairballs. Nowadays you can find in pet supply stores special cat grass. For this purposes plants such as catnip, sage, parsley and thyme are used to chew in moderate amounts.

Giving them to chew common lawn grass is not a good idea, since it’s spines can harm your cat’s mouth and digestive tract.

Growing a Plant for Your Cat

If you really want to pamper your cat – who doesn’t? – you can grow a special plant just for him to chew. We’ve already mentioned the plants chewable by your cat above, but when planting them you’ll have to use sterilized soil and untreated seeds.  Obviously, you should stay away from insecticides.

Instead of having the plant available, keep it out of reach and give your cat dry leaves every week to chew. A great option would be to grow catnip as cats naturally love this plant.