# My cat is eating a houseplant! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 16, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549 "2005-06-16T15:31:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/1 "2005-06-16T15:31:41Z")
I recently received a croton as a get-well gift. This morning at breakfast, I noticed that several of the leaves looked like they had been cut off. The only explanation for this seems to be that my relatively new kitty has been having a nibble. Will this plant harm her? She isn’t doing anything odd (for her, anyways) and isn’t sick. Anyone have knowledge of this? ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/2 "2005-06-16T15:40:12Z")
I googled “list plants poisonous to cats” - got [http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html](http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html) The site says that croton is poisonous to cats. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/3 "2005-06-16T15:47:34Z")
Thanks **missbunny**! That plant is going in the trash _now_ ! I’m not much of a houseplant person, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/4 "2005-06-16T16:38:22Z")
Oh, poor plant . . . can’t you just move it somewhere safe? Or would your kitty do that kitty thing and FIND IT no matter where it is hidden??? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/5 "2005-06-16T16:50:34Z")
You could just teach your cat not to chew on houseplants, at the same time you’re teaching it not to jump on the kitchen counter, etc. (Hint: the technique involves a water pistol or spray bottle.) ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/6 "2005-06-16T16:56:31Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > You could just teach your cat not to chew on houseplants, at the same time you’re teaching it not to jump on the kitchen counter, etc. (Hint: the technique involves a water pistol or spray bottle.) It’s poisonous to the cat. I assume that the OP has to go to work and do things other than guard the plant with a water bottle all day. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/7 "2005-06-16T17:14:17Z")
You might want to buy some [pet grass](http://www.petgrass.com/petgrass.html) for your kitty to nibble on. You should be able to find it at your pet supply store, or at the grocery store or Target. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/8 "2005-06-16T17:15:56Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > Oh, poor plant . . . can’t you just move it somewhere safe? Do you have a balcony? We keep our plants there so the cats won’t get them. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/9 "2005-06-16T17:56:51Z")
I have a bunch of my plants hanging where the cats can’t get at them. Especially the spider plant. It isn’t poisonous to them - quite the opposite, in fact. They enjoy it way too much. I have another bunch of plants down where they can eat them - they just don’t care for them. When I bring a new plant in, I cat-test it first - if they go straight over and start chowing down, it’s a hanging plant. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/10 "2005-06-16T17:59:33Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > You might want to buy some [pet grass](http://www.petgrass.com/petgrass.html) for your kitty to nibble on. I thought that’s what catnip was. Oh, you mean “grass” as in “lawn”… ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/11 "2005-06-16T18:57:09Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > I thought that’s what catnip was. > > Oh, you mean “grass” as in “lawn”… 😃 You can get live catnip plants for cats, too. Our Katya is a total nip-head, and tried to roll in the catnip plant when we brought it home. We figured it wouldn’t last half an hour with her around. We now keep it on the balcony and occasionally snip off a few leaves for her to chew on. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/12 "2005-06-16T19:54:20Z")
I tried the pet grass for my cats, and they nibbled on the green stuff for a while, and then dug all the nice smelly dirt out of it and rolled in it. If you are going to give something like that to your cat, make sure it’s on a surface you can clean up easily. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/13 "2005-06-16T21:59:46Z")
> [@Elysian](#): > > I tried the pet grass for my cats, and they nibbled on the green stuff for a while, and then dug all the nice smelly dirt out of it and rolled in it. If you are going to give something like that to your cat, make sure it’s on a surface you can clean up easily. Oh yeah, I once got some for one of my former cats. He ate some, then dug it up, then rolled around in it, then peed in it, then vomited. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-is-eating-a-houseplant/308549/14 "2005-06-16T22:27:25Z")
Thanks for all the advice, but the plant is GONE. When it was given to me, I said “Thank you”, but thought “Oh Og, another one to kill!”. I have a brown thumb. I looked at the kitty grass at the pet store, but I suspect my Basset Hound will find it, eat it, and puke it up inside the house. Kee-Kee will just have to do without. Poor Kee-Kee! 🙂 She has catnip toys and a catfishing pole to keep her busy.