Plants that are Poisonous for Pets

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Top 10 list from a veterinary health insurer of poisonous plants that pets encountered in 2008.

I didn’t know that walnuts were poisonous to dogs.

If you’ve got cats, be careful around this time of year- lilies are poisonous to cats. I wouldn’t bring cut lilies into my house, for fear that the cats might get them.

Daffodils and crocuses are other flowers that are coming up outside now (at least here in Pittsburgh), and are toxic for dogs and cats. Don’t bring them inside if you have cats, and don’t leave your pets unattended in a yard with them. Azaleas and rhododendrons are likewise poisonous. Tulip bulbs are toxic for dogs and cats, though cut tulips seem to be OK.

The mushrooms that might grow in your yard after some wet weather are also hazardous to pets.

2

Thanks for the info, Anne.

Not too long ago, my husband and I were blithely sharing a bag of grapes with the dog (that animal eats anything, I swear), and my son came along and said, “Don’t you know those are poisonous?!” :eek:

The dog was fine, but that was quite a scare. Now we stick to good, safe foods like cat food, Brussels sprouts, lunch meat, French fries, coffee beans, and pancakes.

3

I’m glad to see that Sago Palms are on the list. Most people down south don’t realize the seeds of this popular ornamental are devastatingly toxic. Nearly lost my chi when she was younger.

4

I’ve spotted my silly cat chomping down on day lillies- with suprisingly no ill effects. Or maybe she was just playing with them. Inside the house, she’s more or less decimated our resident spider plant population.

5

Thanks for the list, I’ll pass it around. I knew about grapes and onions, but had no idea about some of the others. I nearly had a heart attack when the pup got into some chocolate, but luckily it was a very small piece and milk chocolate.

6

As Easter approaches, cat owners should be aware that Easter lilies are poisonous to cats. Consuming even a small amount of them can be deadly.

She might be willing to eat day lilies even though they are toxic. My Luna begs for onions and avocados, both of which I’ve seen on lists of plants that are toxic to cats. I try to explain that they are poisonous for her, but she doesn’t listen, just like she doesn’t listen when I explain to her that she is a carnivore and therefore should not eat cornbread.

Spider plants are on this list of cat-safe plants.

7

if you grow veggies (in containers or outside in the ground) be aware that all the members of the Nightshade family, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers are toxic to cats, all parts of the plant are toxic to them, as are chives

an interesting piece of trivia though, not strictly pet-related, but if you have a Japanese Beetle problem with your plants, plant some Four O’Clocks, the JB’s LOVE them, and chow down on them like crazy, to the point of ignoring your other plants, and as an added side-benefit (not to the JB’s though), Fours are poisonous to the JB’s, they chow down on them then keel over
(Fours are also poisonous to animals and humans if ingested)

then there’s Foxglove, which has pretty spikes of trumpet-shaped flowers, and the following CHARMING feature;

[QUOTE=Wiki]
The entire plant is toxic (including the roots and seeds), although the leaves of the upper stem are particularly potent, with just a nibble being enough to potentially cause death. Early symptoms of ingestion include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, abdominal pain, wild hallucinations, delirium, and severe headache. Depending on the severity of the toxicosis the victim may later suffer irregular and slow pulse, tremors, various cerebral disturbances, especially of a visual nature (unusual colour visions with objects appearing yellowish to green, and blue halos around lights), convulsions, and deadly disturbances of the heart
[/quote]

8

I grew a huge amount of day lilies last year and brought bunches of them into the house every week or so. Interestingly, the cats sniffed them and walked away without a bite. Maybe they know what’s bad for them? (Not that I’d recommend testing the theory).

9

I take this opportunity to remind bird owners that chocolate, avocado, eggplant, and many houseplants are toxic to birds. As birds are not cats, dogs, or even mammals their list is different than that for four-legged, non-flying housepets. If in doubt, there are many on-line sources with a comprehensive listing of things you should keep away from your birds.

10

I had no idea avocados were poisonous to cats; thanks for the heads up. I have two cats and one of them ONLY likes cat food and ice-cream, and the other one will generally eat anything that isn’t nailed down…but I’ve offered him avocado and he’s never even licked it.

I thought he was just being oddly picky but apparently he’s smarter than I am!

I didn’t know about lilies either. Thankfully I always keep any kind of flowers out of reach just because my cats will destroy them…but I love lilies and thus get them as gifts. So thanks for starting this thread, Anne.

11

We’ve seen a couple Sago Palm poisonings recently, nasty stuff. Also one of the nastiest is mushrooms. The Death Cap and Destroying Angel mushrooms are pretty bad, they destroy the liver and there is no liver transplantation available for pets. We’ve saved a few from the initial toxic effects only to have them die later from liver failure.

12

Most plants in your yard and house have varying amounts of toxicity. The list is seemingly endless. I’ll throw Dieffenbachia, poinsettia, Aglaonema, Philodendron, and buckeyes in the ring to keep things interesting.

13

The really bad thing about grapes/raisins is that they’re still not sure WHAT is causing the problem, or even how much is needed. Some dogs can eat quite a bit and be fine, while others only need a few to have a reaction. It’s scary stuff, that’s for sure.

14

Washington Post article about plants that might be poisonous to animals or children. It’s not just us pet owners that have to be careful about what plants we have in our gardens or bring into the house. Parents need to be aware of poisonous plants as well.

The author may be wrong about people getting poisoned from using oleander sticks to roast hot dogs or marshmallows, though. Snopes says the only cases of oleander poisoning they could turn up came from ingesting part of the plant, not just cooking food with the sticks. I’d personally still err on the side of caution and not use sticks from a poisonous plant in food preparation if possible.

Just to dispel a common myth, poinsettias aren’t deadly, but they can cause stomach upset.

15

Many plants that are listed as toxic are only mildly toxic, like dieffenbachia and poinsettia. They will cause some mucosal irritation but are not likely to kill an animal.

We had an Easter Lily toxicity on Sunday. They brought the cat in fairly quickly and we made it vomit, it had a few leaves worth in its stomach. It’s recommended to treat them even if you do get them to vomit in case they have already absorbed the toxic substances. The owner was upset that they don’t put warnings on toxic plants or that the veterinary community doesn’t do something about it but the information on toxic plants is available online, you just need to look for it before you buy a plant when you own pets.

16

I still want to keep them away from my cats. They’re not so good about making it to the litter box when they have to vomit or are having diarrhea. If they vomit or poo outside the litter box, I have to clean it up, and I don’t like doing that.

17

I didn’t know about lilies until a friend lost a cat who chomped on a flower that had dropped from her bouquet. Very sad.

18

I have to say that if I worried about this sort of stuff I’d never have let any of my dogs run around in the backyard with access to the many plants I grow (which have included aconitum, delphinium and digitalis). The only time there was a problem was when a couple of the beasts decided that alfalfa pellet fertilizer was a snack and chowed down on enough of it to barf (my guinea pigs of olden days would have been in heaven (not literally)).

Most truly poisonous stuff doesn’t taste very good and it will be uncommon to say the least for animals (or small children) to eat enough of it to cause real trouble (not that precautions shouldn’t be taken in some situations). Poinsettia really doesn’t seem to be a problem. The “toxicity” is basically hype.

19

Chew on any Euphorbia and you will see what the hype is about.

And, in response to an earlier response, toxicity does not necessarily imply the risk of mortality.

20

Most, but by no means all. I’ve heard that antifreeze and death cap mushrooms taste pretty good (nobody test this, please).

What one animal thinks is yummy, another member of the same species might not be interested in. My Katya eats pet grass, but my Luna leaves it alone. Just because one dog doesn’t eat mushrooms from the yard when allowed to roam there alone doesn’t mean another dog wouldn’t.

A dead pet isn’t the only unpleasant consequence that could come from a pet eating something toxic. Expensive vet bills and unpleasant cleanup duties are two other possible consequences you probably wouldn’t like.