7 Cat-Friendly Houseplants You Should Bring Home
We love houseplants, and we love cats, but sometimes the two don’t make a great pairing! We all know how much cats love to hunt, play, and wrestle, and sometimes a houseplant with fluttering leaves is an easy target. However, it’s not just the safety of your plants you should be concerned about—your cats could get hurt, too!
Is it OK for Cats to Eat Houseplants?
So many of our favorite houseplants are actually quite poisonous to cats. If your furry friends ingest even just a little bit, you could end up with a very sick pet and a hefty vet bill. Seemingly innocent-looking plants often contain toxic sap that can cause upset stomachs, vomiting, or even caustic burns.
However, this doesn’t mean you have to choose between owning plants or owning cats—there are plenty of cat-friendly indoor plants you can bring home! If your favorite feline suddenly wages war against these pet-safe plants, you can rest assured your cat will remain healthy and unharmed.
7 Houseplants That are Safe for Cats
These popular plants are so beautiful and completely non-toxic, so you can enjoy a home full of vibrant, lush greenery and a happy, healthy cat too! If you’re wondering where to buy cat-friendly houseplants, all these beauties are available at Plant Decor Shop! Browse our whole pet-friendly section to see the entire collection.
Spider Plant
Chlorophytum comosum
The spider plant is one of the best air purifying plants that are safe for cats. In the 80s, NASA actually studied the air purifying properties of plants so they could keep the air clean on space stations. The spider plant was among the top ranking plants for filtering out formaldehyde and other airborne toxins! The long, stringy foliage makes it an excellent plant for hanging baskets if you want to keep it out of reach from your cats. This plant doesn’t mind a bit of root crowding—in fact, this will prompt it to reproduce little mini spider plants at the end of its long stems. Pluck them off and plant them in a cup of soil to grow a whole new, full-sized plant!
Money Tree
Pachira aquatica
This tropical tree has flexible trunks that are braided together during its early growth stages. The resulting mature trunks are pretty gorgeous, and topped off with glossy leaves that fan out in a star formation. They do best with deep but infrequent watering and moderate humidity, so overall they're pretty low maintenance! Mix some liquid fertilizer into the water one every few weeks from spring to fall. We recommend repotting your money tree in a heavy concrete pot so your cat can't knock it over.
Parlor Palm
Chamaedorea Neanthe Bella
For a little tropical beauty to bring the dreamy, beachy vibes to your home decor, grab a parlor palm! The parlor palm is completely safe for cats, so if your pet munches off a palm frond or two, they won’t have any tummy trouble later. They can grow quite large, so if you repot them every few years it will eventually reach up to 4 feet tall.. It prefers a bit more fertilizer than your typical palm, so we recommend adding some slow-release fertilizer granules into the soil to keep it well-fed.
Peperomia Ginny
Peperomia clusifolia
The peperomia might seem like a cute, dainty plant at first, but don’t underestimate this tiny dynamo! It is incredibly tough and resilient, so if your cat knocks the pot over and scatters soil everywhere, your peperomia will likely make a full recovery if you repot it right away. We’ve got many different peperomias to choose from, but we think Ginny is the must-have variety for 2021. It’s variegated with creamy butter yellow and has a soft pink border that’s irresistibly cute!
Pinstripe Prayer Plant
Calathea ornata
While pretty much all varieties of the calathea prayer plant are cat friendly, we want to shine the spotlight on one particularly-beautiful specimen: the Calathea ornata. Its defined, bubblegum pink stripes look as though they were hand-painted onto each glossy, deep green leaf. You’ll love the way this graceful plant changes positions throughout each day as its leaves rise and fall with the shifting daylight. They thrive in humidity, so be sure to mist them regularly!
Echeveria Perle von Nernberg
Echeveria gibbiflora x Echeveria elegans
The swirling rosettes of the echeveria are like beautiful blossoms that never seem to fade. There’s something special about Echeveria Perle von Nernberg—it has a romantic quality that makes any room a whole lot lovelier. Choose from stunning shades like dusty blue, lavender grey, and pink, or plant a pot with an assortment of different colors. Plus, since it’s a compact, solid succulent that doesn’t have fluttering leaves, your cat is much less likely to be interested in it.
Ponytail Palm
Beaucarnea recurvata
Fun fact about this pet-safe plant: it’s not actually a palm! It just looks like one. The ponytail palm is actually a succulent, and it’s completely safe for cats. Its distinctive shape is a bit Kardashian-esque, with a curvaceous trunk and a voluminous, glossy head of leaves. But unlike members of a certain reality TV dynasty, this plant is super low-maintenance! It does love to soak up the sun, but it’s quite drought tolerant, so overall, it’s very easy to grow.
Ready to bring some new houseplants home for you and your cats to enjoy? We’ve got an astounding collection of plants that are ready to be shipped right to your door. Browse our full catalog to see all the incredible new plants here for 2021!
