Pet-Safe Indoor Plants

By Dr. Karen Becker

If you’re like a lot of pet parents, you’d love to fill your home with greenery, but are unsure which indoor plants are safe for dogs and cats. Whereas some pets are utterly uninterested in sampling houseplants, others — especially cats — can’t resist a nibble or even a mouthful, so your concern is warranted.

Actually, if you have cats that like to sample your houseplants, I recommend providing them roughage that is more palatable and safer than houseplants. You can do this in the form of cat grass, which is wheatgrass, or by offering fresh sunflower sprouts.

In addition to adding beauty and color to your home, plants improve the air quality as well by removing toxins like carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and benzene from the air you and your family (including pets) breathe. These toxic compounds are released into the air each time you use chemical-based products inside your home.

Plants also increase the level of health-inducing oxygen in homes by absorbing the carbon dioxide exhaled into the air by both humans and pets and replacing it with oxygen.

“Oxygen is critical for good brain and muscle function,” veterinarian Dr. Cathy Alinovi tells PetMD. “Therefore, stagnant air can lead to tiredness and brain dizziness, and can even affect heart function. The good news is, safe indoor plants help clean the air and increase oxygen concentration while decreasing waste products.”¹

The following is a list provided by PetMD of a few plants that are safe for cats and dogs:²

For an extremely comprehensive list of both safe and unsafe plants, visit the ASPCA’s “Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List – Dogs” and “Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List – Cats.” The lists are in alphabetical order, and each entry links to a picture of the plant.