After watching a bit of HGTV, I was horrified to discover that the Peace Lily that is thriving in my living room is not the best choice to co-exist with my 2 cats.

Anyone have a good site that lists cat- (and eventually, child-) safe plants?

Thanks in advance!
-hwhite, preparing to return a gorgeous Peace Lily *grumbles*

Anyone have a good site that lists cat- (and eventually, child-) safe plants?

There are tons of sites out there - tho they are not always accurate (i.e. some plants listed as "toxic" are not deadly, only mildly irritating). Here are some sites - tho if you do a search on "poisonous plants" you will easily find more!

http://www.safebeginnings.com/Databases/Library/What%20You%20Need%20To%20Know%20About/plants.asp

http://www.vth.colostate.edu/poisonous_plants/index.cfm

http://www.blankees.com/house/plants/poisonous.htm

Jennifer

preparing to return a gorgeous Peace Lily *grumbles*

Oh, BTW, I had never heard that the Peace Lilly was toxic (not saying that it isn't, merely that I have never heard so, I couldn't find any information on it that it WAS poisonous or not) - I received one from my dad's funeral, my cats have nibbled on it a SLIGHT bit, but they are both still alive. It isn't very attractive to them...maybe if they had a larger dose??

I did find a reference (http://www.geocities.com/kroeber_kitty/plants.html) that said that cats' tummies don't like Peace Lillies, but it doesn't seem any more toxic than most (my cats like to munch on the ends of my Spider plant, when they can reach the ends - they tend to throw up when they do get their paws on it, but Spider plants aren't toxic, so maybe it is just the greens???)

Jennifer

Mm, I'd take what you hear on any tv show with a grain of salt. I've heard some amazing misinformation presented as fact.

It does appear that peace lilies are toxic -- but that they taste too bad for most cats to get enough to do damage.

Here's an article from a vet: http://www.lclarkecushingvmd.com/showpracfaq.cfm?FAQID=121&Private=0

Excerpt: "The peace lily, or Spathiphyllum patinii, is a type of houseplant that contains oxalates. Oxalates cause toxicity in animals, including cats, by causing the formation of calcium oxalate crystals in the animal's vital organs. Signs of toxicity may include excessive salivation, head shaking, pawing at the mouth, difficult breathing, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Fortunately, the peace lily plant causes pain and irritation of the oral cavity when chewed and therefore animals rarely eat enough to cause severe problems."

I've had a peace lily and cats for nearly seven years now, and haven't noticed either doing harm to the other.

Thank you for taking the time to respond! We've decided to keep the Peace Lily, and if the kitties decide to pick up on plant-munching...we'll deal with it then. :)

...I've had a peace lily and cats for nearly seven years now, and haven't noticed either doing harm to the other.

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Thank you for the information. :) We're going to keep the plant and hope all turns out well!