Cat-Friendly Indoor Plants

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When planning to bring a cat into the family, one consideration must be your home environment. You need to look at all items, plants, and décor from a new cat’s perspective. Do you have cat-friendly house plants, or are the plants in your home potentially dangerous to your cat?

Remember – Your cats could be at risk by swatting or chewing on the plants in your home.

Many everyday plants such as aloe vera can be harmful because of ingredients that a feline’s internal system cannot correctly process. We have compiled a list of plants that can help beautify your home and still be safe for your new feline companion.

Cat Grass

We are starting with one plant that sounds like it goes with felines – cat grass. Interestingly this plant is one that your cat can safely and probably will eat. It is specifically grown inside and is safer for cats that enjoy nibbling on grass than outside variants that might be treated with chemicals and other pest residuals that can be unhealthy for your fur baby.

Many cats eat grass, the reasons for which science is still not certain, so it might as well be good indoor-grown cat grass for your feline.

Spider Plant

This easy-to-grow, ivy-style plant is scientifically called chrlorophytum comosum. It can grow in a wide range of climates, including indoors, making it a popular house plant selection. This plant has long blade-like leaves that all come out from a center point, thus giving it, in many cases, the look of a spider with a thick body and long legs going all directions.

The most common variety of spider plants has a white middle to the leaves with a hearty green coloring along the edges. Due to their hanging nature, these plants will traditionally need to be in baskets or up on shelves in the home.

African Violet

This plant is ranked as one of the most popular houseplants in the world. While adding a touch of color to any room, these plants are also non-toxic to animals making them great additions to a pet-friendly home.

They can live in small single crown growths or larger potted groupings and vibrant colors at a great splash of color and freshness to homes from apartments to a patio.

Christmas Cactus

This beautiful hanging variety of cactus is an amazing option for your home. This plant has a more flattened leaf, segmented-looking stem, and flowers in vibrant colors such as red and pink bloom at cooler points of the year. Indoors are resilient and amazing plants that will again do best if hanging in baskets with plenty of water, unlike many of their desert-loving counterparts.

Ponytail Palm

This unique plant is sure to invite the paws of your cat to bat at it. This unique houseplant makes a great addition to a green-thumb home, from the balled-up root to the shooting leaves.

Additionally, this plant is a bit of a conversation starter with its elephant-looking base, and of course, its wild erratic growth patterns. From small shelf plants to larger ones, this is a feline-approved houseplant for your consideration.

Bamboo

Bamboo is a great plant with some unique styling and no health risks to plants. That being said, bamboo can be a tricky plant with its love of humidity and sunbathing characteristics. For sunny rooms with lots of glass to patio spaces, bamboo might be a good option if you have a feline occupying the same spaces.

Bromeliads

This is a broad class of plants and makes for amazing indoor plants, as they come in many shapes, sizes, and even colors. These unique plants are different from the other as a human fingerprint, with their low maintenance and ability to migrate from cool to warm climates, making a wonderful houseplant option.

The huge variety of these gives you many options for shelves, corners, or even that small patio or balcony area. They bring a little piece of unique outdoor foliage inside while not being a risk for fluffy.

Whether you want a touch of color that bromeliads or African violets can provide or just a stout house plant, there are lots of options that will co-exist nicely with your new feline pet.

Remember, cats like to bat at things and are curious little creatures, so keep that in mind when selecting your house plants. Things like cat grass have a high probability they will be chewed on, which means that it might draw all the attention from others in the house.

Just because a plant can be hung up in a basket or high shelf, never assume your kitty isn’t going to figure out a way to get to it. With bright flowers and hanging stems, they look like good playthings for felines to try and tackle. Being diligent in researching plants that won’t hurt your feline when adding new plants is a great idea for a fresh home full of greens and a happy, healthy feline co-existing nicely.