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Cat safe house plants?

Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
I've been thinking it would be nice to have some plants around the house, especially in winter it would liven things up a little. I'd probably use grow lights to keep them healthy as it's dark most of the time.

A lot of plants are toxic for cats though, any tips on plants that arn't? Or any tips to simply keep the cat out? I could do wall mounted plants that are high up or something too I suppose.
 
We have found that even if a plant is safe for cats, the plant is not safe FROM the cats. They love to dig the dirt out of the pots.

Save yourself the aggravation of cleaning it up.
 
I keep some grass growing in a small container for my cat to chew up. I have philodendron some ferns and an avocado tree the cat has never bothered.

As for the tree I covered the soil with some plastic balls so the cat doesn't pop or dig in it but is still ariable.
 
WilliamM2 said:
We have found that even if a plant is safe for cats, the plant is not safe FROM the cats. They love to dig the dirt out of the pots.

Save yourself the aggravation of cleaning it up.
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That's a good point, or the cat might use it as a litter box... lol. So if I'm going to have plants I should probably concentrate on just having them out of reach.

When I take out my fireplace it will leave a rather big bare wall where I want to put the couch against, maybe I will build a shelf higher up and put the plants on it. Then I can grow anything I want like aloe vera. I may also grow food plants in a grow box that I'll eventually build but those can just go in the crawlspace.
 
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I used to have a brain dead cat that would try to eat my Devil's Ivy every few months. That shit is so vicious that it will burn the taste buds off your tongue and leave it numb for a week.

So, yeah... don't get that.
 
spider plants and wheatgrass are 2 edible plants safe for cats and also help their digestion if they have hairball/foodball issues. spider plants dont need direct sunlight so they can be easier to grow.
 
Maybe you're going at this from the wrong angle. Instead of looking for safe plants try to find hardier cats. Get a bunch of different plants, a bunch of different cats, put them together and see which ones survive. Darwinism FTW. And it would be a great high school science fair project.
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Maybe you're going at this from the wrong angle. Instead of looking for safe plants try to find hardier cats. Get a bunch of different plants, a bunch of different cats, put them together and see which ones survive. Darwinism FTW. And it would be a great high school science fair project.
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I kind of like that way of thinking. My nephew may need an idea for a project. Do shelters let you adopt like 20 cats at once?
 
Red Squirrel said:
I kind of like that way of thinking. My nephew may need an idea for a project. Do shelters let you adopt like 20 cats at once?
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Many areas limit maximum amount of registered pets in a household to a certain number, unless you have a breeding license or something. If you live in an area that does this, you might be limited to ~5 cats.
 
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ultimatebob said:
I used to have a brain dead cat that would try to eat my Devil's Ivy every few months. That shit is so vicious that it will burn the taste buds off your tongue and leave it numb for a week.

So, yeah... don't get that.
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I've actually got one of these that I have to keep trimming (it's a hanging plant) because one of my cats likes to bite off the lower-hanging leaves. Maybe he's just into that kind of thing.
 
Actually do marijuana plants smell the same as when people smoke it? I'm not interested in smoking it but I would grow them just for the smell! It's going to be legal here soon, too. 😛
 
Red Squirrel said:
That's a good point, or the cat might use it as a litter box... lol. So if I'm going to have plants I should probably concentrate on just having them out of reach.

When I take out my fireplace it will leave a rather big bare wall where I want to put the couch against, maybe I will build a shelf higher up and put the plants on it. Then I can grow anything I want like aloe vera. I may also grow food plants in a grow box that I'll eventually build but those can just go in the crawlspace.
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No might about it, back when I tried to winter my citrus trees inside my house they would regularly use them as auxiliary litter boxes.
 
Red Squirrel said:
Actually do marijuana plants smell the same as when people smoke it? I'm not interested in smoking it but I would grow them just for the smell! It's going to be legal here soon, too. 😛
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I don't know, I don't smoke it and I've never grown it. But, I've been trying to get my MIL to smoke it to help with her arthritis.
 
Red Squirrel said:
Actually do marijuana plants smell the same as when people smoke it? I'm not interested in smoking it but I would grow them just for the smell! It's going to be legal here soon, too. 😛
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No it's much more skunkier.

Want the smell try burning some freeze dried coffee smells a lot like weed smoke, or it use to.
 
I owned a cat some years - never had one interested in house plants, beyond a curious sniff - except maybe a kitten that likes to play with dangling leafage. (Of course, I'm not monitoring them 24/7 so who knows what they might taste from time to time.)

Cats ARE interested in hiding behind plants, now and then. So ... nothing too tippy (e.g. top-heavy, or small-footprint pot). Some plants withstand tippage better than others.

Reminds me: my cyclamen in a pot on the front steps gets molested by a possum now and then, rooting around, emptying it of soil. Keep adding more soil. Maybe it smells delicious? Cyclamen doesn't mind, 'til the soil gets low.

I'm sure my coleus and cyclamen are toxic to cats. Oh well.
 
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