Cats · editorial guide
Household Plants Toxic to Cats
Many beloved houseplants are dangerous to cats. Know which ones to keep out of your home.
- Cats ratings
- 160
- Acutely toxic
- 14
- Unsafe
- 39
- Safe
- 33
Archive verdict for this guide
For cats only, 14 of 160 ratings are acutely toxic (9%), 33% are unsafe or toxic, and Beverages is the densest hazard category at 87.5%.
- 14
- Toxic
- 39
- Unsafe
- 74
- Caution
- 33
- Safe
Counts are live SQL over food_safety (cats only). Dataset vintage: August 2026.
Hazard share by category · cats
Highly Toxic Plants
Lilies (true lilies — Tiger, Easter, Asiatic, Day lilies) are acutely toxic to cats — even licking pollen can cause kidney failure. Other highly toxic plants: azalea, rhododendron, sago palm, oleander, and cyclamen.
Common Houseplants to Avoid
Aloe vera (toxic when ingested), dieffenbachia (dumb cane), pothos, peace lily, philodendron, and snake plant are common household plants harmful to cats. Cats are notorious for nibbling plants.
Safe Alternatives
Cat-safe plants include spider plant, Boston fern, catnip, cat grass (wheatgrass), areca palm, and air plants (Tillandsia). Consider these when decorating a cat-friendly home.
If your pet ate something dangerous
Call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: 888-426-4435 (24/7, consultation fee may apply) or your nearest emergency veterinary clinic immediately.
See also methodology, cat foods, tools, and about.
PlainPetFood publishes an editorial food-safety compilation. When the FDA or ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center names a food as dangerous, that food's page links the source; other ratings are identified as editorial guidance. Guide KPIs and category hazard bars are computed live from food_safety for the guide's species scope. Section prose is editorial; no hazard percentage is typed by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, report a correction, the methodology behind these numbers, or contact the editorial team. Data current as of August 29, 2026.