Be Careful What You Plant

Although plants provide clean air and immense beauty, many are also poisonous to pets. Plants that are not toxic to people, like the hibiscus, those in the Easter lily family, mistletoe, and Dieffenbachia may cause medical problems in pets, such as renal failure, irregular heartbeats, cardiac shock, and even death.

Solutions

To avoid a possible accident, learn the plants that are dangerous to your pet. If you have those plants and cannot stand the thought of giving them up, place them in an unreachable location so the animal cannot chew or dig them up. Also, keep chocolate, caffeine, and milk products away from all animals.

In case of emergency

If your pet does chew on a plant, immediately remove the plant from its mouth and rinse the mouth gently with water. Identify the plant your pet ate and call the poison center or your veterinarian. Watch for excessive or foamy salivation and changes in the skin around the mouth, eyes, or paws.

Mini-lawns

A safe alternative is to grow an indoor mini-lawn for your cats to nibble on. While outside grass can be loaded with deadly fertilizers and pesticides, an indoor mini-lawn provides a safe, edible source of greenery. Special feline gardens are available commercially or you can start your own kitty garden using a bowl, soil, and grass seed.

You can grow catnip too, but monitor how much your cat chews. While catnip generally isn't toxic to cats, too much of the fresh plant can overstimulate the central nervous system and cause a cat to actually injure itself.

*This article was reprinted with permission from the American Humane Association.