unsafe plants for cats

[Lovethesea]

I know lilies are poisonous, anything else? I've just bought some Geraniums for garden pots as I'm told they are impossible to kill, but are they ok?

[cozietoesie]

Difficult to know where to start but lilies are the worst. Here you go.

\link{http://www.cfa.org/CatCare/HouseholdHazards/ToxicPlants.aspx\toxic plants}

[cozietoesie]

Here's some more info which usefully includes household items.

\link{http://www.fabcats.org/owners/poisons/plants.html\cats and poisons}

[Fluffycloudland77]

As a precaution, concrete over the whole garden.

It's the only way.

[cozietoesie]

There's something in that guidance about most of them being so yuch to taste and the toxic quantity high enough that in practice most of the plants are probably not a real threat.

Lilies not so of course.

[crazynanna]

Blimey! It would be quicker to list what isn't poisonous from that list

[cozietoesie]

Tell me - but unless your cat has an obsession with eating poinsettias, I'd probably just mainly avoid lilies. They're the real bad guys. Otherwise, you'd pretty well have to have cats indoors with no greenery just in case.

So many of the plants listed are now in UK gardens that I reckon you have to remember that there's an ingestion in quantity caveat for most of them and keep your fingers crossed.

[veryconfusedatthemoment]

I am just in the same position and have found the fabcats listing. It is a lot of plants and I am not a good gardener so have decided to take a practical approach. No to lilies and no to the cocoa mulch and I will then slowly try to understand the rest of the list.

[cozietoesie]

I think that that is a sensible approach, veryconfusedatthemoment. It's right to take practical precautions where there is a real risk but I don't think that wrapping up in cotton wool all the time would lead to a happy life for anyone, cat or human.

[Lovethesea]

Ok so everything then! I give up, no lilies but I'll plant the cheap geraniums and trust they taste nasty. I've only ever seen them eat grass and meat so should be fine. Thanks for advice.

[Ponders]

one of mine is disturbingly fond of petals - she ate some tulip petals (they were on the mantelpiece) & had horrendous smelly poo afterwards, so they had to go straight in the bin & I haven't had any since (& I love flowers )

I've seen chunks missing from some pansy flowers but those haven't done her any harm sofartouchwood

both cats will have an experimental nibble of all kinds of growing things. Our backyard is all concrete, Fluffy but I have lots of stuff in pots...I just bought some cat grass seed from zooplus & hope when that grows it might satisfy the urge for greenery fat chance