Do your cats (or other domestic pets) eat your house plants?

[TheTecknician]

Many years ago one of our cats had a fondness for spider plants and I'm sure he had a nibble or two at a Christmas cactus. I know cats and dogs eat grass to aid with digestion but the house plant thing was curious and amusing. Perhaps it was a genuine nutritional need or maybe he was bored with Choosy and Whiskas. I expect there are other cats who do likewise.

I've never known of a cat that, whether it be bored or just wanting something fresh and green to nibble at, has not chewed or actually ingested a piece of a houseplant.

Too often it results in serious health problems or death.

That's why, with a lifetime of having cats, I've never had live houseplants, only dead fake ones; Ikea Fejkas are my favourite.

Even Fejkas have been chewed, sometimes to get my immediate attention ( which is most certainly does) or because it looks tempting to have nibble on.

You were fortunate that your cat sampled the Spider Plant, as that plant is on the (very short) list of " plants NOT toxic to Cats".

Your cat could have gotten sick with mild gastro problems i.e. vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea, drooling or gagging if it had done more than a little nibble.

I once Googled " house plants that are toxic to Cats" and the list was a long one, so long that I abandoned the idea of keeping plants, in favour of keeping cats.

I've not seen an Ikea 'cat' yet that I would want.

It's lucky that spider plant was on the menu. I think the rubber and Swiss cheese plants were left alone. Perhaps we should have bought a potted bamboo as that is, botanically speaking, grass.

:) Yes, any plant that belongs to the 'grass family' is generally safe to have around cats.
It's enlightening, and quite surprising how many plants are toxic to cats. Cats are very sensitive to so many things, even simple pain relievers that ARE safe for DOGS, are NOT safe for cats!

I hope I don't sound unpleasant, but I really feel this is important to remind people about cats and house plants.
They all chew, some realise straight away that they don't like the taste or sensation, but others, sadly, do not and then it's too late.

Yep. Which is why I only have non toxic plants. Cut flowers are the same - be careful what you have in your house.

Yup!

That was a fast learning curve!

I like(d) cut flowers in the house, but they're far too tempting to my pair of furry dickheads. As are house plants.

Eaten on purpose no,
Chewed into tiny little pieces and accidentally ingested in the process yep pretty much every plant
He just likes to destroy things

Stupid cats. Not happy with tinned and dry tuck, water, fireplaces, cardboard boxes, sunny window ledges, people's beds and nice gardens they want the ruddy plants too. And mice and birds and goldfish!

You forgot Christmas trees...and cat trees wirth multiple hidey holes 🤣

Oh don't even get me started on Xmas Trees!

Yes, we've had cats that sat patiently beside the tree, staring with great interest in the sparkly ornaments, but we've had more 'paws on' cats that haven't been satisfied till they've climbed the wretched tree from the inside where you can't even grab them! One thing though, all have had the sense NOT to chew on the needles!

No but I only have a cheese plant, it's a bit thick to knaw on but interestingly my cats are house cats, never go outside but have tried eating my daughters fake ivy in her room, they seem to just know to need to eat green leaves/grass but didn't suss out it was plastic. I had to take it down and hide it.

Yes, I have. I think flowers, they think salad.

In the spring/summer, we often plant so-called 'cat grass' in planters outside, and then bring them inside for our cats to nibble on and consume.

The seeds you can use to grow are: Wheatgrass, Barley Grass, Oat Grass, Rye grass, and Alfalfa Grass.

Now some cats have a preference for some varieties of grass, but all are safe for them.

Cats need grass for a few reasons.

It's good for their digestion, ( reducing hairballs, easing constipation) as 'cat grass' contains Fibre, Folic Acid, Antioxidants, Chlorophyll, Vitamins and Minerals.
And, as we all know, some cats just like to chew!

The down-side ( for humans) is that sometimes, eating 'cat grass' will result in a cat vomiting it back up, ( like they were in the wild), but take comfort in knowing that your cat will then feel better, stride contentedly off, and leave the rest to you!

I've had 5 cats in my life. Two currently.

Only one of them has ever been a house plant nibbler. He's growing out of it now (3) but sometimes i still see a new tell tale nibble on the monstera 🙄

My other one (14 so old enough to know better) likes to nibble the bottom branches of the xmas tree. When i tell her off she always looks straight at the other cat as if he told her to do it! 😂

(both ragdolls so daft)

Please be careful with this. Lots of plants are poisonous to cats.

Given Labradors' propensity to eat anything in sight, I wonder if there are any such dogs whom are partial to indoor flora? As I alluded upthread, grass is a given.

1 cat will eat anything fake Xmas trees included.
The other not interested whatsoever, he prefers human food, not that he gets it very often!

Mine slaps the water in any plant saucer. Fiercely. It is hilarious to watch.

All the cats outdoor and one indoor eat plants in the garden. One had a cold and was sneezing his head off, ate some of a very spiky Japanese Wineberry stem and was better the next day. I remember because I told him not to eat the spiky stems but he knew better. They all eat grass at some point or other.

Ds loves to buy a friend's cats catnip for Christmas. He says that if cats were human then catnip would be a controlled substance.🤣

Anyway that's slightly by the by: her cats will try any inside plants. She's really careful, even with cut flowers because one of them will always try a nibble of anything growing.

One of the amazing things about cats is that they are all different I have never in my life had a cat that didn't eat a plant that it found indoors.
I can't remember how many cats I've been around since day one but it's got to be at least 25; my mother adored them!

Nope. Yoga mats and anything made of funky foam though are fair game for chewing.

I only have fake plants because of my cats. One of them still eats the fake plants when he gets the chance. He isn’t the brightest.

They're little tyrants at times

It's quite likely that if an edible, non-toxic house plant was purchased especially for the cats, they would purposely ignore it and eat something else, just to be spiteful.

You can get cat grass for them to eat. My friend gets that for her cats and they do love it.