7 Household Plants That Are Safe for Your Pets [and 4 That Aren’t]

Household plants are an increasingly popular way to decorate your home due to the beautiful varieties available and the great health benefits they can provide by detoxifying the air around you. What you may not be aware of; however, is that the pretty plant you just picked up from your local nursery may be unsafe for your pets!!

But, don’t worry! You can have the best of both worlds. We put together a list of some common household plants that are and aren’t safe for your pets, so you know what to look for the next time you go to the store! 

(P.S. Be sure to also do your own research and understand your pet’s typical behavior - even if a plant is considered ‘safe’ for pets, too much ingestion of one plant can still upset your dog’s tummy and cause unwanted side effects. Our advice? Talk to your vet or ensure you hang plants away from your pet, especially if he is prone to exploring and chewing!)

Household Plants that are Safe to Have Around Pets

Bird's Nest Fern

Sunlight: Low to medium
Water: Weekly

This fern is known for its beautiful crinkly leaves. The great part about this plant is that you can design how crinkly the leaves get solely based on how much sunlight you provide! The more sun this fern gets, the more crinkly the leaves will get. These beauties are epiphytes, which means that in the wild, they are used to growing on other things, such as tree trunks. We suggest potting these ferns or mounting it on a wooden plank and let them do their thing! 

Calathea Rattlesnake

Sunlight: Low to bright indirect light 

Water: Weekly

The rattlesnake plant is known for its awesome stripes, but what you might not know is this fashionable plant likes to show off for you, too! These plants are often called “prayer plants” due to a flux in the water pressure in the nodes at the base of the leaves. In other words, this plant will open in the morning and close up in the evenings. Many scientists say plants do this in an attempt to follow the sun to catch as much light as possible, which is a common trait of plants that are found in shady forest environments.

Spider plant

Sunlight: Medium to bright indirect sunlight
Water: Weekly

Spider plants have beautiful long leaves that look great in a hanging basket! These plants grow super fast and will need to be repotted every year. They also are known to sprout offshoots which can be harvested and planted to create your own spider plant family. Sounds fun to us!

Parlor Palm

Sunlight: Low to bright indirect light
Water: Weekly

If you wanted a beautiful indoor oasis, the parlor palm might be for you! Not only is it pet safe, but these palms can grow to be up to 6 feet tall and are very adaptable to indoor conditions. They don’t like being repotted very often, so let her grow until she’s feeling uncomfortable in her pot before you transfer her to a new home. Bonus: the parlor palm is known for purifying the air around it!

 

Bamboo Palm

Sunlight: Bright indirect light

Water: 1-3 waterings weekly

Loving that tropical look? In addition to the parlor palm, bamboo palms will have you wanting to sip pina coladas in no time! The best part about these plants is that they require minimal effort while looking gorgeous and giving serious island vibes! Keep him out of direct light, give him water a couple of times a month, and if he’s feeling cramped, re-pot him in a bigger home and he’ll purify the air in your home and look great while doing it!

Haworthia Zebra

Sunlight: Bright direct light
Water: About every 2-3 weeks in full sun

These beautiful guys are in the succulent family and are great if you’re someone who might forget to water them since they don’t meow or bark at you when they’re hungry or thirsty. 😉 Haworthia Zebra are similar to the aloe plant (but not toxic to your pet!) and only needs to be watered every few weeks as long as they’re getting a lot of bright sunlight! 

 

Air Plants (Tillandsia)

Sunlight: Bright direct light
Water: Weekly

Great news - All air plants are pet-friendly! A unique feature about air plants is that they don't need to be planted in soil, so all you need to do is pick out your favorite air plant and let your imagination go wild with the decorations! Try placing your air plant in something hanging, mounted, or try creating a terrarium! The options are endless. Just make sure there’s enough sunlight for your new favorite, low maintenance plant. 

Some Common Household Plants that are Harmful to Pets

Asparagus Fern

(Also known as Emerald Feather, Emerald Fern, Lace Fern)
This beautiful fern is loved because of its fluffy leafy look but is toxic to both cats and dogs due to the sapogenin, a steroid found in a variety of plants. If your pet eats one of these berries, it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Skin inflammation can also occur if your pet is exposed to the plant.

Lilies

Cats are the only animals in which Easter and stargazer lilies are toxic, though most other varieties of lilies are toxic to dogs as well. Cats will generally show signs of vomiting, lack of appetite, and lethargy. However, kidney failure and death can quickly follow if your cat isn’t promptly treated, so we recommend seeing a vet if your cat ingests part of a lily. Other lilies such as the peace lily or calla lily will cause irritation in the mouth, drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing in both cats and dogs.

Aloe Plant

The aloe plant contains aloin, which is toxic to both cats and dogs. When pets ingest this bitter yellow substance, it can cause vomiting, dark urine, lethargy, and diarrhea. If symptoms last longer than a few days, make sure to take your vet to see your regular vet to ensure they get back to normal as soon as possible.

Philodendron

(Also known as Fiddle-Leaf Fig, Red Emerald, Red Princess)

Philodendron, also known as Fiddle Leaf Figs, are so popular these days due to their recent popularity on Pinterest. However, they should be avoided due to insoluble calcium oxalates, which are toxic to both cats and dogs. If your pet ingests one of these plants, it can cause oral irritation, intense burning, and irritation in the mouth, excessive drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing.

We provide you with this information not to scare you, but to help prevent some of these accidents from happening. Most of us aren’t aware of all of the pet-safe plants out there (we admit, we didn’t know about all of these plants until the writing of this blog post, ether)! However, the more we know, the better pet parents we can be and that is what we’re ALL about! ☺️

Having a household full of beautiful, Pinterest-worthy, plants is something to aspire to! We want to see your beautiful houseplants - tag us on Instagram at @HomescapePets to show us your wonderfully designed indoor plants!