I recently was given a plant as a gift just before I left and a sitter came. It turns out it was toxic to cats and my cat nibbled on it. Thankfully, it worked out okay despite a lot of stress for both me (9 hours time difference) and my poor sitter.
Do you have a favorite app or “go to” regarding which plants are okay? I also traveled with my cat recently and the “pet approved” rental had toxic plants (which I investigated after the recent scary experience). I don’t garden and it was tricky to figure out what plants where so I could google them.
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We both have Android phones, so Google has built-in camera app called Google Lens. Taking a picture with Google Lens will visually search for the plant, usually will identify it and then it will take you to another site where you can look up all the details and toxicity. We have found the app to be very accurate. There are a few other apps out there, that are just for plants identifying but those come with costly subscription costs.
We are currently on a cat sit in a house full of indoor plants. Unfortunately, the cats like to munch on them, and I’ve discovered that three of the plants are mildly toxic. There are other plants that are safe like herbs, wheat grass etc. but the cats are particularly attracted to those 3 plants that they shouldn’t be eating .The cats often vomit after eating the plants, and many of the leaves show signs of being chewed over time.
We moved the plants to a closed room and shared our concerns with the homeowners. They brushed it off with the comment, “The cats have been alive for 6 years, right? Don’t worry about it.” Since moving the plants, the cats have stopped vomiting, but now we’re faced with a dilemma.
On our last day, should we put the toxic plants back where they were, or leave them in the closed room? What would you do? Also we are thinking of mentioning that in the review, which will probably stir some emotions.
This is something without too much scaremongering:
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Thanks for sharing and new fear unlocked. There are a bunch of cyclamen plants, that are highly poisonous to cats and dogs.
The plant that these cats were chewing the most is called pothos and is not technically poisonous, but it’s high oxylate content will make the cats drool and vomit and thus the plant is classified as mildly toxic.
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