Plants Safe and Toxic for Cats

How this list is built (and why the count looks lower)

The ASPCA's database lists close to a thousand plant entries, but many are the same plant under different common names — for example one parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans) appears as “Bamboo Palm”, “Good Luck Palm”, “Dwarf Palm” and more. Listing each name as its own row would be misleading and repetitive, so we group entries by their scientific name into one row per real plant — which is why the count here (the number shown above) is lower than ~983.

Nothing is lost: every alternate common name is kept and stays fully searchable — type “bamboo palm” or “good luck palm” and you'll land on the same parlor palm — and each plant's page lists its other names under “Also known as”. Verdicts are never changed by merging; entries that share a scientific name always share the same ASPCA toxicity rating. More on our methodology.

Why a cat-specific plant list matters

Cats metabolise things differently from people and dogs, so a plant that's harmless elsewhere in the house can still be a problem for a cat — and the famous example, the lily, is dangerous enough that even pollen or vase water can cause kidney failure. A plant being on the “safe” list means no toxicity to cats is reported by the ASPCA; it doesn't mean a cat should graze on it, since any plant material can cause vomiting or stomach upset.

How to use this list

• Search by common name, nickname or scientific name — “pothos”, “devil's ivy” and “Epipremnum” all find the same plant.
• Filter with the Toxic / Safe buttons to see just one group.
• Sort by tapping a column heading.
• For the full picture on one plant — reported signs, what to do, and the source — run it through the home checker.

Every verdict here is sourced from the ASPCA and links back to it; we cite the source rather than copying its wording.