Hi all, I just thought I'd make a post with a list of pet-friendly houseplants! I know a lot of us have curious little critters that we wanna keep safe. I'll list the ones I have/know of, and share some of the deets about them for people who are looking for specific kinds of plants, but I also want to know of any cool plants that I might be missing.

• All peperomias (easy care, most stay pretty compact)

• All hoyas (easy enough care, most are climbing/trailing, tons of varieties)

• Ferns, minus asparagus fern (some people think these are easy, some find them difficult)

  • If the fern in question has leaves that are especially feathery or lacy, it might not be a true fern & it might be toxic

• Bromeliads (incredible easy care plants with fun foliage and huge variety)

• Lipstick plant & goldfish plant (trailing plants with beautiful foliage and flowers, middle of the road in terms of care)

• Holiday cactus (an easy care, interesting plant with lots of flowers)

  • Includes christmas, thanksgiving, and easter! Sometimes called exotic dancer as well.

• Spider plant (the classic beginner plant!)

  • Some sources say that spider plant has a mildly opioid effect on cats. I haven't noticed it, but my cats do always want to chew on the fronds.

• Calatheas & stromanthe (gorgeous foliage! once again, some find these easy and some find them really hard)

• Fishbone cactus (easy care, fun foliage, trails)

• All orchids (huge variety in all shapes and sizes, some of which are easy, some of which are difficult)

• African Violets (medium care)

• Polka dot plant (easy care)

• Nerve plant (mixed bag, some find these difficult)

• Money tree (medium care- these plants like neglect. with proper care they get big)

• Cast Iron plant (great if you want something big and leafy, very easy care)

• Swedish Ivy (super easy trailing plant with pretty foliage, NOT a true ivy- ivies are toxic!)

• Epiphyllums / Orchid Cactus (rarer and more expensive with more specific care needs)

• Palms, on a case by case basis (easy-medium care needs)

  • Areca palm, ponytail palm, parlor palm, cat palm are safe

  • Some plants labeled 'palms' are actually lookalikes and are toxic- err on the side of caution, because cats love to bat and bite these things.

• Succulents are also on a case by case basis (these guys love light + neglect)

  • Haworthia (little and spiky- like a mini aloe)

  • Burro's tail and donkey's tail (long and trailing)

  • Sempervivum (spiky rosettes)

  • Echeveria (plump rosettes)

  • String of hearts (trailing plant with small heart shaped leaves, pink varieties are common)

*** Special addendum for maranta plants: I cannot for the life of me figure out whether or not these things are toxic, lol. Some sources say yes, some say no. Both maranta and calathea are sometimes called prayer plants, so watch out for that? If anyone knows for sure whether or not maranta is toxic, let me know, because I really want one.

It also seems worth noting that some plants are more attractive to pets than others, and some plants that are technically toxic are unlikely to cause your pets serious harm unless they eat a LOT of it. For example, kalanchoe is technically toxic, but it's unattractive to my cats & not likely to hurt them even if they do chew on it. There are also some plants that you can safely keep out of reach of your cats- string of pearls is a good one. I wouldn't try it with pothos or english ivy, though, because those can get quite long.

I love elephant ear plants! My spouse and I are about to possibly move into our forever home! And I’ve always wanted to have stupidly huge plants just like in my grandmother’s garden. I love elephant ears so much! They bring such good memories for escaping the summer monsoon under their huge leaves. I’ve never had pets so I just recently found out that they are poisonous to animals. I have cats and dogs and would hate to see them hurt. Do any of you have any suggestions for any stupidly huge plants? Indoors and outdoor too! Mostly indoor for now before we move.