Do you have houseplants that you get out around Christmas time? If so, how well have your dog and cat “ignored” them?

When I was a young kid in veterinary school, my girlfriend took her cats home to her mom’s house. The cats loved her mom’s spider plants! But her mom did not like the “pruning” the cats did to them! They almost did not make it to their next birthday!

As many clients have asked us about this, it seemed like a good idea to offer a list of pet-friendly plants and non-pet-friendly plants. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but hopefully includes those that may be commonly given as a gift, or you may have as a houseplant. We especially thought this was appropriate as we approach the fun holidays of Christmas and New Years!

Some pet-friendly plants are:

• Spider plant (also known as Ribbon plant) botanical name [Chlorophytum Comosum]
• Spider and rubber plant
• American Rubber plant
• Boston Fern
• African Violet
• Pony tail plant, Elephant-foot tree
• Golden Cane Palm
• Parlour Palm
• Zebra Haworthia
• Christmas Cactus
• Baby’s Tears, polka Dot Plant, Pink Splash
• Feather Palm
• Swedish Ivy, Creeping Charlie
• Sweent alysum
• Inpatience Plant Busy LIzzy
• Maranta, Prayer Plant
• Gloxinia
• Porcelain Flower, Wax plant
• Hens and Chickens
• Climbing Begonia, Rex Begonia
• Burrow’s tail

A couple of non-pet-friendly plants include:

• Norfolk Pine, House Pine
• Croton
• Jade Plant, Dwarf Rubber plant
• Azalea
• Geranium
• Easter Lily
• Aloe
• Dracaena, Corn Plant, Ribbon Plant
• Dieffenbachia, Giant Dumb Cane
• Daffodil, Paper white
• Calla Lily, Trumpet Lily
• Yucca
• Caladium, Elephant Ears
• Cutleaf Philodendron, Hurricane Plant
• Golden Potbos, Devil’s Ivey
• English Holly
• Amaryllis, Belladona Lily
• Tulip & Tulip Bulb
• Peace Lily
• Horsehead, Heartleaf Philodendron
• Chrysanthemum, Daily, Mum
• English Ivey, Sweetheart Ivey
• Snake Plant, Mother -in-Law’s tongue

If you have any of the non-friendly plants, consult your veterinarian as to what you should do. If you don’t have a regular veterinarian, we would love to see you at Lakeview. Call to make an appointment.

A note about fleas: They have not gone away! We are still seeing a lot of pets coming in with fleas! Make sure your pet has some sort of flea protection, especially as it gets colder and the fleas start looking for a place to overwinter. You don’t want that to be your home and your pet! Contact us about the best flea preventative for your pet!