Hi Home-eccers-
I would hate to have a whole month go by without asking a new question! Hopefully you can help me with this one.
I have two small kittens (check out the picture, they’re way cute) and I live in a wee little Chicago apartment. Now that it’s spring, I’d like to have some houseplants. Here’s the question: what plants are safe for cats, but also can survive or thrive in low light? The ASPCA has a website that lists dozens of poisonous and non poisonous plants, but short of looking each one up, I’m not sure how to figure out what some good choices may be. I’d really like some flowers. Can you ladies help me out here?
Thanks,
Algernon’s Mommy
Ivy says:I am the Ted Bundy of houseplants. It’s not solely my fault, the cats have helped greatly with this plant murdering. This is one of the reasons it is so important to find houseplants that are not toxic to your cats. If they eat enough of anything, it will make them throw up or have diarrhea, so just be careful.
I think your best bet is the African Violet. It doesn’t grow in low light conditions, however, so put it in an east or north window. A good gauge to whether or not your violet is getting enough light is this- if it doesn’t flower, it’s not getting enough light. If the leaves turn brown along the edges, it’s getting too much light.
African violets are also picky about how much water and humidity they have. They’re native to African tropical rainforests, so they thrive in conditions with a lot of water and humidity. But, of course, not too much. Keep your plant in a pot wit a deep saucer. Put some pebbles in the bottom of the saucer and keep water in the saucer. That’ll work for watering your plant as well. I remember as a kid helping my grandma water her plants and she freaked out when I watered the violets from above. Apparently that’s bad for your violet, so only water from the saucer.
The other route you can go for choosing houseplants is to go look at houseplants you’re interested in and look them up for toxicity. This is what I do- it wastes a bit of gas and time since you have to go twice to the store, but it’s worth it.
The only thing I find I can successfully grow in my house with my cats is catnip. And even then, I grow it and my cat destroys it. Then I grow some more and he destroys some more. It’s still nice to have some green in the house, though.
