Said It Here

How to protect cats from toxic plants without getting rid of your garden

Discovering that popular garden flowers are toxic creates a difficult choice between protecting your pets and losing established plants. Because there are too many varieties to easily research or remember, it becomes overwhelming to figure out which plants are safe to keep and which ones need to be removed.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    installing small ground fences rubbed with scented deterrents like citrus zest or banana peels
  2. 2
    covering dangerous areas with chicken wire
  3. 3
    Researching each individual plant, keeping questionable plants isolated in closed cabinets or rooms, or building a mini-greenhouse/grow tent.

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“I found out today that lilies are severely toxic to cats, and I’m not sure what I need to do next about this.”source ↗

“I don’t think she’d take the idea of getting rid of her flowers too well, but I’m also worried about the cats possibly getting sick.”source ↗

Urist_McAnonymous · r/cats · 4 upvotes

“I’m afraid you’ll have to research/check each plant, there are just too many for anyone to be able to give you comprehensive advice.”source ↗

Turboturbulence · r/cats · 2 upvotes

“What are some plants cats would love to have around and some I should get rid of. I gave medicinal, fruits, decorative etc all types of plants so it's confusing what to keep and what not to keep. I'm planning to adopt a cat soon”source ↗

fmylife1001 · r/cats · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/catsgardeningpets

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