Yucky Indoor Houseplant?

spider plants, they produce oxygen and generally need very little care, my mother can even manage them…

And as a bonus, they have spiderlets that you can repot and give to all your friends.. Just snap off w. fingers and put in small pot w. dirt,

However, I have no clue about the cat. What’s his normal green veggie diet?

Here are eight suggestions: house plants – low light

unfortunately spider plants are a favorite of the cat. He’d eat em to the dirt, given the chance.

oh no im sorry, i had no idea cats enjoyed them. i have never owned a cat and a spider plant at the same time, im sorry!

I know a lot about plants and have flowering geraniums, impatiens, amarylis, clivia – all in bloom and waiting for the warm weather to get put on my deck. HOWEVER, I am having a cat arrive next week – thanks to my daughter who is traveling. I have never owned one and know nothing.. Will cats nibble on many house plants? Will it harm them?

yes, and likely. It really depends on the cat, though.

Get some kitty grass for him, or let him be an outdoor cat, and it should be fine.

He is an outdoor cat and knows his way around here. I have catmint growing outside (nepeta). Will that make him happy or will he nibble on all of my garden.?

Cactus are easy to care for

@gooch: Don’t they need heat and misting in a cold house?

cactus can take cold very well. The desert is cold at night. I never mist mine and very occasionally water. Mine are blooming right now!

He might nibble on the garden, but I doubt it (if you have catnip [what we call it here])
If he does, sprinkle pepper on it.

If that doesn’t work, put him on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goA5V7lq0Mw&eurl=http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2008/04/winston-is-a-pi.html

@ scootergirl: I’ve recently acquired a new type of houseplant. I have no idea what the full name is, but it’s called a ZZ plant. It can take very little light (near a north facing window, for example), it thrives on neglect because it has these strange water storing tubers that allow it to go for long periods without watering, and the foliage is upright and stiff (not yummy for cats). It looks almost like some sort of primitive fern – it’s really unusual and attractive.

@gailcalled: often indoor cats will nibble on houseplants. Cats that are allowed to go outdoors usually take care of the urge for greenery by grazing on grass. I would be very surprised if he paid any attention to your garden. (Don’t be alarmed if you notice that Milo vomits after a bout of grass eating – they often do it as a purging technique and it usually does not indicate a problem. Cats are prolific vomiters. The thing to be concerned about is repeated vomiting, especially if combined with anorexia and lethargy).

That said, there are quite a few plants that are toxic to cats. We see a LOT of lilly toxicity here at the clinic – it causes irreparable kidney damage. I would discourage Milo from nibbling on your houseplants if you notice him expressing interest.

Phalaenopsis orchid; I have 2 cats and they have never touched my phals. I think the ultimate reason is they just can’t, if you watch a cat eat grass you will notice how they turn their heads to cut the blades with their carnasials. A phalaenopsis’ leave are fleshy and rounded, a cat cannot get the leaf into the side of its mouth. Other plants I know they don’t like are: Sambac Jasmine, Goldfish Plant, Panda Plant(toxic but really fuzzy and unappetizing), African Violets (also good for low light), pelargoniums, rosemary, basil, stiff or fleshy leaved orchids, lithops, gardenia.

When we got our cats they had never seen a plant up close before, they were fascinated, always looking at them intently and sniffing. Plants that they chewed on got put together in a convenient spot to squirt with a spray bottle(oncidium twinkle buds were their favorite, followed closely by oxalis, which I got rid of due to uncertain toxcicity). I also started growing oats for them to eat instead, and they got tired of getting sprayed pretty quick(adding a Cesar Milan tssst just before the squirt is a good idea cause eventually they will respond to the sound alone). A favorite game for one of them is to pick leaves off my Fukien Tea tree and watch them fall to the ground, I think it’s cute, she doesn’t do much damage.

I noticed them rubbing on a ficus benjamina alot and their eyes started getting watery, I got rid of the fig, and they got better. Sadly lots of pretty plants are toxic, they are popular because they are usually pest free. look

I second the orchid suggestion. I have (mostly) phalaenopsis and dendrobium. Both very easy to keep and not tasty to pets.