“Can cats eat spider plants?” is a question that comes up when there is a very high chance that you are worried because your cats could have eaten your spider plants of the Asparagaceae family. While they are not toxic, they do make your cats hallucinate and this may bother you.
You do not want your cats to eat these plants for different reasons. Read this article to know why cats should not eat them as well as what you can do to stop them.
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Can Cats Eat Spider Plants?
💥 Cats cannot eat these plants, as cats are obligate carnivores. That is an animal that must eat meat and other animal products to get nutrients. Also, the plants have some hallucinogenic effects. Your cats can suffer from stomach upset, diarrhea, or vomiting when they frequently eat the leaves.
Cats love to nibble on grass blades but cannot go out, so they will play with indoor plants such as spider plants (chlorophytum comosum). Some cats might also use the pot of your plant as their litter box until you train them to stop.
As cats continue to eat spider plants, the more addicted they will become, and stopping them might become more difficult. This is why you should try to stop them as early as you can.
Why Should You Stop Your Cats from Eating Spider Plants?
You should stop your cats from eating spider plants because spider plants can make cats hallucinate. The hallucinations may cause your cat to do something dangerous. These plants are also unsafe for cats because cats are carnivores and should not be eating plants.
– The Hallucinogenic Properties of the Plants
After eating spider plants, your cats might start to feel dizzy or even see things that aren’t there. Consumption of this plant can lead to a slight headache as well. To prevent these from happening to your cats, please prevent them from eating the leaves of your spider plants.
Eating too many of the leaves will surely bring these symptoms and you’d see that your cats are mostly resting or not walking as easily as they usually do. Well, these symptoms are short-lived, as your cats will return to normal in less than a day.
– Cats Are Obligate Carnivores
As obligate carnivores, cats should eat only meat or products that come from animals. Even though they can eat plants and plant products, you should please understand that the digestive system of cats is well-adapted to digesting meat. This means that you aren’t doing your cats any favor if you feed them or let them eat vegetables and leaves.
Eating too many of these leaves can lead to your cats weakening and not growing as quickly as they should. This is why you should prevent your cats from eating spider plants and other plants.
– You May Be Exposing Your Cats To Toxic Chemicals
Spider plants may or may not be harmful. However, the chemicals with which you grow the plants are deficiently harmful to your cats. Chemicals such as insecticides can kill pets or make them very sick, as their job is to kill pests on plants. Also, some inorganic fertilizers have traces of pesticides in them. Cats can get exposed to these chemicals if they eat or play with them.
Some plants also have rooting hormones which help them to grow their roots faster. We still do not know the harmful effects of many chemicals on cats, so it is best that you aren’t the one to find out (with your cats).
– So That Your Cats Do Not Get Addicted
Cats can get addicted to these plants due to the psychedelic elements present in the plants. When cats eat the plants, they might enjoy the effects and return to the plants for more. Note that cats naturally love nibbling on grass, so they can easily get addicted to spider plants and other grass-like plants.
If you keep these plants and other indoor plants that do not resemble grass in a room, there is a very high chance that the cats will only or at most visit the plant after a few weeks.
– The Cats Will Destroy the Plants
It does not matter how much the cats love the plants, they will destroy the plants very soon. Cats love to break stuff, so if you keep your plants in a pot on a table or shelf, there’s nothing stopping the cats from dropping the plant pot. Also, the cats can destroy the plant’s leaves, killing the plant in the process.
If you love your plants and other plants in your garden, you’d want to keep them far away from your cats so that they can continue to beautify and purify your home. If you keep the plants in a hanging basket that your cats can reach, there’s nothing stopping the cats from jumping into the hanging basket.
How Can You Stop Your Cats From Eating Spider Plants?
You can stop your cats from eating spider plants by training them when they are young so that they can learn to avoid the plants. Also, you can give them other things to play with so that they can leave the spider plants.
– Stop Kittens From Playing With the Plants
To stop your cats from eating plants indoors, the best thing to do is to start with young cats, as they learn quickly. Remove the kittens from the plants and possibly most plants inside. Always remove them and tell them not to return whenever you see them playing with the plants. With time, they will learn and not go close to the plants.
As for older cats who might already be addicted, there’s nothing much left for you to do. However, you can still try to stop them and hope that they listen to you.
– Keep the Spider Plant Hanging Basket Far from Reach
One easy way to stop your cats from playing with the plants is by keeping the plants very far from the cats. You can start changing the location of the hanging baskets to a separate room where your cats cannot reach them. You can even grow the plants outside so that your cats cannot reach them at all.
If you want to grow the plants inside, you need to take the hanging basket very close to the ceiling of the room and far from an object that a cat can climb and jump to reach the plants. If you like, you can even keep the plants on a shelf that the cats cannot access what’s inside.
– Grow Cat Grass
Cat grass is simply made of wheat, barley, and other important grasses. Cats love to play with grass, so give them safe grass to play with instead of plants. You can buy cat grass online from any pet shop near you. Note that you need to regularly water the grasses so that they can keep growing.
If the grasses grow taller than you want, use scissors to remove the extra height. Also, when the grass starts to turn yellow and die out, you need to replace them. Please prevent your cats from pooping on the grass. This means that you should potty train your cats before you buy them cat grass.
– Let Your Cats Go Out Sometimes
When a cat eats indoor plants, it could be a sign that it needs to go outdoors to experience how it is. You can take your cats outside under supervision so that they can play with the grasses and objects outside. After some minutes, take the cats indoors. Ensure that the cats are clean or wash them after bringing them inside.
– Regularly Prune the Leaves
If you are growing your plants in hanging baskets and the leaves are dropping close to the reach of cats, you need to prune the leaves. A cat that eats spider plant leaves will surely wait for them to grow near its reach and then try to eat them. You need to be some steps ahead of the cat by pruning its leaves quickly.
Please use very clean pruning tools for your plants so that you do not expose the plants to harmful microbes. Also, ensure that you wash the tools and keep them in the right spot after pruning your spider plants.
– Repel the Cats
You can repel the cats with safe products that cannot harm them. Many cats have something that they are afraid of, so you can use what your cats are afraid of to keep them off the plants. For example, many cats are afraid of the peels of oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruits. Keeping the peel near your plants can keep the cats off.
Cats do not like pepper just like many people, so you can sprinkle pepper powder on the plants to keep the cats away. If you know what your cats hate, use it as a tool to keep the cats off the plants.
– Do Not Purchase Spider Plants
If you still can’t get your cats off your plants, you just need to dispose of the plants. If you have cats and no plants yet, consider buying other plants so that you can avoid future problems of your cats getting addicted to the plants.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do Cats Get Addicted to Spider Plants?
As they continue to eat the leaves of your plants, cats can get addicted. Cats love to nibble on grass-like plants, so playing with spider plants will be a regular thing for them. This is why you must stop the cats from getting close to the plants before this happens.
When cats get addicted to the spider plants, they will prefer playing with them to other indoor plants. They might also start eating the leaves and this is where some health problems might come from. Always keep the plants far from the cats.
2. What Should You Do if Your Cats Eat Spider Plants?
Immediately after your cats eat the spider plants’ toxic leaves, you need to call the vet. The vet might tell you not to worry, but it is best that they are aware of what happened to your cat. Also, continue to be observant of your cats for some days.
If possible, limit the movement of your cats and do not let them climb high heights just in case they start hallucinating. If you start seeing some weird symptoms in your cats, you would do well to inform the vets again so that proper medications can be given to the cats.
Conclusion
Cats love to eat the spider plant toxic leaves, so you need to stop them.
Here are some things that you should remember from this article:
- You should train your kittens not to go near the spider plants so that they can easily avoid the plants when they are mature.
- Spider plants might be exposed to insecticides and other chemicals that can harm your cats, so do not let the cats eat the plants.
- You want to give your cats some cat grass so that instead of playing with the spider plants, they can play with the grass.
- If you are growing your spider plants in hanging baskets, prune the leaves regularly so that the cats cannot reach them easily.
- Before buying a houseplant, make sure that it is not toxic for your pets and kids.
You should always keep an eye on your cats and what they are doing and, failing that, you should keep an eye on their behavior.
References
- Spider Plant. ASPCA.
Retrieved from https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/spider-plant
