What does non-toxic mean for a houseplant?

Non-toxic means the ASPCA's toxicology team has found no toxic principle that causes poisoning in that plant. It does not mean the plant is edible or completely risk free: eating a large amount of any plant, safe or not, can still cause vomiting or mouth irritation from bulk or fibre.

What should you do if your pet eats a toxic houseplant?

Contact your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435 straight away, and take a sample or photo of the plant so it can be identified. Do not wait for symptoms to appear before calling, since early treatment matters most.

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Pet safety

Which houseplants are safe for pets?

Q: Is monstera safe for cats and dogs?

No. The ASPCA lists monstera as toxic to cats and dogs, along with pothos and snake plant, three of the most common houseplants sold. All three cause oral irritation if chewed and should be kept out of reach of pets.

Toxicity status verified against the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center's Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant database on 24 August 2026, updated 2 September 2026 to add philodendron and fiddle leaf fig, 5 September 2026 to add aloe vera, 6 September 2026 to link the existing calathea listing to its own guide, 7 September 2026 to add African violet, 11 September 2026 to link the existing parlor palm listing to its own guide, 12 September 2026 to link the existing areca palm listing to its own guide, 13 September 2026 to link the existing ponytail palm listing to its own guide, 16 September 2026 to link the existing haworthia listing to its own guide, 17 September 2026 to add orchid, 18 September 2026 to add English ivy to the NOT-safe table below, 20 September 2026 to add prayer plant, 21 September 2026 to add begonia, 23 September 2026 to add dracaena to the NOT-safe table below, 24 September 2026 to add jade plant to the NOT-safe table below, 25 September 2026 to add Easter cactus, and 27 September 2026 to add Christmas cactus (each verified against the same ASPCA database on their own guide). Sources linked below.

Spider plant, Boston fern, parlor palm, areca palm, calathea, haworthia, peperomia, ponytail palm, African violet, orchid, prayer plant, Easter cactus and Christmas cactus are all listed non-toxic to cats and dogs by the ASPCA, making them safe choices for homes with pets. Three of the most common houseplants sold, monstera, pothos and snake plant, are toxic and need to stay out of reach.

Common name	Scientific name	ASPCA status
Spider plant	Chlorophytum comosum	Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Boston fern	Nephrolepis exaltata	Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Parlor palm	Chamaedorea elegans	Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Areca palm	Dypsis lutescens	Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Calathea	Calathea spp.	Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Haworthia	Haworthia spp.	Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Peperomia	Peperomia obtusifolia and most other peperomia species	Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Ponytail palm	Beaucarnea recurvata	Non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses
African violet	Saintpaulia (Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia)	Non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses
Orchid	Phalaenopsis	Non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses
Prayer plant	Maranta leuconeura	Non-toxic to cats and dogs
Easter cactus	Hatiora gaertneri	Non-toxic to cats, dogs and horses
Christmas cactus	Schlumbergera spp.	Non-toxic to cats and dogs

Thirteen ASPCA-verified pet-safe houseplants. houseplantcarehq.com · Houseplant Care HQ

Which common houseplants are safe for cats and dogs?

The thirteen plants in the table above all carry an ASPCA non-toxic rating for both cats and dogs, each checked on the ASPCA's own per-plant page rather than a secondary list. Spider plant and Boston fern are two of the most forgiving houseplants available and tolerate low light, which is why they show up so often in pet-owner recommendations. Parlor palm and areca palm give a genuinely pet-safe way to bring a palm indoors, since most other popular houseplant palms are untested or restricted to specific species. Calathea, haworthia and peperomia cover three very different care styles, humidity-loving, near-succulent, and easy trailing, so a pet-safe choice exists in most light and care situations. Ponytail palm, African violet, orchid and Easter cactus all stand out as non-toxic to horses as well as cats and dogs, useful if the household includes larger animals. Prayer plant is the plant the "prayer plant" nickname itself belongs to, more forgiving of low humidity and cooler rooms than its lookalike relative calathea. Easter cactus is the plant the ASPCA's own database files under its Christmas Cactus entry, an also-known-as name rather than a separate listing, even though the two are different genera. Christmas cactus itself rounds out the list with the more certain of the two kinds of verification this page uses: a direct, named ASPCA entry, rather than the genus-wide inference this site's Chinese money plant guide relies on for its own non-toxic treatment.

What does "non-toxic" actually mean?

Non-toxic means the ASPCA's toxicology team has found no toxic principle in the plant that causes poisoning; it does not mean the plant is edible or entirely risk free. A pet that eats a large amount of any plant material, safe or not, can still vomit or get an upset stomach from bulk or fibre alone. Boston fern's own ASPCA profile makes this point directly: the plant contains no toxic compounds, but a cat that strips and swallows a large amount of frond can still bring it back up once, because that is the gut responding to bulk, not poison. Non-toxic is the correct thing to look for when choosing a plant, it just is not a licence to let a pet graze on it.

Which popular houseplants are NOT safe for pets?

Monstera, pothos and snake plant, three of the most common houseplants sold today, are all toxic to cats and dogs. Philodendron, peace lily, fiddle leaf fig, aloe vera, English ivy, begonia, dracaena and jade plant and rubber plant join them on the ASPCA's toxic list and are just as widely sold. Four of the twelve contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals (monstera, pothos, peace lily and philodendron), which cause oral irritation, drooling and vomiting if a pet chews the leaves or sap; the other eight use a different toxic mechanism each, or none yet identified (snake plant's saponins, English ivy's hederagenin saponin, aloe vera's saponins and anthraquinones, fiddle leaf fig's and rubber plant's ficin and psoralen sap enzymes, begonia's soluble calcium oxalates concentrated most heavily in the roots and tubers, dracaena's saponins, which unusually can also cause dilated pupils in cats, and jade plant's toxic principle, which the ASPCA lists as unknown). English ivy is also the only plant on this list the ASPCA and North Carolina Extension both flag as toxic to humans, not just pets, if eaten.

Plant	Toxic mechanism	Full guide
Monstera deliciosa	Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals	Monstera care
Pothos	Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals	Pothos care
Snake plant	Saponins	Snake plant care
Peace lily	Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals	Peace lily care
Philodendron	Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals	Philodendron care
Fiddle leaf fig	Ficin and psoralen in the sap	Fiddle leaf fig care
Rubber plant (Ficus elastica)	Ficin and psoralen in the milky sap	Rubber plant care
Aloe vera	Saponins and anthraquinones	Aloe vera care
English ivy	Hederagenin, a triterpenoid saponin; also toxic to horses and humans	English ivy care
Begonia	Soluble calcium oxalates, concentrated in the roots and tubers; also toxic to horses	Begonia care
Dracaena	Saponins; also toxic to horses, can cause dilated pupils in cats	Dracaena care
Jade plant	Unknown; also toxic to horses	Jade plant care

True lilies (Lilium species, not peace lily) deserve a separate, stronger warning for cat owners specifically: the ASPCA rates them among the most dangerous houseplants for cats, capable of causing kidney failure from a small amount of pollen or leaf. Peace lily and philodendron are milder, causing the same oral irritation as pothos rather than organ damage, and fiddle leaf fig's sap can also irritate skin on contact, but "lily" in a plant's common name is not a reliable safety signal either way, which is exactly why checking the scientific name matters (see below).

A pet-safe collection and a toxic collection can look equally lush; the difference is never visible, only the species.

How do you check if a plant is safe before buying it?

Search the plant's scientific name, not just its common name, in the ASPCA's toxic and non-toxic plant search tool before buying. Common names overlap in ways that hide real risk: "lily" covers both true lilies (severely toxic to cats) and peace lily (milder), and plenty of nursery tags list only a common or trade name. A nursery or plant-shop label often shows the scientific name in small print next to the common one; if it does not, ask, since the ASPCA database is searchable by either but is only reliable when you have the right one.

What should you do if a pet eats a toxic houseplant?

Contact your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435 straight away if a pet has chewed or swallowed part of a plant you suspect is toxic. Take a photo or a sample of the plant so it can be identified, and note roughly how much was eaten. Do not wait for symptoms such as drooling, vomiting or pawing at the mouth before calling, since earlier treatment gives a better outcome. A consultation fee may apply to the ASPCA hotline; a vet visit is the alternative if cost or availability is a concern.

FAQ

Which houseplants are safe for cats and dogs?: Spider plant, Boston fern, parlor palm, areca palm, calathea, haworthia, peperomia, ponytail palm, African violet, orchid, prayer plant, Easter cactus and Christmas cactus are all ASPCA-listed non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Is monstera safe for cats and dogs?: No. The ASPCA lists monstera as toxic, along with pothos and snake plant, three of the most common houseplants sold.
What does non-toxic mean for a houseplant?: No known poisoning risk per the ASPCA's testing, not that the plant is edible. Eating a large amount of any plant can still cause vomiting from bulk or fibre alone.
What should you do if your pet eats a toxic houseplant?: Call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435 straight away, and identify the plant by photo or sample.