Non toxic flowers for cats?
 

Hi everyone,

I usually grow vegetables and herbs on my patio, as well as marygolds.

I just read and found out that marygolds are/can be toxic to cats!!!
I have been growing them for years, but only last summer did my cats have access to my patio. Nothing ever happened thankfully!

There are many articles around about plants and flowers toxic to cats, but few about which flowers are not.
Most are about house plants, and few are about outdoor flowers...
More confusing it is... some websites say some are safe, and other websites say that same flower is toxic!!!

What flowers do you grow if you have cats? I need some VERY low maintenance, super easy to grow flowers... (I already have 8 cats to tend to, so the flowers need to pretty much ''grow on their own").

Does anyone have any suggestions for easy to grow in pots flowers that are TOTALLY safe for cats? As I will no longer be growing marygolds... -asides from catnip of course!

thanks for the advice

sandyrivers

Try Googleing safe plants for pets. I always do when in doubt over what veggie-fruit I can give my budgies. Turns out anything orange is ok to give them :) and there are also lists of plants to keep budgies away from. There must be similar lists for cats.

Mine are indoor cats and my plants are all on shelves they don't access, save one cactus (not a prickly one) and some bamboo.

[QUOTE=sandyrivers;1038831]
I just read and found out that marygolds are/can be toxic to cats!!![/quote]

I'm curious about where you read that? My sources say marigolds are actually NON-toxic to cats. [url]http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants/garden_marigold.aspx[/url]

I find most of the "toxic plant" lists should be taken with a grain of salt. They tend to overgeneralize, and list plants as if the entire thing was deadly poisonous in even minute amounts, which is ridiculous. Take aloe vera, for instance. Only a thin layer of specific cells just below the rind of the plant may cause some temporary intestinal issues when consumed in large amounts. The inclusion of aloe on numerous toxic plant lists seems to imply that your cat will die if it so much as licks a drop of the juice. That's hardly the case.

[QUOTE=sandyrivers;1038831]Does anyone have any suggestions for easy to grow in pots flowers that are TOTALLY safe for cats? [/QUOTE]

My favourite list of toxic and [COLOR="Blue"][URL="http://www.minitaly.com/floppy/txt/Plants_and_Cats.htm#Safe0"]non-toxic[/URL][/COLOR] plants FOR CATS is this one: [url]http://www.minitaly.com/floppy/txt/Plants_and_Cats.htm#alphabetical0[/url] It actually tells you what parts of the plant is toxic, and what that toxicity entails. Calendula officinalis, the Latin name for marigold, is on their non-toxic list.

We sell some cat grass seeds on this site and they are totally safe and make yummy grass for cats. Here's the link if interested. [url]http://www.pets.ca/products/cat-grass-seeds/[/url]