ASPCA Pet-Safe Plant List: 15 Easy Indoor Picks

This ASPCA pet-safe plant list gives you 15 indoor plants that the ASPCA identifies as non-toxic to dogs and cats: African violet, American rubber plant, Boston fern, cast-iron plant, Christmas cactus, donkey’s tail, gerbera daisy, hens and chicks, parlor palm, Phalaenopsis orchid, spider plant, friendship plant, zebra haworthia, Easter cactus, and blue echeveria. “Non-toxic” is not the same as edible, though: the ASPCA notes that eating any plant material can still leave a dog or cat with stomach upset, so the useful goal is a safer houseplant choice plus a setup that makes chewing and pot-digging inconvenient.

The short version for a house where the cat treats the windowsill as a patrol route and the dog investigates anything that falls: start with a parlor palm, cast-iron plant, or Phalaenopsis orchid; buy it from a seller that can provide the botanical name; put it in a wide, heavy pot; and keep loose soil, fertilizer, and fallen leaves picked up. Plants are never a substitute for watching the particular animal you live with. One cat will ignore them for years; another will make a project of every new leaf by breakfast.

ASPCA Pet-Safe Plants List for Cats and Dogs

The ASPCA’s Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants database is the check to make before a plant crosses the threshold. It is a large, frequently encountered-plants reference rather than an all-inclusive inventory, and it advises checking the plant’s name rather than trusting a photo or a broad common name. That last part matters more than it sounds: plant labels are often vague, retailers reuse names, and several entirely different plants get sold as a “rubber plant,” “palm,” or “money plant.”

• African violet (Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia): Small and useful for a bright table or counter. Put a saucer beneath the pot; wet rings on wood are a much more reliable outcome than a tidy watering routine.
• American rubber plant / baby rubber plant (Peperomia obtusifolia): This is the ASPCA-listed plant, not a generic “rubber plant.” Keep the label or take a photo of the botanical name before you discard it.
• Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata): A full, forgiving-looking choice for a bathroom shelf or plant stand, provided the shelf is genuinely stable and out of launch range.
• Cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior): A practical floor-plant option for lower-light rooms. Use a broad ceramic pot, not a tall lightweight planter that will roll across the floor the first time a tail catches it.
• Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii): A better holiday-houseplant choice than bringing unidentified seasonal arrangements indoors. Its flat segmented stems are easy to identify after the gift tag disappears.
• Donkey’s tail / burro’s tail (Sedum morganianum): Non-toxic, but comically fragile. Expect dropped segments if it lives where a cat can brush against it; a hanging planter saves the floor and your patience.
• Gerbera daisy (Gerbera spp.): A cheerful flower option. Remove spent blooms promptly so petals do not become house confetti under the dining table.
• Hens and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum): A compact succulent for a sunny spot. It is a safer choice than guessing your way through the succulent aisle, where toxicity varies sharply by species.
• Parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans): A solid choice when you want one taller plant without a dramatic flower, trailing vines, or a pot full of tempting soil at nose height.
• Phalaenopsis orchid / moth orchid (Phalaenopsis spp.): Useful for a bright room where you want flowers without a bouquet. Keep it in its nursery pot inside a heavier cachepot so watering is less messy.
• Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum): The ASPCA database identifies it as non-toxic to dogs and cats. Its dangling pups can still be irresistible to a playful cat, so a hanging position may preserve the plant better than a low shelf.
• Friendship plant (Pilea involucrata): A compact, textured option for a desk or bookcase. Give it a tray so watering drips do not stain the shelf below.
• Zebra haworthia (Haworthiopsis attenuata): A small striped succulent that works well on a high, bright shelf. Check the label closely; many succulents look alike at a glance.
• Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri): Another flowering cactus listed by the ASPCA as non-toxic. It is especially useful if you want a plant that has a little shape without long dangling stems.
• Blue echeveria (Echeveria spp.): A rosette-form succulent for a sunny sill. Choose a pot with a drainage hole and a saucer, then empty the saucer rather than leaving a puddle beside the window.

Which Houseplants Should Pet Owners Avoid?

The plants worth recognizing before you buy are not obscure jungle specimens. The ASPCA specifically flags lilies, sago palms, tulips, oleander, and autumn crocus among plants with potentially severe consequences. For cats, true lilies and daylilies are the big no: ASPCA warns that very small exposures, including pollen, can cause kidney injury and can be fatal. The sensible household rule is simpler than trying to keep a bouquet high enough: do not bring lilies into a home with cats.

Also do not treat a generic “out of reach” spot as a solution for a determined climber or a dog that counter-surfs when nobody is looking. Pothos, philodendrons, peace lilies, dieffenbachia, dracaena, jade plants, snake plants, and many other popular interiorscape plants need a species-by-species check. A hanging basket can reduce access, but it does not change the plant itself—and a dropped leaf still lands exactly where the dog does his investigations.

How to Check a Plant Name Before You Buy It

Ask for the scientific name, then search that name in the ASPCA database for the species you share your home with. Take a photo of the nursery tag and save it in a note titled “houseplants,” along with the purchase date and room. It takes two minutes at the shop and avoids the far more annoying moment when the tag is gone, the plant has been chewed, and everyone is trying to identify a green leaf from a blurry phone picture.

Do this for cut flowers, too. Bouquets are often the weak point because the person bringing them home was not shopping for a pet household and the flowers may not be individually labeled. If a bouquet contains an unfamiliar bloom, keep it outside the home or choose a known non-toxic arrangement. Roses, sunflowers, zinnias, gerber daisies, snapdragons, orchids, asters, statice, and freesia are among the non-toxic flowers the ASPCA lists.

How to Keep Pets Out of Houseplant Pots

Buy the boring hardware once: a low, wide ceramic or cement planter; a fitted saucer; and a plant stand with a footprint wider than the pot. A plastic nursery pot inside a heavy cachepot is easier to lift to the sink, and it makes the whole setup less likely to tip when a dog brushes past it. Skip decorative gravel on top if your animal mouths small objects. It is not worth vacuuming pebbles out from under the sofa, much less wondering whether one went missing.

For cats that use soil as a second litter box, cover the exposed soil with a rigid, cut-to-fit plastic plant grid or a circle of hardware cloth secured below the rim—not loose stones, foil, or anything they can shred. Put trailing plants in a ceiling hook installed into a joist or a properly rated anchor, and keep the pot light enough that the mounting hardware matches the load. This is a household fix, not a behavior guarantee: some animals will leave a plant alone, and some will regard any new object as an assignment.

Build a 5-minute evening reset into the room routine: pick up fallen leaves, wipe spilled water from the saucer and floor, return any knocked-over pot, and put plant food away in a closed cabinet. The goal is not a showroom. It is avoiding the 6 a.m. sound of a cat excavating potting mix across the clean laundry.

What If a Dog or Cat Eats a Plant?

If you see chewing, notice plant material missing, or your pet seems unwell after access to a plant, save the label or take a clear photo of the plant and call your vet. For a suspected toxic exposure—or any emergency—call your vet immediately, or contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. Signs can vary with the plant and the individual animal; vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, lethargy, trouble swallowing, or trouble breathing are reasons not to wait and see.

A Cleaner Plant Corner for Pet Homes

A pet-safe plant is only half the decision. Choose one or two plants that suit the light you actually have instead of turning every windowsill into a crowded obstacle course. Keep the plant corner away from food bowls, the litter box, and the dog bed: that makes it easier to sweep fur and soil into one place rather than rediscovering both on the sofa. A microfiber cloth and a narrow crevice vacuum attachment are enough for the weekly pass—wipe leaves first, then vacuum the sill, baseboard, and pot rim. Ten minutes is usually plenty for a small plant cluster; buying six fussy plants you did not really want is how that becomes another weekend chore.

Where Slashop Fits Into a Pet-Friendly Home

Once the plants are chosen and anchored, there is still the ordinary evidence of life with animals: fur around the plant stand, damp paws after watering, and the cat who uses the sofa arm as a better viewing platform than the carefully placed perch. <a href="https://slashop.com">Slashop</a> is a direct-to-consumer home-textiles shop with bedding, blankets and throws, rugs, sofa covers, pet beds and mats, and sleepwear. Its site specifically highlights no-fur bedding and sofa covers designed for households with pets.

That is relevant here because plant maintenance and pet maintenance tend to happen in the same rooms. If the couch beside the sunny window is where your dog naps after a walk or your cat watches birds while shedding with commitment, a removable sofa cover or easy-clean bedding is a practical layer between daily life and an upholstery-cleaning project. Slashop lists its products individually rather than as a membership or service; at the time of review, featured sofa covers on its home page were listed at $43, $73, and $75, with free delivery advertised on orders over $99. Check the live listing before buying, since sale pricing and stock can change.