Blooms for Rooms: Pet-safe plants and flowers

Flowers are the perfect finishing touch to any space. However, you don’t often think about how the flowers in your home can affect your pets.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few botanicals that can cause potential danger to your fur babies.

With that in mind, here’s our ultimate list of flowers and plants to avoid at home if you have pets, as well as some safe alternatives to try for peace of mind.

Cats are notoriously curious around household objects. Picture Getty

Cats are very sensitive to some plant and flower varieties and can have serious, sometimes fatal, reactions.

For cats, the worst offenders are Japanese, tiger, Asiatic and daylilies, which are some of the most commonly found flowers at the shops or in gift bouquets.

If your cat is found munching on a leaf, sniffing pollen, or even drinking water from the vase of a bunch of these flowers it can trigger permanent kidney failure and potentially be fatal. Other lily varieties can also cause illness to a lesser extent, so it’s best to avoid them.

To keep your pet safe, keep the flowers up high and out of reach, or use sticky cat deterrent strips to keep them away from the area.

If you find your cat munching on some contraband flowers, take it straight to the vet. The earlier the intervention the more efficiently your vet will be able to treat your pet.

Dogs

Dogs are somewhat more resilient than cats, but there are still some flower varieties that can cause serious damage to them if ingested.

The big one to look out for is anything that’s grown from a bulb; so things like tulips, daffodils and hyacinths.

Your much-loved pooch should be kept away from certain plants and flowers. Picture Getty

(Cut and potted) flowers and plants to avoid with pets:

Lilies
Delphiniums
Daffodils
Tulips
Hyacinth
Sago palm
Strelitzia
Asparagus fern
Cycads
Sago palm
Lily of the valley
Foxglove
Morning glory

What flowers and plants are safe for pets?

Roses
Alstroemeria
Cornflowers
Orchids
Snapdragons
Sunflowers
Daisies
Poms
Carnations
Asters
Bromeliads
Gerberas

Do your research to ensure the flowers you buy are safe for pets. Picture Erinna Giblin

Symptoms in your pet to watch for:

Excessive drooling
Dermatitis
Listlessness, drowsiness
Vomiting
Hiding
Excessive or extremely decreased thirst
Pawing at the mouth
Difficulty breathing
Tremors
Staggering
Hallucination

*As seen on Realestate.com.au

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