Are you searching for plants that are safe for your pets? Here is an exclusive list of 28 Low Light Indoor Plants Safe for Cats and Dogs!
Are you a houseplant enthusiast looking forward to having safe plants for pets? We have prepared a list of some non-toxic, Low Light Indoor Plants Safe for Cats and Dogs, approved by ASPCA. Give your interior a touch of green with these houseplants, and stay assured of your pets!
Check out our article on plants that dogs love to eat here
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Low Light Indoor Plants Safe for Cats and Dogs!
1. Ponytail Palm
Botanical Name: Beaucarnea recurvata
Offering the appearance of a palm tree, the ponytail plant is an ornamental houseplant, which is highly drought-tolerant. It grows slowly and doesn’t need much care. This is a must-have houseplant for most pet lovers.
2. Spider Plant
Botanical Name: Chlorophytum comosum
The spider plant is an easy to grow, adaptable plant. It also has an air-purifying ability, helping to remove formaldehyde and xylene from indoor air. So, you must consider growing this non-toxic, low-light plant in your home, especially if you have a cat.
3. Cast Iron Plant
Botanical Name: Aspidistra elatior
Reaching up to the height of 2-3 feet, the cast iron plant has lush green foliage, which gives it a stunning look. It is a slow grower, surviving in extreme conditions; as a result, making it a popular house plant for busy people.
4. Prayer Plant
Botanical Name: Maranta leuconeura
Prayer plant has glossy, dark-green foliage, with red veins on its leaf. It grows up to 10-12 inches and has a horizontal growth habit. It’s safe for your pets if they accidentally bite it.
Discover some of the best prayer plant varieties here
5. Zebra Calathea
Botanical Name: Calathea zebrina
Calatheas can brighten up any space with their bicolor-green foliage and silver brushmarks. It grows up to 3 feet in height and is completely safe for your pets.
See more zebra pattern houseplants here
6. Boston Fern
Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata
The beautiful Boston ferns are famous for their stunning foliage. Their dangling fronds also make them great for window boxes or hanging baskets. If you have pets, then don’t worry; it is a non-toxic plant.
7. Fittonia
Botanical Name: Fittonia albivenis
Fittonia is a low-growing creeper with red veins on its leaves. It has bright green leaves with silver linings all across its foliage. It grows up to 10-12 inches tall and is a pet-friendly houseplant.
8. Parlor Palm
Botanical Name: Chamaedorea elegans
Downward arching, green fronds of parlor palm makes it perfect for offices and homes. This tall houseplant has excellent air-purifying capabilities, too, and is safe for cats and dogs!
9. Gloxinia
Botanical Name: Sinningia speciosa
With trumpet-shaped flowers of brilliant hues like crimson, violet, and white over its velvety foliage, gloxinia is a must-have indoor plant if you love flowering houseplants. It attains a height of 6-12 inches, and even if you have a curious dog in your home, you can safely keep it.
10. Baby Rubber Plant
Botanical Name: Peperomia obtusifolia
While ficus elastica (the original rubber plant is slightly toxic to pets), this one is not. It does not require much attention, and that’s the reason many houseplant enthusiasts prefer it. Its fleshy stems store water and do not demand frequent watering.
11. Wax Plant
Botanical Name: Hoya carnosa
Usually grown in pots and hanging baskets, the wax plant is a very common houseplant with waxy foliage. Also, you guessed right: it is safe for your pets.
12. Peacock Plant
Botanical Name: Calathea makoyana
With eye-catching glossy foliage accompanied by dark-green blotches along the veins, it resembles peacock’s feathers, hence the name. Like the prayer plant, it is also non-toxic for cats and dogs.
13. Moth Orchid
Botanical Name: Phalaenopsis
Long-lasting and fragrant flowers of moth orchid will elevate your mood with its outstanding aroma. It is typically a foot tall and pet-friendly.
14. Staghorn Fern
Botanical Name: Platycerium
Belonging to the polypod family, staghorn fern has unique fronds. Its flat leaves overlap over each other to offer stability to its ferns. Also, this plant is completely safe for your pets.
15. Bromeliads
Botanical Name: Bromeliaceae
Bromeliads will provide an exotic touch to the interior of your home with their showy red and yellow flowers over contrasting green foliage.
16. Zebra Plant
Botanical Name: Aphelandra squarrosa
With stripes of green and cream colors over its waxy foliage, it resembles the ones on a zebra, hence the name. Rarely exceeding the height of 12-inches, it is a beautiful, pet-friendly indoor plant!
17. Burro’s Tail
Botanical Name: Sedum morganianum
With fleshy blue-green fat leaves and dangling stems, this succulent looks very special. And the best thing about this is–it’s safe for cats and dogs, both.
18. Pearl Plant
Botanical Name: Tulista pumila
This hardy, succulent plant, with pearl-like tubercles over its fleshy, blue-green leaves, looks stunning in any succulent collection. Like other plants on this list, it is safe for cats and dogs.
19. African Violet
Botanical Name: Saintpaulia
A striking option for pet owners, the African Violet is a great addition to your home. Always ensure it is not near a drafty window or vent.
Check out our article on growing African Violets indoors here
20. Polka Dot
Botanical Name: Hypoestes phyllostachya
When kept indoors, it grows up to a foot tall and makes a great addition to your indoor garden and for your pets. Keep it near an east-facing window for best growth.
21. Watermelon Peperomia
Botanical Name: Peperomia argyreia
This plant gets the most love for its beautiful watermelon-like foliage. It is safe around pets and can be kept out of direct sunlight.
Here’s all you need to know about growing Watermelon Peperomia
22. Pilea Silver Sparkle
Botanical Name: Pilea Glauca
In addition to being a pet-friendly plant, this is also a good choice for those who are just starting to grow indoor plants. Choose a location near a window with filtered light and always keep the soil moist so it can thrive.
23. Friendship Plant
Botanical Name: Pilea involucrata
The Friendship plant is adorned with intricately patterned leaves that are soft to touch and completely harmless to your pets.
24. Areca Palm
Botanical Name: Dypsis lutescens
Want to impress your guests while also keeping your pets safe? Then, Areca Palm is the way to go! Also known as a butterfly palm, it grows up to 4-6 feet tall with big and beautiful fronds.
25. Haworthia
Botanical Name: Haworthia
If you are looking for a safer substitute than the Aloe Vera plant, the Hawthoria is your best best. Very similar to a succulent, all varieties in this genus are safe for cats and dogs. Plus, they are low-maintenance and require some indirect light.
26. Swedish Ivy
Botanical Name: Plectranthus verticillatus
It is considered a low-maintenance houseplant with distinctive & dainty green leaves and can make your home smell aromatic due to its small lilac flowers. Completely safe for animals, this plant is best grown when kept in a hanging planter.
27. Purple Passion
Botanical Name: Gynura aurantiaca
This beautiful houseplant is completely safe for your cats and dogs. The Purple Velvet is gorgeous and has purple speckles dusted all over each leaf. These plants are huge fans of diffused bright light and moist soil.
28. Chinese Money Plant
Botanical Name: Pilea peperomioides
If you’re looking for a houseplant that won’t cause any harm even after nibbling, this is it. It’s also low-maintenance and known to bring good luck.
Lucky bamboo is not safe for cats!
Very first suggestion, lucky bamboo, is NOT safe for cats. Please remove this.
Lucky bamboo is INCREDIBLY TOXIC TO CATS!! this information is incredibly harmful, please remove this plant from your list! YOU COULD KILL SOMEONE’S PET!
It isn’t: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/bamboo
Lucky bamboo and bamboo aren’t the same thing. Lucky bamboo is toxic to cats.
How do you tell the difference?
You are incorrect, this is not the plant that was listed. As RJ noted below, Bamboo and Lucky Bamboo are different species and genus.
Bamboo = Phyllostachys aurea = nontoxic
Lucky Bamboo = Dracaena Braunii = toxic
https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/dracaena/
When did you get your erroneous information about lucky bamboo? REMOVE THIS PLANT FROM YOUR LIST IMMEDIATELY! It is NOT cat safe.
Where are the prices?
These aren’t for purchase on this site. It’s just a list of plants for information purposes.
Lovely plants
Kindly note that I am living in kanyakumari
Please let me know how I can get these plants
With regards
Solomon
@Chris / whoever else
Bamboo and Lucky Bamboo aren’t the same thing. Lucky Bamboo, or Dracaena Sanderiana, is moderately toxic to pets whereas normal bamboo isn’t.
Fortunately it looks like it was removed from the list
Great list, and beautiful plants!!
oh my is swedish plants and spider plants ok? i have 2 kittys! now im worried
Read the list! It includes spider plants. Google any you aren’t sure about!
My cat loves plants he can bat around. Then he eats them. He’s been eating my spider plant for years. He does throw it up. I can’t watch him all the time to chastise him for gnawing on my pretty plant. I like having all the free spider plants in the house (they grow all over the yard). They are definitely non toxic or I would have never put them in the house.
Spider plants have mild hallucinogenic effect on cats. But mainly non toxic.
my cat loves to eat the spider plant – after reading up on it I found it has a mild hallucinogenic effect like catnip. Not toxic, though.
Prayer plants ARE toxic for cats!!! Please don’t get one if you have a cat!
Welp a lot of sources say otherwise on google (see aspca https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/maranta)
Yes, thank you
Is flax poisonous for cats? Shady outdoor garden
Lol not only are not all of these plants safe for cats at the comments demonstrate but most of them also do poorly in low light. This is an awful list.
That’s what I was thinking about some of them too. My Chinese money plant can’t get enough light and it sits in a south facing window in Ohio.
Please use the ASPCA list. Many plants can be mild to moderately harmful and end up on a random list. Always use the ASPCA list.
Ah, I see another already suggested the same.
So many plants have similar names, I like to double check the scientific name.
For example, Money Plant and Chinese Money Plant are not the same at all.
So, just better to be safe than sorry.