15 pet-safe houseplants

The short answer: For low light, get a cast iron plant or parlor palm. For medium light, a spider plant or calathea. For a sunny window, a ponytail palm or haworthia.

You don’t have to choose between plants and pets. Plenty of beautiful, easy houseplants are non-toxic to cats and dogs according to the ASPCA. The trick is matching them to your light — because a pet-safe plant that dies in a dark corner doesn’t help anyone.

A note on “safe”: non-toxic means it won’t poison your pet. Any plant can still cause a little vomiting if a pet eats a lot of it — so keep an eye on enthusiastic chewers.

Pet-safe plants for low light

Rooms with north-facing windows (south-facing in Australia), hallways, or anywhere more than about 6 feet (2 m) from a window.

1. Cast iron plant

The toughest pet-safe plant there is. Dark rooms, cold rooms, forgotten waterings — it doesn’t care. Slow growing, so buy the size you want. Profile →

2. Parlor palm

Soft, feathery fronds that look lovely next to a sofa. Handles low light and is easy to care for. Water when the top inch of soil is dry. Profile →

3. Bird’s nest fern

Wavy, apple-green fronds and much less fussy than other ferns. Great in a bathroom. Water the soil, not the center “nest.” Profile →

Pet-safe plants for medium light

A bright room with no direct sun on the plant, or a few feet back from a sunny window.

4. Spider plant

The classic pet-safe plant. Fast-growing, forgiving and it makes free baby plants. Cats often love chewing the leaves — it isn’t poisonous, but put it in a hanging basket if you want it to survive. Profile →

5. Calathea (prayer plant family)

Gorgeous painted leaves that fold up at night. Pet-safe, but a bit fussy: it likes humidity and filtered or rain water. Profile →

6. Boston fern

Big, lush and great for bathrooms or shaded porches. Keep the soil evenly moist. Profile →

7. Peperomia

Compact, chunky leaves in dozens of patterns — perfect for desks and shelves. Lets you forget to water now and then. Profile →

8. Money tree

A braided trunk and glossy leaves that make it look like a tiny tree. Water when the top 2 inches are dry and don’t let it sit in a saucer of water. Profile →

9. African violet

A pet-safe flowering plant that blooms almost all year on an east-facing windowsill. Water from the bottom to keep leaves dry.

10. Areca palm

A bigger palm for a bright room, safe for cats and dogs. Likes regular watering and dislikes cold drafts.

Pet-safe plants for bright light

A sunny window or a spot that gets a few hours of direct sun.

11. Ponytail palm

A succulent (not a palm) with a fat, water-storing trunk and a fountain of leaves. Loves sun, hates wet feet. Water every 3–4 weeks. Profile →

12. Hoya (wax plant)

Trailing vines with thick, waxy leaves and sweet-smelling clusters of star-shaped flowers. The perfect pet-safe replacement for pothos. Profile →

13. Haworthia

A small striped succulent that looks like a mini aloe — but unlike aloe, it’s non-toxic. Profile →

14. Echeveria

Rosette-shaped succulents in blue, pink and purple. Give them your sunniest window and very little water.

15. Moth orchid (Phalaenopsis)

The orchid sold in every supermarket is non-toxic and blooms for months. Bright, indirect light; water when the bark is dry, roughly every 7–10 days.

Quick comparison

Plant	Light	Water	Difficulty
Cast iron plant	Low–medium	Every 2–3 weeks	Very easy
Parlor palm	Low–medium	Weekly-ish	Easy
Bird’s nest fern	Low–medium	Keep slightly moist	Easy
Spider plant	Medium–bright	Weekly	Very easy
Calathea	Medium	Keep moist	Fussy
Boston fern	Medium–bright	Keep moist	Moderate
Peperomia	Medium–bright	Every 1–2 weeks	Easy
Money tree	Medium–bright	Every 1–2 weeks	Moderate
Ponytail palm	Bright	Every 3–4 weeks	Easy
Hoya	Medium–bright	Every 1–3 weeks	Easy
Haworthia	Medium–bright	Every 2–3 weeks	Easy

Common plants that are NOT pet-safe

These popular plants are toxic to cats and dogs: pothos, philodendron, monstera, snake plant, ZZ plant, peace lily, aloe vera, jade plant, dracaena, English ivy, rubber plant and fiddle leaf fig. And for cats specifically, true lilies are an emergency — any part, even pollen. The full list of plants toxic to cats →

Same name, different risk: look-alikes to watch

Common names are a mess. These pairs sound or look alike, but one is safe and the other isn’t (status from the ASPCA plant lists):

Safe for cats & dogs	Its toxic look-alike	How to tell them apart
Boston fern	Asparagus fern (toxic)	Asparagus fern has needle-like leaves and sometimes red berries; Boston fern has flat, feathery fronds
Ponytail palm	Sago palm (very toxic — liver failure)	Sago palm has stiff, glossy, comb-like fronds from a rough trunk; ponytail palm has a smooth swollen base and soft, grassy leaves
Baby rubber plant (peperomia)	Rubber plant, Ficus elastica (toxic)	Peperomia stays small with thick, cupped leaves; the ficus grows into a tree with milky sap
Christmas cactus	Kalanchoe (toxic — heart effects)	Both are sold in the same holiday displays; kalanchoe has fleshy oval leaves with scalloped edges and clusters of tiny flowers
Money tree (Pachira)	“Money plant” — jade or pothos (both toxic)	The money tree has a braided trunk and hand-shaped leaves
Calathea / prayer plant	Dieffenbachia (toxic — throat swelling)	Dieffenbachia has thick canes and large cream-spotted leaves
Areca or parlor palm	Sago palm	See above: if it has a woody, scaly trunk with stiff fronds, assume sago

When in doubt, check the botanical name on the nursery tag, not the common name.

How to check any plant in 2 minutes

1. Find the botanical name on the plant tag or receipt (for example Chlorophytum comosum for spider plant).
2. Open the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list for cats or dogs.
3. Search the page (Ctrl/Cmd + F) for the botanical name first, then the common name.
4. Open the plant’s entry: it lists the toxic principle and the typical clinical signs.
5. Not listed? That doesn’t mean it’s safe — it may simply not be in the database. Treat it as unknown and keep it out of reach.

Pet-safe plants by room

Room	Conditions	Good pet-safe picks
Living room, bright	Bright indirect light	Spider plant, money tree, peperomia, areca palm
Bedroom, north window	Low to medium light	Cast iron plant, parlor palm, bird’s nest fern
Bathroom with a window	Humid, medium light	Boston fern, calathea, bird’s nest fern
Kitchen windowsill	Bright, some sun	Haworthia, echeveria, basil (non-toxic per ASPCA)
Home office desk	Medium light, dry air	Peperomia, hoya, haworthia
Hanging baskets	Out of reach of dogs	Spider plant, hoya, Boston fern

Mistakes even careful pet owners make

• Trusting “pet-friendly” labels on store tags. They aren’t regulated. Check the ASPCA list.
• Forgetting cut flowers. Lilies in a bouquet are a far bigger risk to cats than any houseplant. Plants toxic to cats →
• Using bug sprays or fertilizer spikes without reading the pet warnings on the label — the plant can be safe while the product isn’t.
• Assuming non-toxic means edible. A cat that eats half a spider plant may still vomit from the fiber.
• Leaving fallen leaves from toxic plants on the floor.

Can I keep a toxic plant if my pet ignores it?

Many people do, and many pets never touch their plants. The risk changes with the plant and the animal. Mild irritants like pothos or snake plant on a high shelf, in a home with an adult dog that never chews plants, are a low risk. Lilies with cats, or a sago palm with a dog, are not worth it at any height. Things that raise the risk: kittens and puppies, a new pet in the house, bored pets left alone for long days, and fallen leaves or pollen that land within reach. If you keep toxic plants, put them where pets physically can’t get to them, and know which plant you have so you can tell the vet.

Make any plant shelf pet-friendly

• Put any toxic plants you already own in a room your pets can’t get into.
• Use hanging planters for trailing plants that tempt cats.
• Cover soil with large pebbles so dogs don’t dig and cats don’t use it as a litter box.
• Give your cat its own pot of cat grass.

Not sure which one fits your home? The plant finder only shows pet-safe plants when you tell it you have cats or dogs.