cat care > hazardous plants

Always inspect the area in which your cat spends his/her time to be sure that none of these listed plants are accessable. Remember that both inside and outside must be "kitty-proofed" in order to have a safe, healthy cat.

• american coffee berry tree (Gymnocladus dioica ( L. ) Koch)
• arrowgrass (Triglochin martima)
• baneberry (Actea rubra )
• black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
• bleeding heart (Dicentra spp.)
• bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis)
• bloodroot (Sanquinaria canadensis)
• bracken or brake fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
• burning bush or fireweed (Kochia scoparia L. Schrad.)
• bull nettle or horse nettle (Solanum carolinense)
• buttercup (Ranunculus spp.)
• carelessweed (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats. )
• castor bean (Ricinus communis )
• cherries: black cherry, bitter cherry, choke cherry, pin cherry (Ricinus communis (Prunus spp.)
• clover: alsike clover, red clover, white clover (Trifolium hybridum L. and other species)
• cocklebur (Xanthium spp.)
• creeping charlie or ground ivy (Glecoma hederacea L.)
• curly dock (Rumex crispus L.)
• Daffodil (Narcissus spp.)
• daphne (Daphne spp.)
• devil's trumpet see (Jimson weed)
• delphinium (Delphinium spp.)
• dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum)
• dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cullaria (L.) Brenh.)
• elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
• english ivy (Hedera helix L.)
• ergot (Claviceps spp.)
• fern see (Bracken fern)
• fireweed see (Burning bush)
• foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)
• ground ivy (Glecoma hederacea L.)
• hemlock - poison (Conium maculatum L.)
• hemlock - water (Cicuta maculata L.)
• horse chestnut, buckeyes (Aesculus hippocastanum L.)
• horse nettle see (Bull nettle)
• horsetails horsetails (Equisetum arvense L.)
• hyacinth (Hyacinth orientalis)
• hydrangea see (Hydrangea spp.)
• irises (Iris spp.)
• japanese yew (Taxus japonicus)
• jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema spp.)
• jimson weed (Datura stramonium )
• kentucky coffee tree see (American coffee berry tree)
• klamath see (St. Johnswort)
• lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album L.)
• lantana, red sage, yellow sage (Lantana camara)
• larkspur see (Delphinium)
• lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis)
• lobelia, cardinal flower and indian tobacco (Lobelia spp.)
• locoweed and Milkvetch families (Astragalus and Oxytropis spp.)
• lupine (Lupinus)
• mad apple see (Jimson weed)
• mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum L.)
• marijuana (Cannabis sativa)
• milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.)
• monkshood, garden wolfbane, helmet flower, friar's cap, or soldier's cap (Aconitum spp.)
• mountain mahagony tree (Cercocarpus montanus )
• mushrooms (all outdoor varieties have potential of being toxic)
• nightshade, black nightshade, or deadly nightshade (Solanum nigrum )
• ohio buckeye or horse chestnut see (Aesculus glabraWilld.)
• oleander (Nerium oleander L.)
• pigweed see (Carelessweed)
• poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans L. Kuntze)
• poison oak (Toxicodendron diversiloba)
• poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix)
• poke, pokeberry or pokeweed (Phytolacca americana L.)
• poppies: california poppy, iceland poppy, corn poppy, oriental poppy, and opium poppy (Papaver spp.)
• purple mint (Perilla frutescens)
• rhododendron (Rhododendron spp.)
• rhubarb - leaves are toxic (Rheum rhaponticum)
• rosary pea, jequirity bean, or precatory bean (Abrus precatorius)
• snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia spp.)
• staggerweed see (Dutchman's breeches)
• star of bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum)
• st. johnswort (Hypericum perforatum L.)
• stinging nettle (Urtica spp.)
• stink weed see (Jimson weed)
• stump tree see (Kentucky coffee tree)
• sudan grass (Sorghum vulgare var. sudanense Hitchc.)
• summer cypress see (Fireweed or Burning bush)
• squirrel corn see (Dutchman Breeches)
• sweet pea, tangier pea, everlasting pea, caley pea, and singletary pea (Lathyrus spp.)
• thorn apple see (Jimson weed)
• tobacco and tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca )
• tulip (Tulipa spp.)
• wild onions (Allium spp.)
• wild snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum )
• wolfsbane see (monkshood)
• wisteria (Wisteria spp.)
• yellow sage see (Lantana)
• yews: english yew, japanese yew, western yew, ground hemlock, and florida yew (Taxus cuspidata)

• University of Illinois Veterinary Medicine Library
• The United States Department of Agriculture
• University of Pennsylvania
• Cornell University
• Purdue University, School of Veterinary Medicine
• Minister of Supply and Services Canada
• Colorado State College of Veterinary Medicine