6 houseplants that are harmful for your pets

Apart from the aestheic appeal they provide to your house, indoor plants also act as natural air purifiers. There are a number of houseplants that may enhance the appeal of your living room, but could turn out to be extremely harmful for your pets. If you have cats or dogs at home, you should avoid bringing them indoors or even outdoors where your pets can accidentally chew them.

Dr. Dilip Sonune, Veterinary Officer at Wiggles says that pets have a tendency to sniff all the time, especially plants and food. Dr Sonune says that this could lead to them ingesting certain toxic houseplants which could prove to be harmful for their health. From vomiting, diarrhea to liver and kidney failure, there are a number of health problems your pets could suffer due to poisoning from certain houseplants.

The veterinarian advises pet parents to keep their pets away from a couple of unsafe houseplants.

Ivy

Ivy is also known as Silk Pothos. This houseplant is very toxic for dogs and cats and can cause irritation in their mouth and tongue. Every part of the plant like their stems, leaves, roots are poisonous and hence can cause serious problems. It usually causes vomiting, diarrhea and swallowing can cause liver failure. It sometimes causes severe rashes on the body too.

Jade

Jade is popularly known as Crassula in India. If dogs and cats ingest this plant it causes vomiting, depression, slow heart rate and difficulty in coordination of movements. Some of their specific toxins which make the plant harmful are unknown facts yet.

Dumb Cane

Dumb Cane is a very common household plant, especially in Indian households popularly known as Tropic Show and Exotica. While being very common they are extremely harmful too. It leads to difficulty in breathing, causes burning in mouth and can cause immediate death of pets.

Lily

Lilies are a very common household plant and extremely toxic for cats especially. There are many different types of Lilies and out of them Mauna Loa or Peace Lily is harmful for dogs and cats. For cats they can lead to kidney failure and loss of appetite. In correct ingestion of lilies can cause vomiting and irritations around the mouth areas after swallowing.

Sansevieria (Snake Plant)

Sansevieria is also known as Snake Plant and consists of a harmful chemical known as Saponin which is toxic for dogs and cats. This plant is very dangerous and ingestings leads to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and excessive drooling.

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum plants are toxic for dogs and cats and have a harmful chemical known as sesquiterpene lactones. They can irritate your pets eyes and nose, harming their digestive system as well. Excessive consumption can cause loss of appetite, diarrhea, excessive salivation and vomiting.

Common signs of ingesting these toxic houseplants include vomiting, diarrhea, depression. In extreme severe cases these lead to liver and kidney failure.

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