Pothos are more commonly known as money plants.These plants are hugely popular. Though this plant is often bought for its charm, it can cause mild to moderate damage to pets.House plants are very common and they not only beautify people’s homes but they also add a potential risk if they are pet owners. Cats are inquisitive animals and are known to venture all around the house. There are many chances of cats coming in contact with these plants where they can suffer sufficient harm. A few house plants often contain toxic chemical compounds in them which can also prove fatal for pets. Pet owners should always be careful and ensure the utmost safety for their pets to prevent any kind of damage to their pets.Check out our snake plants toxic to cats and are peace lilies toxic to cats for more interesting facts.Are Pothos plants toxic to cats?It is often seen that some natural plants often turn out to be absolute disasters for your pets. Such is the case with Pothos. The answer to the question as to whether Pothos are poisonous to cats is yes, it is true. Also known as the Devil’s ivy, Pothos plants are indeed toxic to cats.Pothos is a very common plant that is frequently seen in many households. There is a wide range of houseplants that are extremely dangerous to any pet animal like cats and dogs. These include houseplants like tulips, peace lily, azalea, chrysanthemums, and other vine plants. Pothos or Golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is an extremely popular houseplant and grows well in temperate conditions. Belonging to the Araceae family, this plant is known to cause mild to moderate damage to pets like dogs and cats. Once eaten or ingested, Pothos poisoning doesn’t take much time and symptoms and signs are known to appear very fast. Some of the most common symptoms include oral irritation in the cat’s mouth, throat, and lips accompanied by difficulty swallowing food. Other symptoms include vomiting, stomach pain, swelling in the throat and airway, loss of appetite, excessive drooling, and burning of the mouth. Under such conditions, it is always essential to take the advice of a veterinary specialist so that the diagnosis can begin as fast as possible and the poison contain be reduced.Why is Pothos toxic to cats?There are plants that are toxic to cats however there is always a particular reason as to why the particular plant, Pothos in this case, is poisonous to pets. These plants have some special chemical compounds that act as toxins to small animals like cats and dogs and can often cause serious harm if proper treatment is not administered.These plants contain calcium oxalate crystals which act as toxins and lead directly to Pothos poisoning. Consumption of this plant can cause severe harm to small animals and the symptoms of this dangerous poisoning can be seen in a matter of hours. If your cat shows any symptoms or you suspect that your cat has ingested Pothos, then you should immediately consult a veterinarian so that there is proper control of golden Pothos poisoning. Oral irritation in a cat’s mouth, throat, and lips is a common symptom along with vomiting, stomach pain, swelling of the airway, and excessive drooling. Chewing the plant along with swallowing is equally harmful and can also cause burning of the cat’s oral parts followed soon by a loss of appetite. Cats are also known to damage their faces by pawing to reduce the burning sensation. These symptoms begin quite soon after the plant is eaten by the cat, so be sure to observe your pet carefully and consult the advice of vets.How much Pothos is toxic to cats?Though plants have poison in them, the toxin content is different in them. If any animal eats a particular plant, it should be noted that the effect of the poison should be different for each plant based on the toxin content. The golden Pothos is poisonous to cats and its toxin content is ranged in the scale of mild to moderate.Golden Pothos is harmful to cats however there are very few chances where the toxin could prove to be fatal. If proper treatment is administered to the cat within a number of hours upon consumption of the plant, then the cat is bound to get well in a very short amount of time. If you are curious or suspect that your cat has poisoning, be sure to check the primary symptoms. The most common symptoms include vomiting, oral irritation, and severe stomach pain. Consult a vet to get rid of the poisonous toxic compounds. The calcium oxalate crystals that are present in these plants are the root cause of the poisoning and the animal body, for example a cat’s body, induces vomiting to remove the poisonous calcium oxalate crystals. Call a vet immediately and begin the necessary treatment and your cute little adorable furball will be safe and sound in no time. Delaying the treatment can be fatal at times as toxic irritation can lead to kidney failure. You can feed your cat lactose free milk or other milk by products as an immediate measure.Keeping Cats Away From Pothos PlantsThough Pothos plants are not fatal to cats in a majority of cases, it is always better to avoid such cases of scare and worry. Prevention is always better than cure and this should be the number one goal. The ideal way would be to ensure quite a few safety and preventive measures in your home so that your cat doesn’t come into contact with these plants.Though cats are carnivorous animals, domesticated cats can also be classified as omnivores as they can ingest a small amount of plant matter. Though the anatomical structure of cats doesn’t support the necessary organs to digest plant matter, cats are often seen nibbling on plants and flowers to obtain the required protein content. This can prove to be dangerous as they can very easily consume any plant that can be poisonous to them.These methods are known to be very effective and useful in minimizing contact of your pet cat to the pothos toxic plant.Use of smells: Cats have specified smells which they like and those that they dislike. Pepper and fruit oils and juices are some examples of smells that cats dislike. If these substances are spread around plants then your pet cat would not get too close to the plant.Pet friendly plants: There would not be any poisoning by the plant if the plant is not present at all in your house. Some plants are known as pet friendly plants. This is one of the most effective ways to limit plant poisoning of pets in your house. It is advised to avoid plants like chrysanthemums, Pothos, tulips, and peace lilies in your homes to ensure pet safety.Hanging plants in pots: If your pet cannot reach the plant then there is no risk of poisoning. This is an effective way of not only ensuring the safety of pets at home but also improving the scenic beauty of your house.Separate room for plants and pets: If the pets and plants are in two different rooms and the plant room is off limits for the cat, then there are very few chances of your cat coming into contact with this poisonous plant. Moreover, a separate room for plants makes the room look bright and adds to the scenic beauty of your house.Using organic aromatic compounds: Cats dislike the smell of vinegar which when mixed with water creates an eco-friendly organic compound that is harmless. When this mixture is spread on a plant, it causes no harm to the plant and the smell keeps the cat away. Therefore, it serves a dual purpose of limiting the contact of your pet with the plant.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for are Pothos toxic to cats then why not take a look at are Pothos toxic to dogs, or Persian cat facts.
Pothos are more commonly known as money plants.
