One of the items posted in Dr. Joseph Mercola’s newsletter this morning was pushing his special air filter, which is fine, but he also mentioned that many plants are good at pulling toxins out of the air. Unfortunately, several of the plants listed are toxic to cats.

Plant Toxicity
Feston Rose Non-toxic
Devil’s Ivy Toxic
Phalaenopsis (orchid) Non-toxic
English Ivy Very Toxic
Parlor Ivy (Philodendron) Toxic
African Violet Non-toxic
Christmas Cactus Non-toxic
Yellow Goddess (Amaryllis) Toxic
Garlic Vine (Ajos sacha) Not reported
Peace Lily Toxic

I could not find any information on toxicity of Garlic Vine, but it is a medicinal plant from the Amazon region. It is thought to inhibit one of the COX pain pathways. Many drugs do this as well, and nearly all of those drugs are toxic to cats. It’s probably best to avoid this plant or at least keep it well out of the reach of your kitties! Note: it is a vine, so over time it may grow into a cat’s grasp even from a high shelf, so you’ll need to keep an eye on it.

Click here for our comprehensive list of poisonous and dangerous plants.

Click here to read the Mercola article (Warning: video starts automatically!)