Because my wife is acutely sensitive to mosquito bites, I've agreed to commit significant space in our yard to plants said to be disagreeable to mosquitoes. I've focused on pennyroyal (mentha pulegium). However, we have a cat, so I want to run this idea by the cat folks as well as the gardeners. Any comments?
-- --| snipped-for-privacy@cpacker.org (Charles Packer)
Plants Poisonous to Cats Alfalfa Almond (Pits of) Aloe Vera Alocasia Amaryllis Apple (seeds) Apple Leaf Croton Apricot (Pits of) Arrowgrass Asparagus Fern Autumn Crocus Avacado (fuit and pit) Azalea Baby's Breath Baneberry Bayonet Beargrass Beech Belladonna Bird of Paradise Bittersweet Black-eyed Susan Black Locust Bleeding Heart Bloodroot Bluebonnet Box Boxwood Branching Ivy Buckeyes Buddist Pine Burning Bush Buttercup
Cactus, Candelabra Caladium Calla Lily Castor Bean Ceriman Charming Dieffenbachia Cherry (pits, seeds & wilting leaves) Cherry, most wild varieties Cherry, ground Cherry, Laurel Chinaberry Chinese Evergreen Christmas Rose Chrysanthemum Cineria Clematis Cordatum Coriaria Cornflower Corn Plant Cornstalk Plant Croton Corydalis Crocus, Autumn Crown of Thorns Cuban Laurel Cutleaf Philodendron Cycads Cyclamen
Daffodil Daphne Datura Deadly Nightshade Death Camas Devil's Ivy Delphinium Decentrea Dieffenbachia Dracaena Palm Dragon Tree Dumb Cane
Easter Lily * Eggplant Elaine Elderberry Elephant Ear Emerald Feather English Ivy Eucalyptus Euonymus Evergreen
Ferns Fiddle-leaf fig Florida Beauty Flax Four O'Clock Foxglove Fruit Salad Plant
Geranium German Ivy Giant Dumb Cane Glacier IvyGolden Chain Gold Dieffenbachia Gold Dust Dracaena Golden Glow Golden Pothos Gopher Purge
Hahn's Self-Branching Ivy Heartland Philodendron Hellebore Hemlock, Poison Hemlock, Water Henbane Holly Honeysuckle Horsebeans Horsebrush Horse Chestnuts Hurricane Plant Hyacinth Hydrangea
Indian Rubber Plant Indian Tobacco Iris Iris Ivy
Jack in the Pulpit Janet Craig Dracaena Japanese Show Lily * Java Beans Jessamine Jerusalem Cherry Jimson Weed Jonquil Jungle Trumpets
Kalanchoe
Lacy Tree Philodendron Lantana Larkspur Laurel Lily Lily Spider Lily of the Valley Locoweed Lupine
Madagascar Dragon Tree Marble Queen Marigold Marijuana Mescal Bean Mexican Breadfruit Miniature Croton Mistletoe Mock Orange Monkshood Moonseed Morning Glory Mother-in Law's Tongue Morning Glory Mountain Laurel Mushrooms Narcissus Needlepoint Ivy Nephytis Nightshade
Oleander Onion Oriental Lily *
Peace Lily Peach (pits and wilting leaves) Pencil Cactus Peony Periwinkle Philodendron Pimpernel Plumosa Fern Poinciana Poinsettia (low toxicity) Poison Hemlock Poison Ivy Poison Oak Pokeweed Poppy Potato Pothos Precatory Bean Primrose Privet, Common
Red Emerald Red Princess Red-Margined Dracaena Rhododendron Rhubarb Ribbon Plant Rosemary Pea Rubber Plant
Saddle Leaf Philodendron Sago Palm Satin Pothos Schefflera Scotch Broom Silver Pothos Skunk Cabbage Snowdrops Snow on the Mountain Spotted Dumb Cane Staggerweed Star of Bethlehem String of Pearls Striped Dracaena Sweetheart Ivy Sweetpea Swiss Cheese plant
Tansy Mustard Taro Vine Tiger Lily * Tobacco Tomato Plant (green fruit, stem and leaves) Tree Philodendron Tropic Snow Dieffenbachia Tulip Tung Tree
Virginia Creeper
Water Hemlock Weeping Fig Wild Call Wisteria
Yews -- e.g. Japanese Yew English Yew Western Yew American Yew
List compiled by Jeffrey D. Rakes Reprinted from PET Magazine's Cat Care Guide, Summer 1987
Updated with the assistance of Dr. Jill Richardson, ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center, December 1997
Yes, cats can coexist with pennyroyal plantings.
Just be sure to give them their own places to sit in the garden.
Pennyroyal oil is often sold as a natural flea repellent for cats. It can be slightly irritating in that form, but certainly not in leaf form. Go for it.
Are there any plants that will keep cats away from the garden, I haven't had any luck getting cats to eat the foreamentioned plants! ;0
John
Yes, I saw that information surfing the Web. Fleas are a big problem right now. Maybe pennyroyal will turn out to be better for the cat than for my wife...
I never had a cat problem, but a neighbor used to place a trail of citrus peels around the garden. She said it worked. Makes sense. Anytime I'd be eating orange or grapefruit, my cat wouldn't come near me.
citrus peels around the garden. She said it > worked. Makes sense. Anytime I'd be eating orange >or grapefruit, my cat wouldn't come near me.
I recently stopped wearing a citrus-based perfume ("Pure" by Alfred Sung) and my cat stopped having asthma attacks. I know the two things are related, because little else has changed. Now whether it is the citrus base or perfume of any kind, I cannot say. I surely didn't wear much, and didn't wear it every day.
Sounds like great perfume! But, you're probably right about the cat. Mine used to make that snuffling sound cats make when they're about to sneeze.
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