Is it true that ficus is toxic to cats?

If you own pets, you surely know what to do before welcoming a plant into your home, especially if your animal tends to nibble on them.

Indeed, certain plants will emit toxic substances and if they are not naturally present in the environment of your animal, this one could be tempted to nibble it.

So, we saw there are a few articles of this, the ficus that had to be taken or not to put in a terrarium with a chameleon. But today we are going to take a look at another animal!

Indeed, we will see here if the ficus is toxic for cats and if so, how to go about decorating your interior while preserving the health of your pet as much as possible.

Ficus - General information 

There are a whole bunch of different ficus trees on the market, each with characteristics that will look better on some people than on others. This is why we invite you to discover them all in our article on this subject.

The toxicity of ficus

When we talk about ficus, before we are interested in knowing if the ficus is toxic for cats, we can gold and already indicate that this is the case for man and that it must therefore be handled with care.

More particularly, it is the sap that is toxic. So, when you handle a ficus, what we recommend is already to wash your hands every time you touch it.

In addition, wear gloves when you go to cut it, for example, this will avoid getting on your fingers and therefore inevitably avoid accidents. Finally, do not leave the plant near children.

They may ingest part of it and you will have won your turn in the emergency room. Moreover, if this is the case, immediately contact the poison control center who can give you more information.

Yes, the ficus is toxic to cats

Well, we have just seen, the ficus is toxic or at least its sap for humans, but if you are here, it is because you want to know if the ficus is toxic for the cat and the answer is the same, Yes it is.

But worse than that, it's also possible that your cat will poison herself just by licking a ficus. This is why when you own this plant you have to be very careful with the behavior of your animal.

The main signs that should make you immediately pick up your phone to call your vet are vomiting, diarrhea and also something very specific to this poisoning.

Indeed, the ficus is toxic for cats and will tend to make them swell on the face. This is one of the characteristic signs of poisoning from this plant.

At the slightest sign, do not hesitate to check your plant to confirm the diagnosis, but especially to call a veterinarian, because the poison affects your cat's kidneys quite quickly and can kill him!

Reconciling cat and ficus

As we have just seen, the ficus is toxic to the cat and can even lead to its death by simple licking. Therefore, what we advise you is simply not to take it if you have a cat.

Indeed, yes the ficus are very pretty plants, however, the risk that your cat will poison itself with it is still relatively high and on a personal basis, we would not take it!

However, if you absolutely want to and your cat isn't used to looking too closely at your green plants, you can always give it a shot at your own risk.

The solution could also be to have a room where you have your plants and where your cats do not have access. This will make it easier for you to reconcile your two passions in risk-free life.

Alternatives to ficus which is toxic to cats

But while the ficus is poisonous to cats, there are always alternatives that will make the interior beautiful, while ensuring that your cat is not at risk of poisoning itself when your back is turned.

The first alternative that comes to mind are synthetic plants. If you are only looking for decoration, you will be surprised to see the progress in this field in recent years.

But if what interests you is gardening, there is a good chance that these synthetic ficus are not suitable for you and we understand that. Therefore, we will have to find alternatives to them.

In leafy houseplants which are not toxic to cats, we can, for example, recommend Calatheas which have very beautiful leaves and which are completely harmless to your animals.

Our advice on alternatives to a ficus

Ficuses are beautiful plants, but are poisonous to your cat. So, we have made a selection of plants that are not toxic.