Spider plants are always forgiving and pet safe. They flower too, but the blooms aren't significant, just small white flowers. They come in solid green and two types of varigated. There are also other varieties but they are harder to find.

The selections depend highly on the light levels in the area....

You can check the ASPCA list of non-toxic house plants and see if there are any you would like that can suit their growing conditions.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants?field_non_toxicity_value%5B%5D=02

Does the feline parent have live plants? As a cat mom, gifts that I gave away (not wanting them in my home) were plants & candles.

The only plants I have indoors are aloe, mother-in-law's tongue, and a few succulents. All the others, well, the cats just view them as playthings.

And then there's the universal issue of cats using floor plants as their litter box.

So thoughtful of you to make sure the plant is safe for the cat.

I don't know anything about which ones are easy to care for, but here are some links you can check out.

non toxic plants link:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants?field_non_toxicity_value%5B%5D=02

This is a list of TOXIC plants:

UNSAFE PLANTS

Maybe something like a cactus would work (if they have enough light for a cactus). Most cats would not mess with a spiny plant.

If the person is willing to spray the plants with bitter apple spray, that can help too - that worked to stop my cats until I ended up coming up with an arrangement for my plants that kept the cats away from them.

Thanks for the suggestions! I was thinking more of bigger floor plants ... like sansevieria ('Mother-in-law' plant) that will take a lot of 'abuse' or scheflerea? They also have a dog that I forgot to mention... as I have dogs but they never bother the plants so wasn't thinking about dogs also!

Scheflerea is a BIG NO! They are very bad for cats. PLEASE, Click on the link and look at cat SAFE plants. Mother-in-law (snake plant) is also bad, but my cat does not bother it. You don't want a scheflerea, dracena of any kind, or any kind of lily. Easter lily will kill a cat.

Sherry is correct about lilies!!!! Please also look at the safe list for dogs too. For example, a sago palm can kill a dog in 24 hours (this happened to my neighbors poor dog).

Here is a link to the SPCA where you can find safe and unsafe plants for dogs and cats

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

Ponytail palms are very tough and non toxic. My cats are obsessed though. Spider plants are safe, Hoya too.

As an FYI many plants are toxic but not poisonous. When we bought our cats home I was surprised when they ate my philodendron and chewed the Scheffleras. I looked it up and discovers they were toxic. It did not seem to affect my cats and vet confirmed they were fine. Not advocating to ignore the warnings, and I keep toxic plants out of reach. The only plants they seem interested in is the ponytail palm and spider plant.

Just to share incase it's useful (it was for me!)... some things that don't instantly show damage to a cat can cause long term damage even if it's not obvious.. I can't remember the details, so forgive me for butchering it, but it's something like..... a cat's liver or kidneys can't detoxify (that might not be the right term either, sorry) a harmful substance like a dog or human, so their organs can sustain damage. For instance, certain essential oils harm them etc.....

BFTC, yes good point. I recall reading that too about essential oils. I didn't mean to come across as dismissive.

Chipped, you didn't seem dismissive at all!!! You seem to be very knowledgeable and I only mentioned it so no one else read it and thought they are safe if they didn't see a reaction. Your point is correct that some things just might make them throw up but I don't know which things those are vs the things that cause damage.

An aside (as I sit here with puke on a rug I need to tackle) my goal in life is for them to throw up less so they stop ruining my stuff :)

I have had dogs my whole life and Had a dog walking business, andonly a year ago became a cat owner. I'm completely turned to the other side. I love my cats. Your name made me laugh a bit because I save boxes an make cat toys out of found items and craft supplies and my family laughs at me.

In my house cats get their own plants.

I didn't want to show my messy book case.

It took about 3 days to train my cats to not bother the plants, I allow them to share space.

My cats rarely bother my houseplants. But they certainly but pieces off the spider plant when I had one indoors. Spider plants are probably not a good gift if you want the plants to stay looking pretty.

I'm very lucky that my cats are not interested in my plants at all. Well one sometimes nuzzles up against them but he listens very well. However, I work in a cat hospital (yes, really), and I know that is a rarity! I think your safest bet is to ask your friend if her cats bother existing plants. All cats are different!

Steven Claggett

Beautiful cat!!! What kind is it?

-M