What about toxic plants?
Kindness Matters (NE Ohio 6a)
last year
last modified: last year
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Toxic plants and pets
Comments (6)hello :) I've had many many cats over the years, some like plants and eat them, some show no interest or seem to know which ones are not safe to eat. All of my plants that are questionably toxic at all are about 12 feet up in the air on shelves in upper windows. I use a ladder to water them. Actually? They look very nice up there and I only need to water once every 7-10 days. The cats can't reach them because there are absolutely NO lower shelves leading up to them to jump on or things in front of them that they can jump on to reach them. There is no way they can get to those plants. Cats can climb and most can climb very well, especially if they are active and curious, most cats are agile enough to be amazing. I've never had sprays (water, air, the smelly stuff, etc) keep them away reliably if I'm not there spraying. I've tried cat grass, catnip, etc. which was eaten but so were the other plants, the cat just didn't understand our conversation about the plant replacement idea... Toxic plants 100% out of reach by extreme height like I have or no toxic plants at all is the only truly safe solution I personally have been able to rely on. My non toxic plants are all over the house on window sills and shelves but none of my current cats eat plants at all. In all honesty, IMHO, since this cat is coming in and known to eat plants, if you can't get the plants up high totally 100% out of reach, I would put the toxic plants in a room where the door could always stay shut entirely away from the new cat. You can buy a cheap shop light at a box store, the last one I got was less than $10 and works fine as is for most plants, especially if it's only for the winter. There are other types of lights available but they usually cost more but would work better for higher light plants. Lots of options there. As long as the door was ALWAYS shut it'd could be the safeset idea. Possibly a closet could be used. If it's the type of cage that just has sides I can't see it working no matter how high you made the sides not only because of climbing but because it could be really easy to knock over (think playing toddlers, if it's not strongly anchored it will fall) An active cat could easily knock it over. A few projections also won't stop a cat. I personally would be afraid to try it with the new cat and the toxic plants you have. This is just what's worked for me, good luck!...See MoreWhat is this plant and is it toxic to cats? Third and final plant
Comments (3)Schefflera. Don't know about cats, but I had one with my two cats for many years and they were never harmed. Here is a link that might be useful: Schefflera...See MoreToxic plant - not poison ivy - help!
Comments (6)That link is an eye opener. I think there is tons of poison parsnip around. I haven't had a problem with it and I know I've picked it unless it was a similar looking plant. At age 60 I finally got my first reaction to poison ivy but just a little spot on my foot since I've been wearing flip flops in the garden and there's some poison ivy near the compost bin. My poison ivy blisters were large, almost like small welts. We're using a brush killer that we also use on Japanese knotweed/bamboo. Funny, I have sensitive skin, can't use anything with lanolin but haven't had much problem with plants. I got in stinging nettle once but you feel that as soon as you touch it....See MoreToxic garden hose! What about my wildlife?
Comments (10)I just opened my hose yesterday and saw this warning as well. The hose is made in China, surprise, surprise. The warning is there because of California law and the PVC that is in the hose. Practically everything in your house that requires rubber-like flexibility (extension cords, power cords) has PVC. This too is according to B&D who spins the exposure to PVC from extension cords, etc. as the same as using their hose. I kinda doubt that. One can choose to believe that or not. One alternative to PVC hoses is to use natural rubber hoses, or according to this article (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=3369894&page=1) use a hose made for RV's which is vinyl. I believe that somewhere between the assurances of B&D and the near paranoia of the ABC article lies the truth probably. Since the ABC article is from '07 I'm just going to hope that flushing the hose before use will be adequate enough, (brass fittings and all) and that the re-formulation of the PVC content of present day hoses has improved things. I live in a house that was built in 1891 that had cars that burned leaded gas driving by for x-number of years before unleaded, plus the general fallout that occurs from living in a big city like Chicago has probably done a number on the soil here anyway. I've amended the soil with topsoil and manure so if toxicity existed, then I've certainly diluted it. It's too bad that hoses have the potential to leech lead into the water. There are also many sites that discuss this as one has only to search for PVC, lead, hoses, etc to find more info....See MoreKindness Matters (NE Ohio 6a)
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