Where our pet-safety labels come from
Every pet-safety label on Cozy Plant Home comes from one source: the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants list. We check each plant against that list by its botanical name before we label it, and we link the list in our guides so you can check it too.
What “non-toxic” actually means
“Non-toxic” means the ASPCA does not list the plant as toxic to cats or dogs. It does not mean a plant is food. Eating any plant material — even a listed non-toxic one — can still upset a pet’s stomach and cause vomiting or diarrhea. If your pet chews plants regularly, keep plants out of reach as well as choosing non-toxic ones.
Check the botanical name
Plant identification can vary. Common names are shared by different plants, and a plant sold under one name in a store may be something else. Before you bring a plant home, match the botanical (Latin) name on the label to the name in the ASPCA list. If you are not sure what a plant is, treat it as unknown and keep it away from your pets until you can identify it.
This is not veterinary advice
This page, and the pet-safety information in our guides, is general information only. It is not veterinary advice, and it is not a substitute for your veterinarian’s judgment about your specific animal.
If you think your pet ate a plant
- Move the plant out of your pet’s reach.
- Note the plant’s name, and take a photo of the plant if you can.
- Call your veterinarian, or ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435, right away. Do not wait for symptoms.
Keeping this information current
We update our labels when the ASPCA list changes. If you ever find a label on this site that does not match the ASPCA list, please report it through the Contact page — pet safety is the one area where we would always rather hear about a possible error twice than miss it once.