Are spider plants safe for cats and dogs?
Chlorophytum comosum · Dracaena family
Non-toxic to cats and dogs
The ASPCA lists this plant as non-toxic to both cats and dogs, so it is one you can keep without a warning attached.
Source: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants.
Yes. Chlorophytum comosum appears on the ASPCA's non-toxic list for both cats and dogs, which makes it the standard recommendation when someone has to give up a pothos. It also happens to be the plant cats are most drawn to, which is worth understanding before you hang one.
Worth knowing anyway
Non-toxic does not mean it can be eaten freely. Any plant matter in quantity can cause vomiting, and cats are unusually keen on spider plants: there is a widely repeated suggestion that they contain mildly stimulating compounds, though it is not well established. If your cat eats a lot of it and is repeatedly sick, mention it to your vet.
Living with one
This is one of the few plants you can hang at cat height without a warning attached, and its endless plantlets mean a chewed one is easy to replace. If you would rather it stayed intact, offering cat grass as a designated chewing plant works better than trying to defend the spider plant.
How to care for spider plant
The starting schedule and conditions Kounts Care sets up for this species. Watering adapts from there based on the daylight where you live.
- Water
- About every 6 days, less in winter
- Light
- Bright, indirect
- Humidity
- 40% to 60%
- Temperature
- 13C to 27C
- Soil pH
- 6 to 6.5
- Family
- Dracaena family
Let the app remember this for you
Kounts Care holds your plants and your pets in one household, so it checks every new plant against the cats and dogs you actually own, names them in the warning, and runs the check again over your existing plants the day a new animal arrives. Toxicity warnings are free at every tier.
In review with Apple · iPhone, iOS 26 · Five profiles free when it lands
Questions people actually ask
Why do cats love spider plants so much?
Nobody has established it firmly. The popular explanation is that the plant contains compounds with a mild effect similar to catnip, which is repeated widely but not well evidenced. The dangling plantlets moving in a draught are, on their own, a fairly complete explanation.
Can eating one make my cat sick even though it is non-toxic?
Yes. Non-toxic means it does not poison, not that a stomach full of leaves is a good idea. Vomiting after a large amount of any plant is common and usually short-lived. Repeated vomiting deserves a vet call.
What else is genuinely safe to hang?
String of turtles, hoya, Boston fern and prayer plants all appear as non-toxic on the ASPCA list and all trail. Deliberately avoid string of pearls and string of bananas, which look similar and are listed as toxic.
Does the app show which plants are safe as well as which are not?
It does, and the absence of a warning is only shown for species the ASPCA list independently confirms as non-toxic. Where a plant is simply not covered by the list, the app and this site say unlisted rather than pretending to know.