Are Pothos Toxic to Cats? Yes. Here's What to Do
Yes, pothos are toxic to cats. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats and dogs because of insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that sting the mouth and throat, causing drooling, vomiting, and pain. It is painful but rarely a true emergency, unlike a lily. Below: what to do if your cat chewed a leaf, and pet-safe plants to swap in.
Yes. Pothos are toxic to cats. The ASPCA lists golden pothos as toxic to both cats and dogs because of insoluble calcium oxalate crystals in the leaves and stems. I'd love to soften that, because pothos is the plant I hand to almost every nervous beginner, but you came here for a straight answer and that's it.
If your cat is chewing on a pothos right now, skip down to what to do. If you're researching before you buy, keep reading, because the second half is the part I actually enjoy: the pet-safe plants that give you the same look without the worry.
One honest note up front. I don't have a cat. What I do have is the ASPCA's plant list permanently bookmarked, because pet safety is the most common question we get, and it's one I refuse to wing. Everything below on toxicity comes from that list and from the Pet Poison Helpline, not from my own vet expertise. Your vet always outranks a blog post.
Painful, rarely dangerous
Insoluble calcium oxalate crystals sting the mouth on the first bite. Most cats stop fast, and the Pet Poison Helpline notes these cases are usually mild, with severe throat swelling rare. Watch, rinse, call your vet if it's more than mild.
A real emergency
A different category entirely. Even a nibble, a lick of pollen, or vase water can cause fatal kidney failure in cats. Lilies and cats should never share a home. Pothos is not in this category.
Why pothos are toxic to cats
Pothos (Epipremnum aureum, also sold as devil's ivy) contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals throughout the plant. The ASPCA describes these as needle-like crystals called raphides. When a cat bites a leaf or stem, the crystals embed in the soft tissue of the mouth and throat, which is why the reaction starts immediately rather than hours later.
The practical upshot: the plant punishes the bite itself. Most cats get a painful mouth, not a poisoned body, because the crystals are insoluble and don't absorb into the bloodstream the way some plant toxins do. That still makes pothos a bad plant for cat households. But it's a different category of danger than a lily, which can cause kidney failure from even a small exposure. Don't let that reassure you into keeping one within reach. A painful, swollen mouth is still a miserable day for your cat and possibly an expensive one for you.
Every pothos counts, including the ones that don't say "pothos"
This is the part people miss. It's not just the classic golden pothos:
- Golden Pothos, Marble Queen, Neon, N'Joy, and Cebu Blue are all Epipremnum: same plant, same crystals.
- Satin Pothos (Scindapsus pictus) is a different genus, but the ASPCA lists it as toxic to cats and dogs for the same reason.
- Heartleaf philodendron, which gets confused with pothos constantly, carries the same toxin. The ASPCA lists it as toxic too.
If it trails, has heart-shaped leaves, and came from the pothos section, assume it's a no for cats until you've checked it against the ASPCA list by botanical name.
What the symptoms look like
Per the ASPCA, a cat that has chewed pothos can show:
- Oral irritation, with pain and swelling of the mouth, tongue, and lips
- Excessive drooling
- Vomiting
- Difficulty swallowing
- Pawing at the mouth or head shaking
The signs usually show up fast, within minutes of chewing, because this is a contact reaction rather than a digestive one.
When it's a vet call, not wait-and-see: pronounced swelling of the mouth or throat, trouble breathing, or your cat can't keep water down. Airway swelling is rare with pothos, but it's the one scenario to act on right away.
What to do if your cat ate pothos
- Separate the cat from the plant. Move the plant, not just the cat. Cats return to crime scenes.
- Clear what you can. If your cat will let you, gently remove any visible plant bits from their mouth and offer fresh water to help flush residual crystals.
- Call your vet, or call poison control. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center line is (888) 426-4435, available 24/7 (a consultation fee may apply). Describe the plant by name, how much was eaten, and what symptoms you see.
- Don't induce vomiting unless a vet tells you to. Same goes for home remedies from a Facebook group. Let a professional make that call.
Most pothos incidents resolve with supportive care, but "most" is doing real work in that sentence. If your cat is drooling heavily, struggling to swallow, or breathing strangely, treat it as urgent and go in.
Can you keep a pothos in a house with cats?
The honest answer: it depends entirely on your cat, and I'd default to no.
Some cats ignore plants completely. Others treat every new leaf as a salad bar. People will tell you to hang the pothos high or put it on a bookcase, and that works right up until you remember that climbing is the one thing cats are professionally good at. A trailing plant with dangling vines is basically a cat toy with consequences.
If your cat has ever chewed a plant, any plant, swap the pothos out. The plants below are why that's not a sacrifice.
If you're determined to keep one anyway
I'd rather you swap it, but if the pothos stays, at least stack the odds:
- Go truly out of reach. A hanging planter with no launch surface nearby beats any shelf. Count the jump path the way your cat does: floor to chair to bookcase isn't a barrier, it's a staircase.
- Keep the vines trimmed up. Long danglers are the temptation. A shorter, bushier pothos reads less like a toy.
- Skip the propagation jar on the counter. Cuttings rooting in water put leaves and stems right at nose height, the worst of both worlds.
Give the chewer a legal option. A pot of cat grass gives a plant-curious cat something that's actually theirs, and plenty of cats will redirect to it instead of your shelf.
Pet-safe plants that scratch the same itch
Everything here is non-toxic to cats and dogs per the ASPCA, and everything here is a plant we actually stock because it earns its spot, not just because it's safe.
Peperomia is my first answer when someone asks what to get instead of a pothos. The whole Peperomia genus is non-toxic per the ASPCA, and the foliage is more interesting than pothos anyway. Our Peperomia 'Marble' is compact enough for a shelf or desk. (A striped watermelon peperomia is joining our lineup soon, if that's the look you're after.)
Maranta 'Red Prayer Plant' folds its leaves up at night like hands in prayer, which never stops being fun to catch. Bold red veins, non-toxic per the ASPCA, and happy in the same medium light a pothos tolerates.
Calathea 'Medallion' is the showpiece of the safe list: rose-painted, deep-green foliage that looks like it should absolutely be off-limits to pets and isn't. Calathea is non-toxic per the ASPCA.
And if it's specifically the trailing look you'll miss, our Hoya 'Tricolor' Wax Plant is a pet-safe vine with thick, variegated leaves that spills over a pot edge the way a pothos does. The ASPCA lists the wax plant as non-toxic.
Swap the worry, keep the greenery
That collection is the easiest starting point: every plant in our pet-safe collection is cross-checked against the ASPCA list, so you can browse without doing the botanical-name homework yourself.
The trailing swap
Hoya 'Tricolor' Wax Plant
From $20.99 · Pet-safe
Color, minus the risk
Maranta 'Red Prayer Plant'
From $15.99 · Pet-safe
Build the collection in a safer order
Safe list first, wish list second. Your cat was never going to respect the wish list anyway.
Shop pet-safe plantsQuick questions, honest answers
My cat only chewed a little pothos. Should I worry?
Usually the reaction is a painful mouth, drooling, and maybe vomiting, and it settles with supportive care. Offer water and watch closely. The situation to act on fast is swelling that affects breathing or swallowing, which is rare. When in doubt, call your vet or the ASPCA poison line at (888) 426-4435.
Is pothos as dangerous to cats as a lily?
No, and it's an important distinction. Pothos causes local mouth and throat irritation from calcium oxalate crystals. True lilies can cause fatal kidney failure in cats from tiny exposures. Both belong away from cats, but a lily is a drop-everything emergency in a way pothos usually isn't.
Are pothos toxic to dogs too?
Yes. The same insoluble calcium oxalate crystals affect dogs the same way: oral irritation, drooling, and vomiting rather than organ damage. The ASPCA lists pothos as toxic to both cats and dogs.
