‘Tis the season of plant-related traditions: Putting up a tree, decking the halls with boughs of holly, hanging mistletoe — and slandering the good name of the innocent poinsettia.
Almost everyone reading this has heard some variation of the statement or possibly even said it themselves: “You know, poinsettias are poisonous. Don’t leave that plant where your cat/dog/kid can get at it.” Next to children, cats in particular seem to be the family members people worry most about, probably because our feline pals are infamous nibblers of houseplants.
No one is entirely sure why that is, incidentally — cats have never held a press conference on the matter — but some common-sense explanations are that kitties may chew on plants in order to get some fiber to aid digestion (and ease the passage of hairballs), or possibly to seek out nutrients that they might otherwise lack in their diet. It could also be that they just like the taste of green and leafy things. Or, as many owners would be willing to assert, cats may eat plants simply because they know it bugs the bejesus out of you.
Regardless, as seasonal myths go, passing poinsettia warnings along may not exactly be a joyous tradition, but it sure is an enduring one. For more than a century, we’ve been spreading this bit of horticultural gossip amongst one another without really bothering to check the facts.
Are poinsettias anything you want to feed your cat or anyone else in your house? Absolutely not. But they are hardly dreaded plants of doom, as so many of us have been brought up to believe. Here’s what the science says about poinsettias and their alleged perils.
