If you are curious weather wandering Jew toxic to cats or not before that let me explain This plant is known for its beautiful Leaves and people always wonder about its name also. Its Botanical name is tradescantia zebrina or pallida & it is the member of Commelinaceae family. As you know if you are someone who has a cat and you are also a plant lover then its important for you to know about the toxicity of indoor plants that you are growing, and you don’t want any house plant to be poisonous to the pet.
Wandering Jew Toxic to Cats? YES, According to UCANR ,Wandering Jew plant is Toxic included in Toxicity class 4. If cat has poisonous sap juice of wandering Jew on skin which may lead to irritation. Might be cat mistakenly eats wandering Jew stem then it may upset the cat’s stomach but that doesn’t mean it is not toxic. If your cat shows symptoms then definitely go to a pet center for help.
In NYC.GOV, This plant is included in the Non-toxic category with other plants like the Jade plant, roses, spider plant , African violet but still they do mention that the plant is not completely safe even if it was tagged under non-toxic but it may give many people problems. Make sure to call the poison center if any symptoms are shown by a child , pet or human.
It is also known as inch plant, very popular and heart shaped leaves are eye grabbing with purplish color. They are easy to grow and once it starts growing it can become invasive so to keep the growth in control you should always prune it to limit its growth. This way your wandering jew can be healthy and keep thriving. They are moist soil to grow properly and watering can be in a week or twice, or may be whenever the plant feels thirsty.
Light requirements are like because they can even grow under the tree canopy or in indirect sunlight. You can input fertilizer in the growing season but I suggest not doing it because they are fast growing and can handle environmental stress even without nutritional food. If you want the color to be more bright and healthy then only provide the plant food or fertilizer.
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Is a wandering Jew pet friendly?
No, Wandering Jew is not a pet friendly plant because it is moderately toxic and if by chance any of your plants eats any stem or leaf then they might get stomach irritations. I would never recommend wandering Jew to those who have cats because cats may come near to this plant and eat the shiny leaves. The plant has calcium oxalate crystals that may harm them so if your cat has a separate room then you can always have a plant like a wandering Jew in your house or garden.
What if my cat eats a wandering Jew?
If your cat eats a wandering Jew then she may find it hard to digest and this toxic part of wandering Jew might increase the stomach related problem. Irritation, vomiting are common because cats may expel all the bad toxins via vomit. Although the plant is not described as fatal, if the part of the plant is toxic then it should not be consumed by anyone. You should always avoid such contact of your cat with the plant.
There are some ways you can keep your cat deter from the wandering Jew plant. One Such is using a citrus fruit, because cats dislike the smell of it and using the peels of orange on the soil of the pot may keep the cat away from the plant.
You can also use pebbles or small stones to cover the soil so your cat won’t dig the soil and it can be saved from all your cat experiments on the soil. But You need to apply sticky double tape on the pot because cats don’t like stickiness on their paws so they will definitely avoid any contact with the pot.
These are some ways you can keep cats away from the plant.
Symptoms Of Wandering Jew Plant in Cats, dogs
You know ASPCA right, It is one of the largest plant and animals based website giving list of all the toxic and non toxic plants. They have mentioned Wandering Jew plant symptoms to be dermatitis which is basically skin problems when a cat or any human child gets in contact with the sap of the plant. Skin Irritation or getting rash and if they become painful is a serious problem. If your pet starts skirting over and over many times.
Look for the below area on your cat or dog.
- Stomach
- Pets Chin is one such area.
- Groin por upper leg area.
- Or you may think of any other part where the pet has a problem.
How to Protect wandering Jew plant from Cats
Every Plant lover has a desire to take the beautiful flower or indoor plant inside the house. But it is frustrating when these plants are considered toxic and can do harm to your lovely pet. So how to protect wandering jew plants from pets? First thing you can do is start noticing where your pet often goes and which location is where they sits and in free time where the cat goes so then you need to find a place where it shouldn’t go and where you can place your plant.
In terms of cats they are intelligent , you may need to be more aware of things happening in your house. I have 4 plants but my cat destroyed them as they jump from one ledge to another easily.
You can still put your plant one a location where your cat doesn’t go often, placing a wandering plant at a corner location can be a good idea.
What if your cat reached another room and again destroyed it. So In this case use a hanging basket and try to attach it on the wall using ceiling hooks your cat won’t jump to. or maybe you can train them not to jump there.
This way your plant will live without any disturbance from the surrounding pets like cats. Those who have dogs you can easily manage it as dogs don’t do these big jumps on the walls.
One good thing is as you know a wandering Jew plant is a hanging , trailing plant and its vines do hang downward , make sure to do pruning according to how you want them to go and shape them beautifully. Pruning is best as once your plant starts becoming big it is easy for cats or pets to eat or destroy it so trim it whenever you see vines hanging down to earth.
Now you can enjoy both plants and pets ,it looks like a great nature friendly home inside. right!
Wrap up
I hope you get the answer on “Wandering Jew Toxic to Cats” and if you like to read more such article check below.
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