I just bought my mother an ornamental pepper plant (I don’t know the name, it has clusters of tiny yellow and red peppers and big, triangular leaves) and she’s concerned that her kitties might nibble on it. Are they toxic? I’ve found mixed responses online, and I’ve left a message for my vet, but wondered if COTH might know.
Found this online:
The Potato Family includes plants such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and chillies all of which contain a toxic substance called Glycoalkanoid Solamine which can be poisonous to cats. The raw leaves and stems of these plants can cause aggressive lower gastrointestinal pain if eaten by your cat.
So…while they may be edible to humans, they could be dangerous to cats. However, I’ve never seen my cats show any interest whatsoever to my garden plants - potatoes, eggplant, peppers and potatoes…so, while in theory they might be toxic…I’d be shocked if my cats ate them. That being said, my cats are indoor/outdoor cats…indoor only cats might be tempted to taste new plants.
Ugh, all I can say, while unhelpful, is that this reminds me of an incident at a barn I was visiting. A poor little toddler lass was left unattended, and picked an ornamental pepper plant clean. She was alright, but I’ve never seen so much saliva in my life. Poor peanut.
Is the cat an inside or outside cat? If inside, no worries put the plant outside, it needs full sun anyway. If the cat lives outside, I doubt it will be interested in the pepper plant. You can spray the leaves with citronella, or Neem, or sprinkle with any potent herb/spice your cat finds offensive. Most cats hate rosemary.
