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The common name for the Fiddle Leaf Fig is Ficus lyrata. It is a type of plant in the Moraceae family. A lot of individuals like this houseplant because its leaves are beautiful and different. The Fiddle Leaf Fig is a very well-known houseplant, but cat owners should be careful around it. Fiddle Leaf Fig is poisonous to cats and can cause serious irritation if they chew on it or eat it. However, cats rarely die from eating it.
Our objective is to help you keep your cats safe. That’s why we looked into the Fiddle Leaf Fig. We also made a list of other plants that are bad for cats and plants that are safe for them.
In short, yes, cats and dogs can’t eat any part of the plant. Have cats or dogs that might try to eat the leaves of your ficus tree? It might not be the best houseplant for them!
The stems and leaves of the fiddle leaf fig have a thick white sap that is high in calcium oxalate crystals. If you swallow these crystals, the sharp edges can hurt your mouth, throat, stomach, and intestines. If they touch your skin and aren’t washed off right away, they can irritate or even blister it.
There are some things you should do to make sure your pets don’t eat your fiddle leaf fig (even small pieces) or get the sap on their skin or eyes.
If your cat or dog bites your fiddle and gets the sap on its skin, what should you do?
That calcium oxalate will hurt and scratch the soft tissues in their mouth, throat, and stomach as soon as they take a bite. It is not going to be fun!
This could happen if your cat or dog nibbles on your fiddle: drooling; swelling of the mouth, tongue, or lips; vomiting; loss of hunger; too much or too little urination or thirst; or diarrhea. If your pet ate a lot of your fiddle, you could have trouble breathing, high blood pressure, or feel tired or weak.
If a cat vomits, it could be a sign that it is dehydrated or having stomach problems. Cats may drink a lot of water or almost none at all.
Most likely, dogs will also paw at their mouths and show signs of being very thirsty or not thirsty at all.
How bad the reaction is generally depends on how much was eaten. If your pet only took a small taste, the symptoms may not be very bad. On the other hand, if your pet ate a whole leaf, the symptoms may be very bad. If the sap got on your pet’s skin or in its eyes, it might have heat, a rash, blisters, and paw or scratch at its skin or eyes.
If any of these things happen to your cat or dog and you find teeth or bite marks on your fiddle, you should call your vet right away.
Some things that could mean that someone has messed with your fiddle are tooth marks, bite marks, missing leaves, and so on. Check on your pet and keep a close eye on them.
Get in touch with your vet right away if they start pawing at their mouth or skin, biting or hurting themselves too much, stopping to eat, throwing up, or having diarrhea. Look for bumps or blisters on their skin as well, which could mean that the sap got on them.
Take a look at your fiddle and try to figure out how much your pet has eaten and how long ago it happened. This will help your vet figure out how bad your pet’s state is and what to do next. Before you do anything to help your pet, you should talk to your vet. You don’t want to hurt your pet more than help it.
Most likely, your doctor will wash the sap out of your pet’s mouth and skin. If a lot of it was eaten, they may also do tests to see if any organs were hurt.
You can’t keep birds, rabbits, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, or any other pet animal near a fiddle. If you can help it, keep your dogs away from your fiddles or choose a different plant.
Most pets will show pretty much the same signs of being poisoned by fiddle leaf figs. Keep an eye out for signs of skin discomfort, such as biting or scratching the skin or eyes a lot. Vomiting, diarrhea, and big changes in what you eat and drink are also always signs that something is wrong.
Azealia, mistletoe, hydrangea, a number of types of lily, oleander, and rhododendron are just a few of the plants that are very deadly.
The fiddle leaf philodendron, also known as the horsehead philodendron (philodendron bipennifolium), is deadly. Because of its name, it is sometimes mistaken for the fiddle leaf fig (ficus lyrata).
Do your research before choosing your indoor plants, especially if you have cats, dogs, or kids who like to explore. A lot of popular houseplants are actually poisonous.
There are many beautiful plants that are safe for pets and kids to eat, so you wouldn’t have to think about them doing that.
Because the sap can hurt your skin, wash any part of your body that comes in contact with it. To get rid of the sap, you can use cat shampoo.
You can give your cat water to rinse their mouth out if they ate some of the plant. Most of the time, we tell people not to give milk to cats because they can’t handle lactose. But in this case, a small bit of milk can help you clean out your cat’s mouth.
Fiddle Leaf Figs shouldn’t always be taken to the vet’s office if they are eaten. But make sure you always talk to your vet before giving your pet any special care or directions.
Usually, all you need to do is keep an eye on your cat’s signs for a few days. However, this will depend on how much it ate and how healthy it is right now. There are times when your vet may want to give your cat medicine to lessen the bad effects of the toxins in its body.
It’s also important to remember that the Fiddle Leaf Fig has a name that sounds a lot like another plant. The Philodendron bipennifolium plant is also known as the Fiddle Leaf Philodendron.
Cats can also get sick from the Fiddle Leaf Philodendron. It also has calcium oxalate crystals that don’t dissolve and can do a lot of damage to your cat’s digestive system as they move through the body.
To sum up, fiddle-leaf figs (Ficus lyrata) are a type of fig tree that grows naturally in warm areas. A lot of people like them as pets because they can clean the air of formaldehyde.
Fiddle-leaf figs are safe for people to eat, but they can be bad for dogs if they eat them. Vomiting, diarrhea, excessive drooling, oral pain, and stomach pain are all signs and symptoms of ingestion.
It is important to get your pet to the vet right away if it eats a fiddle-leaf fig. If you use these tips, your plants will stay healthy and beautiful and your pets will be safe.
