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Monstera: toxicity, first aid and care

Monstera (Monstera deliciosa): toxic for cats, toxic for dogs, irritant for small children. The toxic principle, the signs, what to do, and how to grow it.

Cats: ToxicDogs: ToxicChildren: Irritant

Also sold as: Swiss cheese plant, split-leaf philodendron, fruit salad plant.

This is a reference table, not a diagnosis and not veterinary or medical advice. It cannot tell you how much of a plant matters for a particular child or a particular animal — that depends on body weight, on the part eaten and on how long ago. If a person or an animal has eaten part of a plant, phone the poison information centre or a clinician; do not wait for symptoms, and do not make anyone vomit unless you are told to.

What is in it

Toxic principle: Insoluble calcium oxalate raphides — Calcium oxalate needles.

Yes, monstera is toxic to cats and dogs, and no, it is not dangerous in the way a lily or a sago palm is. The leaves and stems carry the same oxalate needles as the rest of the arum family. The injury is to the mouth and throat, it is immediate, and it is essentially always self-limiting.

What it looks like when it goes wrong

Sudden drooling, mouth-pawing, a refusal of food, occasionally vomiting. A cat that has taken a real bite is visibly uncomfortable within seconds, which is also why it rarely takes a second one.

What to do

Rinse the mouth out with cool water, offer milk or yoghurt, and watch. Phone a veterinary clinic if the drooling continues, if swallowing looks difficult, or if the face swells at all. Keeping a monstera and a cat in one flat is normal and workable — putting it where the cat cannot get a decent bite is the whole intervention.

Anywhere in the European Union, 112 reaches emergency services and can put you through. Lithuania's poison information bureau (Apsinuodijimų kontrolės ir informacijos biuras) publishes its own round-the-clock line; if you do not have it to hand, use 112. For an animal, your own veterinary clinic or its out-of-hours service is the first call — human poison centres do not advise on animals in every country.

How to grow it

It is a climber, not a shrub, and this is the thing people get wrong: given a moss pole and something to grip, leaves get bigger and develop the characteristic splits and holes; grown flat on a shelf in low light it makes small solid heart-shaped leaves forever. Aerial roots can be tucked back into the pot or trained onto the pole. Wipe the leaves — the dust is what dims them.

What it gets confused with

The ripe fruit really is edible and really does taste of pineapple and banana, which is where "deliciosa" comes from. The unripe fruit is loaded with the same oxalate crystals and burns the mouth badly. Indoors in this climate it almost never fruits, so this is trivia rather than a plan.

A plant that is not on the toxic lists

If you are deciding what to keep in a home with a cat, a dog or a small child, this one fills a similar role and is not flagged by the veterinary services.

Others that work the same way

Calcium oxalate needles — these behave alike, and what you would do about them is alike too.

Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control — toxic and non-toxic plants · checked 2026-09-06

Care guidance is standard horticultural practice for a cool-temperate northern climate. Poison-centre numbers are listed on the hub page and are worth confirming against your own country's health service.

Frequently asked questions

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