Managing plant poisoning mainly involves preventing your cat from being exposed to toxic plants. One should also take immediate action if they see symptoms of poisoning in their cats. Knowledge of the list of plants that could be toxic to your cat is important. Keep such plants away from your house as it is difficult to keep your cat away from them. Understanding the nature of the toxicity and the specific symptoms of plant poisoning helps in taking emergency measures to control the effect of poisoning.

Keeping toxic houseplants away
The first step in managing plant poisoning is prevention. Remove all the poisonous indoor plants. The chances or risk of your cat eating a poisonous plant indoors is higher. Though the outdoor environment is out of your control, other distractions could keep them away from vegetation. Houseplants on hanging pots, wall pots, or on top of the shelves are not totally out of access if your cat is acrobatic and loves to explore.

Identifying plants and their toxicity
Look up at the list of toxic plants for cat, so that you can identify the houseplants and plants outdoors in your garden or yard that would cause toxicity. You will be able to differentiate the severely toxic ones from the mildly poisonous plants. The ASPCA is a credible source that can give you information on all the toxic and nontoxic plants. One can also find tips for handling an emergency due to plant poisoning.

Keeping emergency contact handy
Your pet poison helpline and vet’s emergency contact should be handy. Before reaching the vet, you can take some steps to manage the toxicity level and lessen the discomfort for your cat.

Steps to manage the poisoning
If you happen to see that your cat has chewed on a poisonous plant, prevent it from eating any more of the plant.

If the poison is on its paws or skin prevent it from grooming itself further. Collect any remaining parts of the plant from the cat’s mouth or skin. Call your vet and report the symptoms and name of the plant.

Do not give any food to your cat before identifying the toxin and giving it first aid or medication. Make her drink water to reduce damage from any absorbed poison.

If there are signs like vomiting or diarrhea and they are not severe, try to manage the symptoms by fasting and then feeding small quantities of bland food.

Induce emesis only after consulting with the vet. It can be done only if your cat is conscious and can swallow. Inducing vomiting works only if you are sure your cat has ingested something poisonous.

Managing severe symptoms
If you suspect that your cat is poisoned and is lying down weak, remove it from the source of poisoning. Take it to a well-ventilated area and watch the symptoms. If it shows symptoms like excessive drooling, heart rhythm abnormalities or seizures, head to the vet immediately. Do not medicate or try to force your cat to vomit when the symptoms are severe as it could cause more harm. Take the plant parts and a sample of the vomit, if possible.