April 11th is all about celebrating our furry (or scaly, or feathery) friends - it’s National Pet Day! To honor our special friends, this blog post is all about our pet friendly plants, as well as some tips to keep your houseplants away from pets using shelves, hangers, and more. Even if they’re safe to eat, you still don’t want to lose a plant to Fluffy’s curiosity!

National Pet Day

Where did National Pet Day come from? It was founded recently in 2006 by animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige, who wanted to create a holiday to appreciate our pets and call attention to animals in shelters that need homes. (Read more from Holidays Calendar about National Pet Day).

Pet Friendly Plants

We offer several varieties of plants that are non-toxic to animals. Sometimes you might find a plant in-store that isn’t on our website, so if that’s the case you can always send us a photo and we will help you identify it. Our pet friendly plants include:

1. Spider Plant

2. Peperomia (Baby Rubber Plant)

3. Fittonia (Nerve Plant)

4. Fluffy Ruffles Fern

5. Phlebodium Blue Star Fern*

6. Echeveria Succulent

7. Gasteria Succulent

8. Haworthia Succulent

9. Peperomia Succulent

When in doubt, check our Pet Friendly Plant Guide and the ASPCA.

*The Blue Star Fern has not been officially deemed non-toxic due to its relative rarity and lack of testing; however, related ferns are pet-friendly, so it is generally considered safe.

How to Keep Plants Out of Reach

Whether you have a pet friendly variety or not, sometimes you just want to make sure little paws can’t get to your houseplants. Our Macrame Hanger allows you to suspend plants from a hook so they stay out of reach. You can also keep your plants on high shelves that your pets can’t access. However, if you have a very determined cat, use caution and stick to pet friendly varieties just to be safe (speaking from experience).

How to Help Pets

This National Pet Day, of course you can celebrate your own pets if you have them. Give your pets an extra special treat, take them on an extra walk, or spend some extra time playing.

You can also donate to your local animal rescue, adopt a new pet, or volunteer to help at a shelter. You can even sign up as a foster parent for pets to give them somewhere safe to stay while waiting for their forever home!

Each rescue, sanctuary, or shelter usually has a list of donations they need. You can generally take old linens (towels, blankets, sheets) as well as new bowls, leashes, collars, pet beds, cleaning supplies, pet toys, food, treats, and cat litter.

You can find a shelter, foster opportunity, or your new four legged friend by using Petfinder or other pet search engines.

Tag us on Insta

We want to see your pets with your plants so be sure to post and tag us @wild_interiors. Your photo may even get regrammed to our account!