Is Ponytail Palm safe for cats and dogs?

Also sold as: Elephant-Foot Tree, Pony Tail Plant, Bottle Palm. Retail labels vary, so check the botanical name (Beaucarnea recurvata) if you are matching a plant you already own.

What the ASPCA lists for Ponytail Palm

The ASPCA records Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata, family Agavaceae) as Non-Toxic to Dogs, Non-Toxic to Cats, Non-Toxic to Horses. Read the ASPCA entry.

The entry is as clean as they get: a non-toxic verdict for all three species, with no toxic principle and no clinical signs recorded at all. That still does not make it chew-proof, since a pet that strips and swallows a quantity of the strap-like leaves can be sick from the plant matter alone, and the leaf edges are tough enough to be worth keeping out of reach of a determined chewer.

A ponytail palm is not a palm. The ASPCA files it in Agavaceae, alongside agaves and yuccas, and the swollen base people call a bottle or an elephant foot is a water store rather than a trunk. Two of its retail names are shared with a different plant, and for once that is reassuring rather than alarming: the ASPCA carries a separate Bottle Palm 2 entry for Nolina tuberculata under the same Elephant-foot Tree and Pony Tail Plant names, and records it as Non-Toxic to Dogs, Non-Toxic to Cats, Non-Toxic to Horses as well. Either plant you end up with, the answer is the same.

What this verdict does and does not mean

Being non-toxic does not mean a plant is chew-proof: even pet-safe houseplants can upset a cat's or dog's stomach if they eat a large amount, simply because it is plant matter. Most toxic houseplants cause irritant-level symptoms, such as drooling, mouth soreness, or a mild upset stomach, rather than a medical emergency. A small number of plants are a genuine emergency, most notably true lilies (Lilium and Hemerocallis species) for cats, which can cause fatal kidney failure from even a small amount of pollen or a nibbled leaf. If you are ever in doubt, or your pet has eaten part of a plant, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435.

More on pet safety

Read the full care guide for Ponytail Palm, browse the pet safety checker for other plants, or identify a plant from a photo first if you are not sure what you have. Verdicts here follow the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list.