Is Prayer Plant safe for cats and dogs?

Also sold as: Maranta, Peacock Plant, Rattle Snake Plant, Red Veined Prayer, Zebra Plant. Retail labels vary, so check the botanical name (Maranta leuconeura) if you are matching a plant you already own.

What the ASPCA lists for Prayer Plant

The ASPCA records its Prayer Plant entry, filed under Calathea insignis (family Marantaceae), as Non-Toxic to Dogs, Non-Toxic to Cats, Non-Toxic to Horses. Read the ASPCA entry.

The ASPCA records the toxic principle here as Non-toxic and lists no clinical signs at all, which is the cleanest form a verdict takes in their database. It still does not make the plant chew-proof: any pet that eats a large amount of leaf can be sick from the plant matter alone.

The scientific name on this entry is not the one most shops use. The ASPCA files Prayer Plant under Calathea insignis, and repeats that same species under two further entries, Maranta and Red Veined Prayer. The plant sold as a prayer plant in most shops is Maranta leuconeura, which has no entry of its own: it is absent from the species lists and its own page does not exist. So the safe verdict here rests on the entries the ASPCA does carry for this family, Marantaceae, which are non-toxic across the board, rather than on a page for this exact species. Calathea and Maranta are two genera in one family, not one plant under two names, and it is worth knowing the difference before trusting a confident answer found elsewhere.

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 Prayer Plant, 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.