Are Majesty Palms Safe for Cats?
Cats love exploring and experimenting on their schedule, which people love to see. They’re also quite active creatures. This is why cats are one of the world’s most popular and well-liked pets. For example, there are more than 80 million cats in American households. There are several benefits to owning a cat since having one may be a wonderful experience. So, to keep this love going, keeping safe plants in your home is critical.
But of course, our dear friends need checking up now and then if we want to help them be safe and sound. Suppose we want to keep our relationships long and healthy with our cats. For example, the plants we will choose for a house are really important as some plants other than majesty palms and such might be dangerous for our cat friends, when these words are put together in a hurry without proper thinking, “majesty palm safe for cats”. This is why selecting appropriate plants for your household is important.
Which Plants Are Safe for Cats?
It’s hard to keep houseplants like majesty palms away from a pet, which is another reason for hurried questions like, “majesty palm safe for cats.” Therefore we must be sure that any plant such as majesty palms we grow is safe and non-toxic to cats. Except for foods like cat grass, The best thing you can do is keep valuable houseplants out of reach of your pets at all times if possible. As cats tend to eat plants in situations such as when they have a stomach ache, choosing safe ones for consumption is extremely important, as when cats get an upset stomach or to help with the digestion of hairballs, they like to consume greens.
While some others say, they do this to correct a nutritional deficit. So the plants such as majesty palms in your house being safe is really important. During play sessions, cats and dogs may chew on majesty palms, attacking waving fronds as if they were a toy. The safe plants, like the majesty palms, are listed below. These plants have been determined to be safe for cats by the ASPCA.
Other Plants That Are Also Safe for Cats:
Some examples of these plants can be African violet due to their capacity to bloom in places with low lightning and their preference for the same environmental things that people also prefer: medium temperatures with enough humidity.
Maranta is also another example. This plant also comes in various colors, needs a medium amount of light, and can handle sparse watering. It is also a tiny plant that folds in itself or rolls its small leaves at nighttime.
Peperomias is another plant family that is also safe and consists of hard and tiny plants with fleshy leaves that come in a World of colors. It can handle full or low amounts of light, is much more drought-resistant than majesty palm, and grows at a modest rate.
Another great example could be Baby’s Tears plant, As their dirt is covered by the plant itself, which may deter pets from digging within your houseplants. This plant also shows exceptional interest in terrariums and is a favorite among terrarium users in small hanging pockets. However, the plant we will focus on is the Majesty’s palm.
What Is Majesty’s Palm?
Majesty palms are becoming increasingly rare in the wild and are now mostly produced as indoor trees, where their roots are contained in a safe vase of sorts, keeping the plants to a height of around 10 feet. When majesty palms are cultivated indoors, they grow at a rate of roughly one foot each year until they reach four to six feet, at which point they begin to slow considerably.
The majesty palm is a tree from Madagascar island that can be in the line of about 100 ft. in its natural habitat. However, it grows quicker as an outdoor plant with free-roaming roots, and they sometimes can be seen in California, South Florida, and some other tropical areas.
It has many long arching green fronds. When young, they remind you of a typical kentia palm, and when they mature, they take the shape of your average royal palm. This is important praise, as these two types of palms are loved by many for their looks. It is, however, a difficult plant to properly care for indoors since it requires a lot of strong indirect light, enough humid air, and consistent watering. Majesty palms are generally considered a hard plant to take care of, but being safe for your pets makes them valuable.
Where Does Majesty Palm Originate From?
Unlike other plants, which are thought to be drought resilient, majesty palms are endemic to Madagascar’s wetland environments. It would be best to keep majesty palms properly hydrated no matter where you’re planting them to keep them happy. A majesty palm may already be grown along the edge of a pond or water garden.
You should choose a pygmy date palm or another species if you want a palm that prefers to be in dry areas. Another way majesty palms defy the rules is that they don’t mind being in the shadow. The plants enjoy it. This is one of the reasons why they are one of the easiest houseplant palms to maintain. Majesty palms are ideal partners for impatiens, wishbone, or coleus since they like to stay out of the intense afternoon sun.
The majesty palm likes a lot of humidity in the air, which might make it difficult to cultivate indoors. Average humidity is alright, but moisture levels in the air that are above average can help it grow. Therefore, if you reside in a very dry region, you might want to opt for a palm other than majesty palm that doesn’t mind the dry air.
Is Majesty Palm Toxic for Cats?
The Majesty Palm is completely safe for cats. This means that all plant components, including the stem, leaves, roots, and other sections, are completely safe and contain nothing that might harm your cat. Furthermore, according to ASPCA publications and studies, they are completely secure. So, even if your cat eats your tree to the ground, the only thing that will be harmed is your majesty palm’s breathtaking beauty since they are completely safe.
Should You Keep Your Cats Out of Majesty Palms?
Even though, the question “Is Majesty Palm toxic for cats?” is logical to ask, Majesty palms and the other plants we talked about are completely safe for cats, you might not want your cats to fiddle with them in case they might do something to them. So to keep the palms safe, you can, for example, lay some peels in the soil as Citrus peels or grapefruit, lemons, and limes, as they are repulsive to cats. To keep your cat away, sprinkle some fresh fruit peelings on the surface of your palm’s soil. Citrus essential oils, on the other hand, should not be used since they are very concentrated and may be hazardous to animals.
You can also grow cat grass somewhere away from the majesty palms in the house to satisfy the cats’ innate drive to eat greens, which outside cats generally benefit by eating grass. But, of course, this would also make everything much safer.
By doing this, instead of causing extra harm to your beautiful majesty palm, cultivating some tasty kitty greens inside can be enough to satisfy that urge and keep your majesty palm safe.
How to Take Care of Your Majesty Palm?
You need enough experience to balance several elements and grow majesty palms in your home successfully—for example, light, heat, and many other things to keep the plants safe. Plants that take too much light without receiving fertilizers or water can burn. A proper mix of requirements typically includes a sunny spot inside your home with just enough water and less fertilizer than you may assume.
If you over-fertilize your plants but have also grown in warm settings but lack adequate light, they may stretch out in search of more, which might not be safe. The Majesty Palm is also known to be quite a fickle plant. If you are a beginner in botany, you might want to choose kentia palms or some other palms at first. These palms need sufficient enough drainage to avoid waterlogging. Make sure you water the potting material and never get it too soggy. By doing this for the environment of your majesty palms, You will make the soil not become too dry between waterings; otherwise, it will cause your palms to lose their lower leaves over time.
To not go extinct and keep themselves safe, majesty palms made themselves an understory plant, getting just enough light for growth, but they are never in direct sunshine as these palms love to be in environments with a p.h. Lower than 5.0, you don’t have to worry about the climate acidifying and harming your majesty palm. For greater palms, a regular potting mix is just enough for the expected growth medium.
Further Instructions on How to Take Care of Your Majesty Palm:
Ideal temperatures for your palm are between 65 and 85 degrees. These are ideal for these palms’ growth. They like areas where humidity is high, but they can also live in low-humidity environments. In colder regions, when the winter air may be extremely dry, a humidifier can help the palms thrive. Misting the palm will help provide a safe level of humidity it requires. Insects thrive in low humidity areas.
During their growing season, only use fertilizers once or maybe twice. During the winter, do not use them at all. Reduce or stop fertilizing your indoor palm plant if it begins to grow big and spread out. A cactus-specific fertilizer mix is a good option for the majesty palm.
Once a month, applying Epsom-type salts to your majesty palm will provide ample magnesium and avoid leaf yellowing. Plants might also require other substances such as iron to prevent yellowing and leaf loss. Applying these is important to keep your plant safe.
Common Problems with Majesty Palms
Change in the color of your majesty palm and of its leaves to indicate that it isn’t doing well. A list of why your majesty palm isn’t as beautiful as you want can be like this;
The most prevalent issue with majesty palm is their leaves yellow over time. Many things affect this and why leaves become yellow, one of the most important reasons being inadequate watering and a lack of enough lighting. These things are not safe for your majesty palm’s health. Your majesty palm may also lack nutrients and require an efficient fertilizer.
Another set of reasons can be that if your majesty palm’s leaves are turning crispy brown, it receives way too much sun and direct light. The plant should be moved to avoid leaf burn. Also, If the tips of the leaves of the plant are becoming brown, your plant is probably not getting enough water. Another problem is bugs. If you find dark stains on the leaves, it’s most likely due to an insect infestation on your majesty palm. This could also create many problems about your home being safe for your pets, as insects can create even further problems.
Which Plants Are Toxic to Cats?
We talked about Majesty palms and other safe plants for your cats, but some are not safe and could hurt your cat too.
Unfortunately, numerous houseplants might not be safe for your cat, and others might even kill your pet if it eats them. We can give examples of a few typical houseplants that are not safe, and those cat owners should keep out of reach or avoid;
Pothos plants, for example, are not safe, unlike majesty palms. They are very toxic for your cats if they chew on them. It is critical to ensure that no Pothos plants are present in your home if you have even one pet cat. Let’s look at what a Pothos plant is and why it’s not safe for cats. Pothos plants are toxic to cats. Calcium oxalate crystals are found in both the stems and the leaves, which make it harmful and not safe for cats.
This drug is known to harm a cat’s soft tissues, making it difficult for them to digest food properly. The chemical calcium oxalate crystals found in this plant are not hazardous to a cat’s organs. Still, they might create oral sensitivity, impacting your cat’s appetite and nutrient intake. Calcium oxalate can also make you tired and create respiratory issues. A cat exposed to the poisons of a Pothos plant is likely to die if a trained veterinarian does not manage the condition safely.
Some Other Plants That Are Toxic to Cats
Another plant that is not safe, unlike the majesty palm, is the Philodendron, which is a plant with more than 400 species. Crystals of calcium oxalate can be found inside the leaves of some of these plants and are harmful and not safe. These crystals hurt the stomach lining of your pet and can even irritate inside of your pet’s mouth if consumed.
Therefore it is not safe. If the crystals go into your pet’s eyes, wet mouth, vomiting, and blood from the mouth are all signs that your cat may have eaten your Philodendron. Thankfully, the condition is seldom more serious than a painful stomach or vomiting. Although veterinary care is rarely required, you should always monitor the symptoms and contact your known veterinarian if they get worse. Another solution is chicken broth, which can be fed to your cat to counteract symptoms.
Summary
To summarize, the majesty palm is an easy-to-care-for houseplant that adds a splash of tropical color to your space. Majesty palm won’t harm your cat as it is completely safe even if it has a taste for all things green or is simply interested. Keeping your cat safe by using and growing safe plants, like the majesty palms, is important, as they like to dig around and play with the greenery in the house. Therefore, having plants that are safe for your pet is extremely important.
However, it is quite acceptable if you wish to prevent your cat from completely taking over your majesty palm to preserve the plant’s beauty. Other plants are safe if you don’t want to go with a majesty palm in your house, such as African violets and peperomias, which are also totally safe, just like majesty palms. Taking care of majesty palms is also relatively easy, as they are easy to take care of. This makes them even safer for your pets.
