The ASPCA's Prayer Plant entry lists the plant as non-toxic to dogs and cats, but the entry's scientific name is Calathea insignis, not Maranta leuconeura, the species covered by the prayer plant care guide. No ASPCA entry found for this page names Maranta leuconeura. If your pet ate some and seems unwell, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.

Not sure whether your plant is a Maranta or a calathea? See calathea vs. maranta, and is calathea toxic to cats? for the calathea entries.

What happens if a cat or dog eats a prayer plant

The ASPCA's Prayer Plant entry reads "Non-Toxic to Dogs, Non-Toxic to Cats, Non-Toxic to Horses," gives "Non-toxic" under toxic principles and lists no clinical signs. That entry covers Calathea insignis.

For Maranta leuconeura itself, NC State Extension's Plant Toolbox page has no poison fields and no pet-toxicity tags, and the Missouri Botanical Garden page gives no toxicity information. None of the primary sources reviewed for this page describes what happens when a pet eats Maranta leuconeura. That is a gap in the sources, not evidence that the plant is toxic.

Whatever the species, the ASPCA's plant list warns that "the consumption of any plant material may cause vomiting and gastrointestinal upset for dogs and cats."

What to do if your pet ate some

Call your veterinarian, or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435, which the ASPCA says is available "24 hours a day, 365 days a year." The ASPCA notes, "A consultation fee may apply."

Have the plant's name ready. Because "prayer plant" can mean Maranta leuconeura or the plant the ASPCA files as Calathea insignis, give the botanical name if you know it, and say so if you don't. Then follow the instructions you are given.

Which plant does the ASPCA's Prayer Plant entry cover?

Three ASPCA entries carry the Prayer Plant or Maranta name, and all three give the same scientific name. Each lists the plant as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses:

  • Prayer Plant: additional common names Maranta, Peacock Plant, Rattle Snake Plant, Red Veined Prayer and Zebra Plant; scientific name Calathea insignis.
  • Maranta: scientific name Calathea insignis.
  • Red Veined Prayer: additional common names Maranta and Prayer Plant; scientific name Calathea insignis.

Kew's Plants of the World Online lists Calathea insignis and Calathea lancifolia among the former names of Goeppertia insignis, the rattlesnake plant. POWO also records an older, unrelated Calathea insignis that is now Calathea crotalifera; the ASPCA entries give no author, but neither plant is Maranta leuconeura. NC State's Goeppertia insignis page lists Prayer Plant, Rattlesnake Calathea and Rattlesnake Plant as its common names and tags it "non-toxic for cats" and "non-toxic for dogs."

Maranta leuconeura is a different species in a different genus, accepted by POWO as native to Brazil. NC State's Maranta page lists its common names as Cathedral Windows, Herringbone Plant, Prayer Plant, Rabbit Tracks and Red-Veined Prayer Plant. Searches of the ASPCA list under Maranta, Prayer Plant, Red Veined Prayer, Herringbone, Rabbit Tracks, Cathedral Windows and Ten Commandments found no entry with the scientific name Maranta leuconeura.

So the ASPCA's non-toxic listing covers the plant it files as Calathea insignis. No primary source reviewed here gives a toxicity verdict for Maranta leuconeura.

How to tell which one you have

NC State describes Maranta leuconeura this way: "The prominent red fishbone-patterned veins, pale central variegation, and pale underside are characteristic of this plant." Its page for the rattlesnake plant, Goeppertia insignis, describes narrow, wavy-edged leaves that are "medium to light green above with alternating large and small, dark green, elliptic blotches along lateral veins" and purple-maroon underneath. If the tag is missing, calathea vs. maranta covers the other differences.

Keeping a prayer plant in a home with pets

  • Place it out of reach. A high shelf or a hanging planter works better than a floor spot. Count the leaves that hang over the pot's edge, not just the pot.
  • Pick up trimmings and dropped leaves. They are still plant material a pet can eat.
  • Don't count on deterrents. No placement or spray guarantees a pet will leave a plant alone. If your pet keeps chewing it and vomits, talk to your veterinarian.

Houseplants the ASPCA lists as non-toxic

With the same caveat about stomach upset, these houseplants have ASPCA entries listing them as non-toxic to dogs and cats, under the scientific name shown:

For longer lists, see plants safe for cats, plants safe for dogs and the toxic plant directory.

Frequently asked

Are prayer plants toxic to dogs?
The ASPCA's Prayer Plant entry lists the plant as non-toxic to dogs and cats, but the entry's scientific name is Calathea insignis. No primary source reviewed for this page gives a toxicity verdict for Maranta leuconeura, the species in this site's prayer plant care guide.
Is it safe to have a prayer plant with cats?
The sources reviewed for this page don't support a guarantee. The ASPCA lists the plant it files as Prayer Plant (Calathea insignis) as non-toxic to cats, and no ASPCA entry was found for Maranta leuconeura. The ASPCA also notes that eating any plant material may cause vomiting and gastrointestinal upset, so keep any prayer plant out of reach of a cat that chews plants.
Is Maranta leuconeura toxic to cats?
No primary source reviewed for this page gives a verdict for Maranta leuconeura. The ASPCA entries named Prayer Plant, Maranta and Red Veined Prayer all give Calathea insignis as the scientific name, and NC State's Maranta leuconeura page has no toxicity fields or pet tags.
Is the ASPCA's prayer plant actually a calathea?
Its scientific name is Calathea insignis. Kew's Plants of the World Online lists Calathea insignis as a former name of Goeppertia insignis, the rattlesnake plant, which NC State also lists under the common name Prayer Plant.
My cat chewed my prayer plant. What should I do?
Call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435; the ASPCA notes that a consultation fee may apply. Give the botanical name if you know it, Maranta leuconeura or a calathea such as Goeppertia insignis, and say so if you don't.

Sources: ASPCA: Prayer Plant, ASPCA: Maranta, ASPCA: Red Veined Prayer, ASPCA: Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants, ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, ASPCA: Spider Plant, ASPCA: Parlor Palm, ASPCA: Boston Fern, ASPCA: Phalaenopsis Orchid, ASPCA: African Violet, Kew POWO: Goeppertia insignis, Kew POWO: Calathea insignis Petersen, Kew POWO: Maranta leuconeura, NC State Extension: Maranta leuconeura, NC State Extension: Goeppertia insignis, Missouri Botanical Garden: Maranta leuconeura