Unfortunately, most aroids are toxic. I would recommend Ficus Elastica (Rubber Tree). It's the most similar looking thing I can think of that isn't toxic, plus it's really cool (I have a large one at my desk at work). A palm would sort of be a good replacement, like a parlour palm. I also found this University of Nebraska website that you might want to consult. It has a long list of common houseplants and their toxicity.

My heart goes out to you, that is a beautiful plant.

I'll be getting one of those plants maybe sometime this spring!

Billy Rae

Parlour palm is listed as non toxic, but I think it's too grassy looking. My cat isn't a regular plant eater, but does like to initiate each new plant I bring home with a chomp. I find when I'm tending to my little parlour palm on the countertop by the kitchen sink, he likes to try to nibble on the fronds. Same with the outdoor spike/draceanas I buy for my outdoor planters in the spring - he wants to chew on the leaves of those. Good Luck.

Are Syngoniums toxic? If not they are sorta similar looking to the Monstera, and beautiful plants.

Jen

Maybe you would like a small Strelitzia or Bird-of-Paradise plant? Their leaves also tend to shred like a monstera's.

Spider plants aren't toxic, and WILL survive the leaf trimming a cat applies! I know this... If you get a large enough one, and put it in a heavy pot that won't tip easily, the cat should be able to abuse it without killing the plant.

Of note: sometimes having a small pot of wheat grass near the cat's food will meet their "grazing" needs! My cat sampled every plant - even the toxic ones - until he got his own pot of grass.

This is especially true for indoor cats.

How about some ferns. Ferns are easy to grow, some get really big. Find a large tree fern and you will love it. Plus they are old in terms of how long they have been on the planet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fern care

Thanks for all of your suggestions! I would love to have a bird of paradise, but unfortunately they're also toxic. zusya - I used to do cat grass, so maybe I will again. And minflick, you're right about the spider plants! I have two already that never seem to have babies hanging from them due to the cats trimming them off, but the mother plants are great.

my cat took a nibble from my madagascar palm and came back for more, which I thought was odd as I thought they were pretty toxic.

Perhaps it got her high?

LOL Blutarski..as a matter of fact I think Madagascr Palms are toxic, but I think it depends on the pet.
Your kitty-cat is probably very healthy, and IMO, I believe healthy pets have a better chance fighting toxic's than a pet who isn't.
I have birds..My one male munched down Ardisa (Corel Berry) last week, which I read via Bird Talk Magazine is poisonous, yet he's here today chirping away. This isn't to say we should allow our pets to nibble on plants, healthy or otherwise. In fact, after I found my new plant chewed down to the soil line, my heart started racing, thinking my little feathered friend was going to be lying on his back the following day. Thank God he's okay.
The things pets do..Toni

Have 3 cats, one syngonium, spider, all kinds of things, and the cats inevitably win! Certainly have never lost one to a plant, though I can't say the same thing applies vice versa.

My poor dracaena's took a lovely spill yesterday. I had a 12 inch pot with one mature, and 2 baby dracaena marginata's and the kitten knocked it over, broke the pot and covered the dining room [white] carpet in soil. The plants look pretty smushed now, I just hope they spring back! I've resorted to moving every plant I have to the top of the entertainment center because it's the only place in the apartment too high for him to jump yet. It looks like a small jungle up there.

Btw Toni, I know this if somewhat off topic, but how are birds as pets? I always watch them in the pet stores, but I have never been tempted to get one because I wasn't sure.

whiteforest,
I had a monstera years ago and a cat. The cat tasted the monstera and never went near it again. It may just be too bitter tasting for them to really bother much.

have you tried teaching your cat not to touch/eat/dig in the plants? Tard was a very smart & inquisitive little cat. she wanted to dig in the dirt & sleep in the plants pots.

took me a few lessons w/ the squirt bottle, but she learned to leave the alone so good i had to actively teach her it was OK to mess w/ the catnip i planted for her.

just keep a water filled squirt bottle handy. this way you can get the kitty from across the room when she starts up w/ a plant.

hadda teach mine you can't smell, lick, nibble, dig in, or sleep in the plant pots. took a couple of squirtings for each area that she wanted to investigate, but she got the message very quickly.

lil.

Unfortunately Gus is not afraid of anything. We tried the spray bottle consistently for weeks - he just cleaned himself off and resumed bad activity. Loud noises, hair drier, vacuum, can of pennies, yelling, physically interrupting him by picking him up and moving him.....Nothing works. I'm just praying that he outgrows being a terror! Our other cat never had to be corrected more than once to learn what he was and was not supposed to do.

Whiteforest..I was browsing through old threads when I noticed you had asked me how birds were as pets.
It depends on the bird..People buy birds from small finches,(1"+) to the largest Hyacinth Macaw, 40+" from head to tip of tail..The Hyacinth is the largest parrot in the world, blue, w/yellow circles around eyes..Cost is 7,000-10,000 for one, surgically sexed pairs 20,000..No, I do not have a hyacinth..LOL
I have and breed cockatiels..Tiels are in the parrot family, but on a much smaller scale compared to a standard macaw, and 2-3 times larger than the American Parakeet.
Like most pets, cockatiels have different personalities. Males are vocal..they whistle, talk, their voices are high-pitched..females are quiet, very affectionate. But it depends on the bird, the number of birds one has, and how much time is spent training...talking, singing, whistling and even dancing..lol..They're very intelligent, and will 'parrot' the actions of who those who spends the most time w/them. From a person to the family pet..they meow or bark, imitate a ringing phone..
Since I hand-feed chicks starting at a young age, they haven't any fear of humans. Like a dog, they act upon commands..eg, when I stick out my finger and say up, one will step on my finger..
If a person is away from home 80% of the time, birds get lonely, and may start plucking their feathers..They eat seed, but also need a healthy diet of fruits and veggies. A healthy tiel can live 20 yrs, whereas larger parrots live 30-70 yrs..
They're really great pets, if someone has time.
One woman bought a tiel from me 6 yrs ago..she told her daughter, who was having difficult reading, the bird would need her to read to him every night..the child went from C and D's to A..(What a great trick, huh?) It worked..the woman has two other children, boys, and decided getting each their own bird, so last fall she adopted two more chicks.
BTW, I'm not a business; it started and is a hobby..My male, Mystic, is getting up in age..wish I remembered how to post a pic cause I would..he's my sweetheart..the best. And he's a fantastic daddy..better than most human men, (sorry guys..LOL)
Ppl with cats shouldn't buy birds..I had a cat, Halloween, for 17 yrs..he passed away 2 yrs ago..even though he was good w/the birds, I never left them out of their cages when I had to go somewhere..no matter how well a cat behaves, we never know what they're thinking..
IMO, cockatiels are the best if considering a bird. Macaws are wonderful, but they're loud,(SCREECH) need a lot of space and attention..they're also expensive..When going through sexual maturity, they can turn violent and possessive..If someone has a large room, lots of time, and willing to make healthy meals, they'll do fine, but for the average home, tiels and parakeets are most reasonable..I love my guys/gals...we've had many yrs of pleasure, and work, too..Didn't mean to write such a long post, but like plants, once I get started....lol..Toni

Thanks Toni! And don't worry, I wouldn't have birds and cats together. I was thinking more as a pet for my studio. I would never have a cat there. As you can imagine, cats and ceramics is a disaster waiting to happen.

you could try to wrap aluminum foil around the tops of the pots. cats don't like the texture or sound it makes according to heloise.