Is Alocasia toxic to cats?

Chewing or biting the plant releases needle-like crystals that penetrate and irritate the tissues of the mouth and gastrointestinal tract.

Treatment is supportive. A Pet Poison Helpline veterinary toxicologist, in a talk for vets, says the vet first rules out plants with soluble oxalates, which, unlike these crystals, can harm the kidneys. The Merck Veterinary Manual describes removing the plant material, rinsing or wiping out the mouth to clear the remaining crystals and, sometimes, giving milk or other dairy products, whose calcium binds the crystals and helps clear them from the mouth and esophagus. For alocasia, Merck adds that pain relief may be needed. In the clinic, the same toxicologist lists flushing the mouth, anti-vomiting medicine and fluids under the skin, while the vet watches for the rare swelling that blocks the upper airway. If it makes breathing hard, the vet may secure the airway and give oxygen.

The outlook is good to excellent. The Merck Veterinary Manual says full recovery is expected in most cases, often without veterinary treatment. ASPCA Poison Control says finding your pet chewing one of these plants can be alarming, but the severity is low: many exposures can be managed at home, and long-term effects are not expected. Pet Poison Helpline rates elephant ear plants, a name it also uses for alocasia, as mildly toxic to cats.

• Alocasias (Alocasia), houseplants with large, showy leaves in the arum family (Araceae). The ASPCA and Pet Poison Helpline also call them elephant's ear, and Pet Poison Helpline and NC State Extension add taro. Pet Poison Helpline says chewing the plant releases microscopic oxalate crystals that irritate and hurt the lips, mouth and throat.
• Look for large heart- or arrowhead-shaped leaves with prominent veins, each held on its own long, sturdy stalk. Depending on the variety, the leaves are green, silvery, coppery, burgundy or variegated. Indoor plants rarely flower; the flower is a creamy spike wrapped in a leaf-like hood (the spathe).
• Named varieties. NC State Extension lists Alocasia x mortfontanensis, previously known as Alocasia x amazonica and also called African mask, Amazon elephant's ear or amazonica, with the varieties 'Polly', 'Bambino' and 'Ivory Coast'. It also lists zebra alocasia (A. zebrina), 'Frydek', 'Dragon Scale', 'Black Velvet' and giant taro (A. macrorrhizos).
• Homes, offices and patios. NC State Extension says alocasias grow as houseplants, or outdoors in pots and borders in warm months, and that the pots or tubers are brought indoors for the winter.
• Every part of the plant. The Merck Veterinary Manual places the crystals in the leaves, stems and tubers, and NC State Extension says all parts of the African mask plant are toxic.
• Not the only plant called elephant ear. Pet Poison Helpline says the name covers several genera, including Caladium and Colocasia (taro), and the Merck Veterinary Manual also uses it for Caladium. These are different plants, but the ASPCA groups Colocasia, Alocasia and Caladium together as elephant ear among the houseplants with insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, and gives the same advice for all of them.

• Keep alocasias, including compact varieties such as 'Polly', out of reach of pets that chew plants. NC State Extension advises using these plants with caution around pets.
• If you bring pots or tubers indoors for the winter, store them where your pet can't get at them. The Merck Veterinary Manual links pets' exposure to caladium, another plant called elephant ear, to rhizomes brought indoors for winter storage.
• Keep the plant label. Elephant ear and taro are names for several plants, and the botanical name helps your vet or the poison line.
• The ASPCA's Pet Plant Guide lists common toxic plants and what to grow instead. Other houseplants with the same crystals include dumb cane, calla lily, pothos, peace lily, Chinese evergreen, ZZ plant, philodendron, Swiss cheese plant (Monstera) and flamingo plant (Anthurium).