Is it true that poinsettias are only toxic to cats if they are consumed in large quantities?

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Is it true that poinsettias are only toxic to cats if they are consumed in large quantities?
How did this myth begin? Supposedly, in 1919 an Army officer claimed the death of his child was the result of eating a poinsettia bract (flower). This story was later determined to be only a rumor, an urban legend fifty years before anyone even knew what an urban legend was.



No other consumer plant has been tested for toxicity as much as the poinsettia. All research results have found no toxicity with ingestion of any part of a poinsettia. Even so, it is still widely believed that ingestion of the plant is poisonous.







Here are the facts:



Research conducted by Ohio State University found ingesting large amounts of any part of the plant to be non-toxic.

POISINDEX (the resource used by US poison control centers) states that a fifty pound child would have to eat more than 500 poinsettia leaves to exceed the experimental doses found to be toxic.

Data collected in 1995 by the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that our of 22,793 cases, no significant toxicity was found with ingestion of the plant.

The American Medical Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants states that ingestion of the poinsettia plant may produce vomiting but no toxic effects.
Reply:Define large quantities. A few grams, a leaf.....



Typically, your animals will not get deathly ill if they eat a leaf or two, however they will more than likely vomit. Your best bet is to put the poinsetta where the cat or dog cannot reach it or get fake poinsettas if you must have them. I have only seen a few animals in my lifetime actually try to eat a poinsetta to begin with while I have heard of many a human druggie trying to smoke poinsetta leaves.
Reply:Hi,

I was just at the Vet's today, and I asked them about this.

This question keeps coming up every day, They said, "NO", they are not poisonous.

Anyones' cat would have to eat a whole lot of leaves to be even close to being sick.

It just don't happen like most people believe.

Hope this helps,

Dave
Reply:Poinsettias are not toxic to anyone one and anything.

If your pet does eat something poisonous, the # for the Animal Poison Hotline is (888)232-8870.
Reply:The consensus of government agencies, health centers, veterinary groups, and plant and flower organizations that we've surveyed, however, is that poinsettias are not toxic and do not pose a health threat to children or pets.





so they are meant to be pretty safe, but they do look a bit scary when that milky sap comes out. Its just a tipical trait carried by plants in the Euphorbiacea family.
Reply:I not a vet, but our cat got very sick after eating only 1/2 a leaf