Pets
Herbs and Pets: Which Garden Herbs Are Toxic to Dogs and Cats
The kitchen herbs gardeners grow most, one by one: which are listed as toxic to dogs or cats, which are listed as non-toxic, and which nobody has checked yet.
Herbs are where the pet question gets specific. A kitchen bed can hold a dozen plants within arm's reach of each other, and the answers for dogs and cats differ from one to the next, so this guide goes herb by herb. Every answer below is the plant's own listing, read for every plant in our library, with the institution behind it named and linked; none of it is our own judgment.
Which herbs are toxic to dogs and cats?
It depends on the herb. In our library, four of the herbs are listed as toxic to dogs or cats and four are listed as non-toxic to both; the answer for every herb, whichever way it reads, is below.
Listed as toxic to dogs or cats by the authority named on each plant's page.
Is lavender toxic to dogs and cats?
LavenderLavandula
Listed as toxic to dogs by NC State Extension and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Listed as toxic to cats by NC State Extension.
6 of the 12 plants in this group: Lavender, Hidcote, Hidcote Pink, Munstead, Nana Alba, Royal Velvet
Lavender is grown for its scent as much as its flowers, so it tends to sit beside paths, doors and seats, where pets spend their time too.
Is mint toxic to dogs and cats?
MintMentha
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Mint spreads by runners and is usually grown in a pot for that reason alone, which also makes it easy to keep up and out of reach.
Is basil toxic to dogs and cats?
BasilOcimum basilicum
Listed as non-toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Basil is a warm-weather annual, sown or planted out once nights stay warm, and one of the herbs listed as non-toxic to both animals here.
Is rosemary toxic to dogs and cats?
RosemarySalvia rosmarinus
Listed as non-toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Rosemary is evergreen and woody: a shrub where winters are mild, a pot plant brought in where they are not.
Is sage toxic to dogs and cats?
SageSalvia officinalis
Listed as non-toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Garden sage is the culinary one, with soft gray leaves. The ornamental salvias of the flower border are its relatives, with their own answers on their own pages.
Is thyme toxic to dogs and cats?
ThymeThymus
No toxic listing found for dogs and cats in the sources we check.
No toxic listing found means none of the sources we check lists thyme either way. It is not the same as a listing as non-toxic.
Are chives toxic to dogs and cats?
ChivesAllium schoenoprasum
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension and University of Florida IFAS Extension.
Chives belong to the onion genus, like the ornamental alliums of the flower border.
Is parsley toxic to dogs and cats?
ParsleyPetroselinum crispum
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Parsley is grown for its leaves and usually replanted each year.
Is lemon balm toxic to dogs and cats?
Lemon BalmMelissa officinalis
Listed as non-toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Lemon balm is a lemon-scented herb that self-sows freely; cut it back after flowering to keep it where you put it.
Is bay laurel toxic to dogs and cats?
Bay LaurelLaurus nobilis
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
Bay is a shrub or small tree, grown in a pot where winters are cold; the leaf in the soup pot comes from it.
Are oregano and dill toxic to dogs and cats?
Neither is checked yet. Until a plant is checked it carries no answer either way, and its page will say the day that changes.
Growing herbs around pets
- Grow the herbs you would rather keep away from a pet in containers or a raised bed, off the ground and out of easy reach.
- Keep prunings, trimmings and seed heads off the floor, and out of any compost pile a dog can reach.
- Label the pots. The answers differ from herb to herb, and a label is how a visitor or a pet sitter tells which is which.
Why is an herb I cook with listed as toxic to my dog?
Because a listing is about the animal, not the kitchen. People eat plenty of plants that the authorities list as toxic to dogs or cats, and the listing for a pet stands on its own.
What does not yet checked mean?
Nobody has finished looking, or what a reader found could not be filed. Until a plant is checked it carries no answer either way, and our plant library's pet filter leaves it out.
What should I do if my pet eats an herb?
Call your veterinarian or a pet poison helpline, and have the plant's name ready; the pot's label or its plant page helps. The number for one helpline that answers around the clock is in the box above.
Sources for these listings
Every plant on this page is looked up in NC State Extension, Royal Horticultural Society and Pet Poison Helpline, the sources we check. Each plant's own line names the institution that lists it and links that institution's page for the plant. On this page:
- NC State Extensionnamed for 9 plants
- University of California Agriculture and Natural Resourcesnamed for 1 plant
- University of Florida IFAS Extensionnamed for 1 plant
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline. What each answer means, and what it does not: how the listings are read.
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