Incredibly cute cat photos... Poisonous Plant - Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane)

My cat Zelda had a hard day. She loves to wreak havoc on our house plants and on this particular day, she took a big bite out of a dieffenbachia leaf. She instantly started hacking and coughing like she had something in her throat. We looked up the plant online and found out that there are really sharp crystals called "raphides" that can cause numbing, swelling and drooling. It is not normally fatally toxic, but an irritant that needs to go through its course.

Dieffenbachia is called Dumb Cane as it was used as a torture device that causes difficulty in speaking with drool and a swollen tongue. It is a very common houseplant that you have certainly seen and could even have in your house. Here is a photo of a common dieffenbachia plant.

These photos were taken an hour or so after Zelda chewed on a dieffenbachia leaf. Her mouth is open and her tongue is out as she had some swelling and drooling. She also had a bit of impaired breathing due to the swelling.

We just sat with her and made sure she was breathing and knew that the plant just had to run its course. As long as she was still able to breathe, we were advised to just to keep an eye on her. If her breathing got too impaired, we were advised to get her to a vet.

It was a hard day for Zelda, but we got some adorable photos of her.

We are really happy that she came through and hasn't really chewed on the dieffenbachia leaves again.