Hey, I’m Mo — and I got way too into houseplants after my cat almost ate the wrong one.
A few years back I bought a gorgeous trailing plant at a farmers market, set it on my shelf, and watched my cat immediately try to chew on it. A quick Google spiral later, I found out pothos — one of the most popular beginner plants on the planet — is toxic to cats. Nobody told me. The plant tag didn’t say it. The seller didn’t mention it.
That was the beginning of a full obsession.
I’m not a botanist or a vet. I’m a self-taught plant parent who spent way too many hours cross-referencing plant care guides with the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants database so you don’t have to.
What Kijani Paws is actually about
Kijani is Swahili for green. Paws is pretty self-explanatory if you share your home with a cat or dog.
This site exists for one reason: to make it easier to build a beautiful indoor plant collection without gambling with your pet’s safety. Every single plant I write about gets verified against the ASPCA database before I publish anything. If I can’t confirm it’s safe, I say so — or I skip it entirely.
You’ll find:
- Plant care guides written for people who are new to this (no gatekeeping, no jargon)
- Honest product picks for cat grass kits, hanging planters, pots, and soil
- Safety explainers — including the plants that look harmless but aren’t
- Answers to the questions you’re googling at midnight when your cat just ate something suspicious
A note on plant safety claims
I take this seriously. Every toxicity claim on this site is cross-checked against the ASPCA Animal Poison Control database. I don’t label something “pet safe” based on vibes or because another blog said so.
That said, I’m not a veterinarian. If your pet has eaten something and you’re worried, call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: (888) 426-4435 or your emergency vet — don’t rely on a blog post in that moment.
Get in touch
Got a question about a specific plant? Want to know if something is safe before you bring it home? Send me a message — I read everything.
— Mo Ruman, Kijani Paws