Castor Bean

The castor bean plant is grown ornamentally and for its oil, valued for its reddish stems and large leaves — but its seeds contain ricin, one of the most powerful plant poisons known. Chewing just a few seeds can cause violent gastrointestinal signs followed by seizures and death, so keep it away from anywhere your cat goes.

The seeds are by far the most dangerous

Ricin is most concentrated in the seeds, and the leaves and stems also carry toxins such as ricinine. Ricin is released when a cat bites and breaks the seed coat, so a chewed seed is far more dangerous than one swallowed whole. The seeds are smooth and mottled and easy to bat around like a toy, so check first that none have dropped.

How cats get exposed

It grows in gardens, fields, and along waterways, and dried seed pods sometimes come indoors as dried-flower decor. The main routes are chewing the leaves or playing with and swallowing loose seeds. If it's growing in your garden, remove it before the seeds ripen and drop.

How symptoms progress

With ricin, signs can be delayed from several hours to more than a day. It starts with violent vomiting and diarrhea (sometimes bloody), abdominal pain, drooling, intense thirst, and weakness, with rapid dehydration and, in severe cases, seizures and organ damage. A cat that looks fine early is not necessarily safe.

What to do right now

If there's any sign your cat chewed a seed or leaf, go to a 24-hour emergency vet immediately even without symptoms. Don't induce vomiting at home; if you can, bring a remaining seed or piece of the plant to help assess ricin exposure. The sooner it's caught and treated, the better the outcome.