Baby Rubber Plant
Also known as American Rubber Plant, Pepper Face. One plant, one grade per pet — the verdicts below are transcribed from primary sources and human-reviewed.
Baby rubber plant (Peperomia obtusifolia, also sold as American rubber plant or pepper face) is non-toxic to cats (S0 Safe): the ASPCA lists it as "Non-Toxic to Dogs, Non-Toxic to Cats" on five entries, with no toxic principle or clinical signs on record — and it is not the rubber plant, Ficus elastica.
FULL VERDICT →Baby rubber plant (Peperomia obtusifolia, also sold as American rubber plant or pepper face) is non-toxic to dogs (S0 Safe): the ASPCA lists it as "Non-Toxic to Dogs, Non-Toxic to Cats" on five entries, with no toxic principle or clinical signs on record — and it is not the rubber plant, Ficus elastica.
FULL VERDICT →Care at a glance
When to call the vet
FAQ
Is a baby rubber plant the same as a rubber plant?
No — the shared name is the only connection. The baby rubber plant is Peperomia obtusifolia, and the ASPCA lists it under five entry names — Baby Rubber Plant, American Rubber Plant, Pepper Face, Blunt Leaf Peperomia, and Rhynchophorum — each reading "Non-Toxic to Dogs, Non-Toxic to Cats." The rubber plant is Ficus elastica, a different plant graded S2 Irritant for its irritating sap: see our rubber plant verdict. The scientific name on the tag tells you which one you have.
Are other peperomias safe for cats too?
The ASPCA lists ten more Peperomia species as non-toxic, each on its own entry — watermelon, ripple, ivy, and trailing peperomias among them. It has no entry for the genus as a whole, so a peperomia that is not on that list has no grade here. The full list, with a link to each species' ASPCA entry, is on our peperomia guide.