I’m Anastasia, a cat and hedgehog lover, indoor plant parent and, finally-able-to-call-myself, plant blogger. I live with my husband, two cats, African Pygmy hedgehog, and over 50 houseplants in my 200 year old historical cottage in New York.

Urban Jungle with Cats

As an animal-lover and plant hoarder, I created Leaf & Paw to provide information, inspiration, and thoughts about my two favorite things. You’ll find information about toxic and non-toxic houseplants for pets, plant care, and I may even bore you with my ever-growing plant collection.

Meet Harlequinn.

Harlequinn, our all-black cat, came to us a few days before Halloween in 2011. Obviously lost, she stared at us through our window for a few hours, meowing at an unbearable pitch and we chose to take her in. Immediately passing out on the couch, we decided to keep her. Harlequinn did give us both a fright after eating a certain plant and is actually my inspiration for this blog. Like most cats, Harlequinn likes eating stringy plants and palm trees, meowing loudly at 4am, my husband better than me for some reason, and catnip.

Urban Jungle Bloggers

Meet Harvey.

Harvey was adopted in 2013 at the SPCA. She immediately fell into my lap and purred like a small motor and I knew she needed to come home with me. Harvey actually loves when I pick up my camera and is more accommodating than Harlequinn, which is why she appears in more photos. Almost always, Harvey enjoys her picture taken, anything filled with catnip, hugging/terrorizing her sister, and snuggles. And turkey. She loves turkey.

Harvey

Meet Henrietta.

Henrietta was my first hedgehog. She passed away from breast cancer in 2017 which was one of the hardest experiences I’ve ever gone through. Henrietta was adopted in 2016 and meant the world to me. She loved mealworms and always sat on my lap while I wrote and researched blog posts for many hours at a time.

Hedgehog birthday party hat

Meet Simon.

I picked up Simon in January of 2017, he was surrendered by his owner who became allergic to him. This little man had no teeth and ran miles every night on his wheel. Simon liked hanging out with Harlequinn and Harvey and watching Parks and Recreation reruns with his mother – that’s me. He passed away in 2018 at age six, which is very elderly for a hedgehog.

Simon the Hedgehog