Easter Lilies- Beautiful But Deadly
There are many different species of plants under the umbrella of “lily”:
Easter lily, day lily, Asiatic lily, tiger lily, peace lily, and the calla lily among others.
Though they may be beautiful to look at, your precious puss could be in danger of kidney failure or even death if he/she should eat any part of the toxic species and not receive treatment immediately. Ingestion can happen so easily and could include something as simple as grooming pollen off their coat.
In fact, consuming less than one leaf can produce severe toxicosis in cats and if left untreated, can become fatal in as little as three days. Symptoms can generally occur within two hours of ingestion.
All vegetative parts of these plants, including the flowers, can cause clinical signs.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Drooling/Salivation
Vomiting (pieces of plant in the vomit)
Loss of appetite
Increased urination, followed by lack of urination after 1 to 2 days
Dehydration
Depression/lethargic
TREATMENT:
Get to your vet clinic immediately!
If you see your cat eating or licking pollen, rinse out its mouth with water, remove petals from the mouth and bring him/her to clinic.
If the ingestion is recent we will make the cat vomit to remove the toxins and possibly start immediate intra-venous fluid therapy.
Prognosis can be good if immediate treatment is sought but if treatment is postponed for over 18 hours after exposure, it can result in renal failure and death. Each case is different and dependant on age, weight and general health of the cat.
PREVENTION:
If at all possible, do not have lilies in your house, not even as cut flowers. If you do have lilies in the house, make sure your cat cannot reach them and inform everyone in your household of the dangers lilies pose to the cat.
How do you know which Lily is dangerous?
When determining if a lily plant you want or have is toxic, look at the scientific name of the plant.
The lily plants of greatest concern are any from the genus Lilium (Lilium sp.), which includes Easter lilies, tiger lilies, and Asiatic lilies, and any from the genus Hemerocallis (Hemerocallis sp.), which includes day lilies.
There are many different species of plants under the umbrella of “lily”:
Easter lily, day lily, Asiatic lily, tiger lily, peace lily, and the calla lily among others.
Though they may be beautiful to look at, your precious puss could be in danger of kidney failure or even death if he/she should eat any part of the toxic species and not receive treatment immediately. Ingestion can happen so easily and could include something as simple as grooming pollen off their coat.
In fact, consuming less than one leaf can produce severe toxicosis in cats and if left untreated, can become fatal in as little as three days. Symptoms can generally occur within two hours of ingestion.
All vegetative parts of these plants, including the flowers, can cause clinical signs.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Drooling/Salivation
Vomiting (pieces of plant in the vomit)
Loss of appetite
Increased urination, followed by lack of urination after 1 to 2 days
Dehydration
Depression/lethargic
TREATMENT:
Get to your vet clinic immediately!
If you see your cat eating or licking pollen, rinse out its mouth with water, remove petals from the mouth and bring him/her to clinic.
If the ingestion is recent we will make the cat vomit to remove the toxins and possibly start immediate intra-venous fluid therapy.
Prognosis can be good if immediate treatment is sought but if treatment is postponed for over 18 hours after exposure, it can result in renal failure and death. Each case is different and dependant on age, weight and general health of the cat.
PREVENTION:
If at all possible, do not have lilies in your house, not even as cut flowers. If you do have lilies in the house, make sure your cat cannot reach them and inform everyone in your household of the dangers lilies pose to the cat.
How do you know which Lily is dangerous?
When determining if a lily plant you want or have is toxic, look at the scientific name of the plant.
The lily plants of greatest concern are any from the genus Lilium (Lilium sp.), which includes Easter lilies, tiger lilies, and Asiatic lilies, and any from the genus Hemerocallis (Hemerocallis sp.), which includes day lilies.