As a responsible cat owner, you already know that many of the lovely plants and floral arrangements popular in springtime can cause your kitty to become ill. Veterinarians now warn that keeping bouquets out of reach from curious cat paws may not be enough of a precaution. Certain lilies are so potent in their toxicity that a mere lick of water from the vase or a bit of pollen groomed from their coat can lead to convulsions, kidney failure – even death.
Vets Now is a chain of emergency veterinary clinics in the UK. Hundreds of cats have been admitted to their 24/7 pet emergency hospitals as a result of coming into contact with lilies. The head of clinical intelligence for Vets Now, Dave Leicester, told the Mirror:
“We see a 50% rise in pet emergency cases around this time of year and often it’s due to cats and dogs eating things they shouldn’t such as lilies and chocolate Easter eggs. Lilies are particularly poisonous to cats. They can cause severe diarrhea, convulsions, acute kidney failure and even death.”
One pretty kitty named Millie fell victim to lily toxicity when she ingested pollen from the flowers over the Easter holiday. Her face and paws were stained yellow – a telltale sign of her misadventure – and her owners were able to get her the care she needed in time to save her life. Millie was kept over night on IV fluids, and has since recovered.
Leicester added that lilies pose a higher risk than other flowers because of their potency and the fact that every part of the plant carries the toxin.
“What makes them particularly dangerous is that all parts of the plant are toxic and even small ingestions, such as two or three leaves or petals, or water from a vase containing lilies, can be potentially fatal,” he explained. “In fact, even very small amounts of pollen can be extremely dangerous. Cats can swallow a toxic amount just by grooming after brushing against the flowers.”
So as beautiful as these colorful blooms may be, they simply aren’t worth the risk they pose to your beloved felines.
“Lilies are so dangerous we’d call on cat owners never to have them in their house,” Leicester concluded.
H/T to the Mirror
Featured Image via Flickr/Midorisyu