ForumGarden

Having learned a (very expensive) lesson this weekend, I

thought to pass on a warning to cat owners.

Yesterday, a friend came over and brought me a bouquet of

lilies (they haven't opened yet but I think they are the Stargazer

type) and I put them in a vase on the kitchen counter. Friend,

husband and I then went out for the day. Came home to a

bit of upchucked leaf matter in the upstairs hall. Cleaned it up,

didn't think much more of it, until a bit later, cat brought up

her entire dinner, with another small piece of leaf in it. Thought

to ask husband to look up lily toxicity, and we were on our

way to our emergency vet center here in town, thank goodness

we have that place.

The toxin in lilies is unknown, but you have to treat quickly, and

so our little kitty has gotten charcoal and is on fluids and will be

at the e-vets for three days, trying to preventing renal failure.

Talked to the vet this morning, she is doing good and making pee

and he said if he didn't know what she was in for, he wouldn't

know there was a problem. So hopefully we're okay.

I asked vet about how common this is, and he said he sees it

quite a bit, especially around Easter time. So all of you, please

learn this lesson along with me and avoid trauma to your kitties,

and a couple thousand dollar hit to your pocketbook!

Glad to hear she's recovering, cats' kidneys seem to fail if you look at the cat funny.

".......a couple thousand dollar hit to your pocketbook!"

Vet fees are outrageous & I don't like it one bit. In fact, it's disgusting.

Glad to hear he's OK

I used to grow ornamental Arum Lillies In my garden until I learned that If the pollen gets on a cat and the cat cleans himself, the cat could actually die.

I may be wrong but I think we have regs here that cut Lillies sold In shops must have the stamens cut out.

That's the little penis thing, right? You Brits are barbarians!

I think Oscar must visit traditional florists. Certainly see the stamens around our florists as I know my Aunt always comments that the stamens should be removed :wah: She was a florist many moons ago and it was something they did to every single lily where she worked. I'm not over keen on lilies myself but I do know the stains are a pain to remove and I knew they can poisonous to cats.

Hope kitty makes a quick recovery with no lasting damage Valerie, poor little thing.

AnneBoleyn;1420533 wrote: ".......a couple thousand dollar hit to your pocketbook!"

Vet fees are outrageous & I don't like it one bit. In fact, it's disgusting.


While I do have to agree, the feeling is tempered a little bit by having such a high

level of care available to us. There are cities even in this state where a problem like

that discovered at about 8 o'clock on the Sunday evening of a holiday weekend

would mean sure death for the cat. And though the "consult" part was $85, the

vet couldn't have been more relaxed with us and took time, we didn't feel rushed

(Lola was being worked on even as he talked to us) and he answered every

question.

Oscar, I used to cut the stamens out myself years ago, just to avoid allergy

issues for me, and sometimes stains on tablecloths, etc. but it seems all

parts of the lily (and all types!) have the toxin.

And I only thought they were toxic in so far as they would get a little sick

or lethargic or whatever, no idea they could cause renal failure and death.

So if a long time cat owner like myself can be under that impression, I thought

I'd do what I could to spread the word.

I'm just glad Lola hadn't previously barfed, either, like some cats are prone to

doing. In six years we've had her, this was the first time. So that woke me up,

too, thank goodness... instead of just cleaning up barf and going to bed. The

extra hours of that sitting there in her body might have made a big difference

in her recovery. Her ability to recover at all, actually.

Valentine's Day lilies killed animal lover's three cats after they were poisoned by toxic pollen dust | Mail Online

I'm so glad you posted this, val and it was valuable information that came in handy this past weekend when I was given an Easter lily. It's so beautiful and I'd love to have it in the house but I'm not willing to take that chance. I'll keep it in a sunny spot in the garage and plant it in the ground this spring when the weather decides to stay warm.

Thank you!

You're very welcome, Tabby.

I've been restricting myself to just looking at them in stores!

(Plus wishing they'd post a warning next to the displays!)