Easter Lily is Highly Toxic to Cats

The time of Easter coincides with spring, making it a cheerful sort of holiday—one that is often celebrated with flowers, especially lilies. However, Easter can turn tragic, due to the unique sensitivity to cats to lily toxicity.
For cats, all parts of the lily are poisonous: stem, leaves, petals, stamens, and even the pollen. Simply chewing on a leaf or getting pollen on their fur and licking it off is enough to be fatal. Lily poisoning causes acute renal (kidney) failure and death within 3-6 days.
Toxic lily species include Lillium and Hermerocallis genera, which includes Easter lilies, day lilies, Tiger lilies and Stargazer lilies.
Prompt, aggressive treatment (within 18 hours of exposure) may be able to save the cat’s life. Many cats vomit shortly after chewing or eating a lily plant, but if your cat goes outside, you may not have any clue that exposure has occurred.
It’s best to avoid having lilies around the house. Many cats have gotten into lilies that were placed where their guardians were sure they couldn’t get to them. If you’re ordering flowers for someone who has a cat, ask the florist to leave lilies out of the arrangement. Raise awareness at the source by talking to your florist about cats and lilies. Remove daylilies from your garden to protect cats who may wander through your yard.
For more information, please visit: www.noliliesforcats.com.

easter-lilyThe time of Easter coincides with spring, making it a cheerful sort of holiday—one that is often celebrated with flowers, especially lilies. However, Easter can turn tragic, due to the unique sensitivity to cats to lily toxicity, says Dr. Jean Hofve.

For cats, all parts of the lily are poisonous: stem, leaves, petals, stamens, and even the pollen. Simply chewing on a leaf or getting pollen on their fur and licking it off is enough to be fatal. Lily poisoning causes acute renal (kidney) failure and death within 3-6 days.

Toxic lily species include Lillium and Hermerocallis genera, which includes Easter lilies, day lilies, Tiger lilies and Stargazer lilies.

Prompt, aggressive treatment (within 18 hours of exposure) may be able to save the cat’s life. Many cats vomit shortly after chewing or eating a lily plant, but if your cat goes outside, you may not have any clue that exposure has occurred.

It’s best to avoid having lilies around the house. Many cats have gotten into lilies that were placed where their guardians were sure they couldn’t get to them. If you’re ordering flowers for someone who has a cat, ask the florist to leave lilies out of the arrangement. Raise awareness at the source by talking to your florist about cats and lilies. Remove daylilies from your garden to protect cats who may wander through your yard.

For more information, please visit: www.noliliesforcats.com.

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categories Cat Talk | valheart | datetime April 2, 2010 7:21 am

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