Lilies

Beautiful but Deadly

Easter lily is a popular plant at certain times of the year, and extra caution must be used when bringing these plants into a house with cats. If at all possible, do not bring lilies into the house with cats.  Try to choose other decorative (cat safe) plants for your home.  If the lily must be indoors, make sure the plant is kept away from cats, especially ones that like to nibble on things. If nibbling plants is unavoidable, have a selection of safe plants available (grass or catnip are two possibilities). 

All parts of these lilies are considered toxic to cats and consuming even tiny amounts can be life threatening to your cat.  Lilies can cause acute kidney failure and death if the toxin is not removed from the body immediately after ingestion and intensive care including IV fluids is not instituted.

Should your feline friend eat part of a poisonous plant, rush the cat to your veterinarian as soon as possible. If you can, take the plant with you for ease of identification.

For pictures of other poisonous members of the lily family and information on other toxins to cats, visit the  following websites.  There are several other websites available with further information as well.

http://www.catsmeowvets.com/toxic_plants.htm (our Toxic Plant Page)

http://www.cfainc.org/articles/lilies.html

http://www.aspca.org/toxicplants/M01830.htm

Happy Easter!!!