Cats & Code

I think that most people know that poinsettias are poisonous to animals. But just recently, I learned that lilies are highly toxic to cats as well. Our newest guy, Ezio decided to make a snack out of the flower bouquet I brought home for Sarah this past Friday. Among the flowers in the bouquet were three lilies and a few peruvian lilies. I didn’t think it was an issue, but fortunately Sarah knew better. In 24-48 hours lily ingestion in cats can cause severe kidney damage in cats. We rushed him to the Emergency Animal Hospital and they started to work on getting the lilies up. Unfortunately, all attempts to get him to vomit up the offending plant matter did not work. The vet on duty gave him some activated charcoal and told us they would need to keep him 3 days to monitor his kidney function. Fortunately, we caught this early enough and he is home safe & sound.
If you have a cat, I’d definitely recommend taking a look at the ASPCA’s toxic plant tool. There are a huge number of plants that are harmful to both dogs & cats.