Most lilies are too tall for cats to reach the pollen. It's lilies in vases that can cause problems, but if the cats are trained to keep off the furniture ........
Anyway, on the few occasions I've ever had a vase of lilies in the house, the pollen in the air has affected my sinuses so badly that I would now remove the pollen-bearing parts, even if it does look odd. Don't want to go through that again!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hey hostafan, in the absence of Steve I'll give the veterinary opinion. Sorry guys but every part of the lily is toxic, cats have been affected by eating leaves/stems/ getting pollen on their paws and washing themselves, and even been shown to have problems after one kitty drank water from the lily vase. Dove, hemerocallis I appreciate are a different genus, but have also been shown to cause a problem, and you can eat as many as you like, but this is a feline only toxicity! The main signs you will see as an owner, are lethargy, inappetance, vomiting (although this is a good thing in many ways as helps with gastrointestinal decontamination), all these symptoms are signs of acute kidney failure, which is what the toxin causes, blood tests can evaluate how severe this is and the response to treatment, which usually involves hospitalisation for fluid therapy to support kidney function. Untreated intoxication can and will lead to death.
Hi Claire - that's interesting - I was aware that cats may well have different sensitivities to those of humans, but the online research I did at the time said that Day Lilies weren't dangerous to cats - however, I'll be guided by you.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
However, returning to the original post - I feel that this is an issue that cat owners need to make themselves aware of when they become cat owners - it's not the responsibility of gardening programmes. After all, every time a GQT mentions growing potatoes are they also obliged to mention that the fruit of the potato is poisonous to humans?
Maybe all florists should enquire as to the pets that may be owned by customers purchasing lilies?
Just a thought
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
can I just repeat , if it's such a real problem, why haven't we all heard of lily related cat deaths? Many users of this forum keep cats.
Yew is highly toxic to most animals , including humans, but I don't see health warning, nor calls to eradicate it? What about Rowan berries, or rhubarb leaves? all poisonous too.
Sometimes we need to do our own research and be responsible for our actions.
Should every shopkeeper selling a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, or even worse, Fruit & Nut, warn the purchaser not to feed it to dogs as it may make them ill?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
Most lilies are too tall for cats to reach the pollen. It's lilies in vases that can cause problems, but if the cats are trained to keep off the furniture ........
Anyway, on the few occasions I've ever had a vase of lilies in the house, the pollen in the air has affected my sinuses so badly that I would now remove the pollen-bearing parts, even if it does look odd. Don't want to go through that again!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Help!!!!! we're all gonna die!!!!!!!'
In the sticks near Peterborough
Chuckle
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!!! ( And take the scary lillies with you)
Hey hostafan, in the absence of Steve I'll give the veterinary opinion. Sorry guys but every part of the lily is toxic, cats have been affected by eating leaves/stems/ getting pollen on their paws and washing themselves, and even been shown to have problems after one kitty drank water from the lily vase. Dove, hemerocallis I appreciate are a different genus, but have also been shown to cause a problem, and you can eat as many as you like, but this is a feline only toxicity! The main signs you will see as an owner, are lethargy, inappetance, vomiting (although this is a good thing in many ways as helps with gastrointestinal decontamination), all these symptoms are signs of acute kidney failure, which is what the toxin causes, blood tests can evaluate how severe this is and the response to treatment, which usually involves hospitalisation for fluid therapy to support kidney function. Untreated intoxication can and will lead to death.
Hi Claire - that's interesting - I was aware that cats may well have different sensitivities to those of humans, but the online research I did at the time said that Day Lilies weren't dangerous to cats - however, I'll be guided by you.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
However, returning to the original post - I feel that this is an issue that cat owners need to make themselves aware of when they become cat owners - it's not the responsibility of gardening programmes. After all, every time a GQT mentions growing potatoes are they also obliged to mention that the fruit of the potato is poisonous to humans?
Maybe all florists should enquire as to the pets that may be owned by customers purchasing lilies?
Just a thought
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
My cat is always chewing on my Hemerocallis leaves
can I just repeat , if it's such a real problem, why haven't we all heard of lily related cat deaths? Many users of this forum keep cats.
Yew is highly toxic to most animals , including humans, but I don't see health warning, nor calls to eradicate it? What about Rowan berries, or rhubarb leaves? all poisonous too.
Sometimes we need to do our own research and be responsible for our actions.
Should every shopkeeper selling a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, or even worse, Fruit & Nut, warn the purchaser not to feed it to dogs as it may make them ill?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.