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Woman Almost Accidentally Kills Her Cat After It Plays With Lilies, Warns Others About Its Danger
Warnock Willow was playing with some lilies in her office and initially, she was just worried about the pollen stain on the front of her body.
On May 28th, Warnock watched her cat Willow play with some lilies in her office. After shooing her away, Warnock’s initial concerns were about the pollen stain on the front of her body. But a quick Google search revealed Willow could’ve actually died.
Lilies are extremely harmful to cats and even cleaning the pollen from their fur can send the animals into critical illness.
Fearing for Willow’s life, Warnock threw the cat in the shower to wash off the pollen and then rushed her to the Blue Pearl Emergency & Specialty Hospital in Georgia, U.S.
More info: Facebook
Image credits: lindzarie
According to Vets4Pets, signs of lily toxicity can occur within two hours of ingestion, and start with gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting, loss of appetite, and drooling. Cats that have eaten lily quickly become lethargic and depressed, and may seem very unwell.
In some cases, vomiting may subside after a few hours but the other signs continue, and within 72 hours affected cats develop acute kidney failure.
Cats with lily toxins may urinate more at first, and have abdominal pain, a change in thirst, weakness, and seizures. If the animal experiences very severe acute kidney failure, it may stop urinating altogether.
If you notice your cat has come into contact with a lily or has possibly eaten some, you should take your cat to the vet immediately. If possible, you should bring the plant with you.
Ideally, treatment needs to be started within six hours of the cat coming into contact with the lily.
Sadly, there’s no antidote to lily poisoning but the vet will take other measures, for example, they will induce vomiting and reduce further absorption of the toxins by feeding activated charcoal if only a short time has elapsed since your cat ate the lily.
Aggressive fluid therapy with a drip, anti-nausea medication, kidney function blood tests, and close monitoring of blood pressure and urine output may all be part of your cat’s supportive care plan.
Cats often require several days of hospitalization, care, and monitoring to recover and reduce the long-term impact on kidney function and clear the body of the toxins.
However, even with prompt veterinary attention, there is no guarantee that a cat with lily poisoning will survive. Those seen more than 18 hours after the initial ingestion have a very poor prognosis, but even early, aggressive treatment can still result in death, and surviving cats often have permanent kidney damage.
Image credits: lindzarie
RELATED:
There are more plants that pose serious threats to cats
Image credits: Bambi Edlund
Here’s what people said after reading Lindsey’s story
What do you think ?
Tabitha L 4 years ago
My sister's cat is named Lily. After reading this, it is kind of like naming your child Arsenic.
Tracey Hirt 4 years ago (edited)
There are SO many plants that are toxic to cats and dogs! It’s actually easier to list the ones that are safe to have in the house: African Violet, Spider Plant, Parlor Palm, Friendship Plant, Polka-Dot Plant, Christmas Cactus, Venus Fly Trap, Areca Palm, and Boston Fern, Those are a few that are safe to have in the house. Still, keep them out of reach if your pet is prone to nibbling on them.
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
Thank you so much for this list! I will look into the Polka-Dot plants as they look adorable (and we have a ton of African Violets).
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Ritchat 4 years ago
Be very careful with poinsettias too! They are extremely poisonous for cats. I can't count the times someone gave one to me for christmas although it could kill my fur baby. Always got rid of them immediately. I adore lilies so much but since I got my first cat, I never bought any ever again. All my plants are edible now. They have to be. Sometimes I think my cat wants to become a vegetarian. Always chewing on his own personal salad bar. ;D
Lillukka 4 years ago
They are not. For years poinsettias were thought to be poisonous, since many of the spruce family are, but they are not.
Load More Replies...
Tabitha L 4 years ago
My sister's cat is named Lily. After reading this, it is kind of like naming your child Arsenic.
Tracey Hirt 4 years ago (edited)
There are SO many plants that are toxic to cats and dogs! It’s actually easier to list the ones that are safe to have in the house: African Violet, Spider Plant, Parlor Palm, Friendship Plant, Polka-Dot Plant, Christmas Cactus, Venus Fly Trap, Areca Palm, and Boston Fern, Those are a few that are safe to have in the house. Still, keep them out of reach if your pet is prone to nibbling on them.
Jayne Kyra 4 years ago
Thank you so much for this list! I will look into the Polka-Dot plants as they look adorable (and we have a ton of African Violets).
Load More Replies... Ritchat 4 years ago
Be very careful with poinsettias too! They are extremely poisonous for cats. I can't count the times someone gave one to me for christmas although it could kill my fur baby. Always got rid of them immediately. I adore lilies so much but since I got my first cat, I never bought any ever again. All my plants are edible now. They have to be. Sometimes I think my cat wants to become a vegetarian. Always chewing on his own personal salad bar. ;D
Lillukka 4 years ago
They are not. For years poinsettias were thought to be poisonous, since many of the spruce family are, but they are not.
Load More Replies...
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