For Release April 2, 2006

Pet Unfriendly Plants

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

I guess maybe I should watch more television. Apparently there was a program on HGTV network recently telling people with cats not to purchase Easter Lilies because they'll kill your cat. Which immediately conjures up an image of a potted Easter Lily stalking a cat around the house with a club. I have a very active imagination! The truth of the matter is that all lilies are quite toxic to house cats. But so are many other plants and there are many that we don't want our dogs to get into either!

Lilies, including Easter Lilies, tiger lilies, Asiatic lilies, really anything in the Lilium genus, are highly poisonous to cats. Keep in mind that daylilies are not true lilies. University veterinarians have indicated that just one or two leaves can poison a cat and they don't even need to complete ingest them, simply chewing on them can cause problems. Symptoms can appear in 30 minutes and renal failure and death can occur in 48 hours or less. Treatment needs to be administered as soon as possible after ingestion. Good success has been seen where treatment occurred within the first six hours. If treatment is started more than 18 hours after ingestion the odds of recovery are dramatically reduced.

Like so many toxicology situations, this is very interesting. Apparently the actual toxin has yet to be identified so there isn't any true antidote, veterinarians can simply treat the symptoms. But the plot thickens! Dogs have never been found to suffer when they have ingested lily plant parts. Additionally, when laboratory rats and mice were fed lily plant parts, they suffered no ill effects either. But it appears that any part of a lily plant can cause problems for cats, leaves and flowers being the most commonly mentioned.

I could also find nothing in the literature that talked about potential toxicity to humans. In fact I found nothing in my poisonous plants folders that mentioned any lilies. One needs to keep in mind, however, that human poisoning from plants is a tough area to study. Apparently there aren't a lot of people who will volunteer to eat plants just to see if they are poisonous. Some plants we know are deadly, like hemlock. Other plants are annoying and irritating, but not truly toxic, like poinsettias.

We don't want to single out plants in the lily genus as the only killers because there are many others that can cause problems to pets. Holly berries, from the holly in my backyard, are readily eaten by birds this time of year, but could cause a dog or cat to become quite ill if they were to eat them. Many common foliage houseplants, such as dieffenbachia (dumb cane) can cause mucous membranes to swell making it difficult for pets to eat or even breathe. Many cats enjoy catnip, but too much catnip can cause over stimulation to the central nervous system and the cat may hurt itself.

So if you have a cat do you avoid buying an Easter Lily this season? That depends on your cat. If you know that your cat is a plant eater, then you probably shouldn't bring one home. If your cat has never been seen chewing or eating plants, then you could probably safely bring a lily home, but to be on the safe side, keep it out of the cat's regular roaming areas. If you do have a cat that fancies itself to be a partial vegetarian, then consider planting a small pot of good old lawn grass and keep it where kitty can periodically browse. Contrary to common myth, animals don't know which plants to avoid. So it becomes our responsibility to keep our pets safe!

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