Saturday, July 11, 2015

CURIOSITY (ALMOST) KILLED THE CAT

This is not a doll post but I know a lot of you have cats and dogs so I thought I would let you know about Luma's latest 'adventure'.

It all started very innocently with this beautiful bunch of red lilies which my darling husband bought as a birthday present for me.  We put them in a vase on the table in our living room, not realising how dangerous they were.


Luma is a very curious cat and she likes investigating new things.  So, later in the day, she jumped up onto the table and started sniffing and smelling them and playing around the vase.  Then she bit a leaf and nibbled off the end.

Fortunately, I was watching and saw her do it.  And also fortunately, I mentioned it to my husband and asked him to check if lilies were poisonous for cats.  (I don't know why I did - I am only very thankful that there was a small voice that made me check).  He did and said (very calmly), "They are toxic to cats" - and left it at that. OK - toxic - I decided I should check it out.

I did a Google search for lilies and cats.  The first website I read was an American vet website and the second was an Australian vet website.  They both said the same thing and the American website had a list of symptoms to look for which ended with 'death'.  All lilies - oriental, peace, Christmas, Easter, tiger, daylilies - are extremely poisonous for cats and that includes all parts of the lily -stems, leaves, petals, pollen, stamens, even the water in the vase. The toxin causes kidney damage and can cause acute kidney failure which is fatal.  The websites all said to take the cat to the vet as soon as possible.  The main treatment is to flush the kidneys with lots of fluid (in a drip) to push the poison through the system as quickly as possible.

We phoned the local 24 hour vet and were told to bring her in immediately.  So we took her, in her basket, straight to the vet.

The vet kept her in her basket as she was so settled and she was put on a drip straight away for that night.  The next day we took her to our own vet (our local vets help each other out but don't poach each others' patients) who did a blood test and put her back on a drip for another 2 days.  Then she had another blood test before she was allowed to come home.  Two days later she had another blood test.  All were fine.

However, it could have been very different.  We were told that cats usually get poisoned when the pollen drops on their fur.  They clean it off and no-one knows they have been poisoned so they don't get taken to the vet until the first symptoms show and that means their kidneys are already being damaged.  They get the same treatment as Luma but because the poison is already affecting their kidneys,  their kidneys usually fail and then repair to some extent.  They are generally left with some kidney damage and the question is just how much damage.

I think we actually got Luma treated before the poison ever reached her kidneys because her kidneys never stopped working.  So our extremely lucky cat has NO kidney damage - and probably wonders what all the fuss was about.  All the vets are very happy about that although our local vets seem a bit surprised - I don't think they have ever had a cat survive with no damage before. And they are convinced that she is fine because we got her treated so quickly.  The fact that she is a young cat also helped.

They also said it was unusual for a cat to actually eat a leaf.  That is usually what dogs do.  However, these types of lilies are not toxic to dogs as they are for cats.

Luma is back to her happy, curious self

 and we have decided that only super-safe plants will now be allowed inside our house as she will probably nibble them.

21 comments:

  1. Wow, I didn't know this about lilies and I have a bunch of them in a vase on my kitchen table! We have a cat who is also curious so I will remove them right away. I'm so glad your Luma is safe and no harm came to her and thanks for you sharing your story as you may be saving more cats then you know! :)

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    1. Yes, definitely move the lilies just in case. Lilies are beautiful but cats are precious companions. Give your cat a pat from me or a cuddle if she is a cuddly cat.

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  2. I agree with Farrah Lily -- Thanks for sharing this. You have probably saved a few cat lives with this post. We had a cat who passed away due to renal failure in 2006 and it all happened so fast. I don't keep live plants in the house anymore, just a few artificial ones. All our live plants are outside and our cats are not allowed out. My kids have gotten me cut lillies before as a gift, so I will be sure to share this with them.

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    1. I hope it does save some cats' lives. We had no idea ourselves and I don't think our florist did either. She checked whether either of us were allergic as she said that some people were but she didn't say anything about animals. I hope your cat who died of renal failure had had a long life. I'm sure she had a happy one - anyone who has more than one cat obviously loves them and takes great care of them.

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  3. I'm so glad Luma is fine, and that thanks to your quick action! I really appreciate you sharing this story, now that I know this, I will be extra careful with my own cat too!

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    1. Luma thanks for your good wishes and I'm just glad my story can make others aware of a potential danger. We all love our cats and wouldn't want anything to harm them.

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  4. That's really scary, particularly about the pollen. My sister has cats and I've bought her flower bouquets lots of times, and those usually have some kind of lilies in them... Thanks for the info and I'm glad your cat is ok!

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    1. Lots of flower bouquets have lilies because they really are beautiful flowers. We are going to have to watch out too. Thanks for the good wishes.

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  5. I am a cat owner and dog owner. I am glad all turned out well!

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    1. Thank you grandmommy. It was a bit scary at times and it was hard visiting her in the hospital because she obviously wasn't really well. But she was super well cared for.
      There is a new puppy in our lives too. He is a 4 month old Golden Retriever called Kodak who belongs to our daughter and her husband. And he is very cute.

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  6. I've only one cat, and he is very special so this information is important to know. Thanks for sharing.

    Luma is lovely; I wish you many more happy years with her.

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    1. Thank you D7ana, I hope we have many more years with her too. You take good care of your very special boy and give him lots of pats from me.

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  7. Hello from Spain: I'm happy that your cat is fine. I have no pets at home but I did not know that the flowers were poisonous to cats. We keep in touch

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    1. Thank you Marta. I didn't know those flowers were poisonous either. But now I know I won't bring them into my house or give them to my friends who have cats.

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  8. I cant keep real flowers around for myself because they make me break out. Good to know this about kitties though!

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    1. I have a friend who has a similar allergy. I always make sure I have no flowers with strong perfumes in my house when she is coming to visit. And no perfumes either, as she is also allergic to those. It can be difficult when people don't understand but I've seen her so affected by perfumes she can barely breathe.
      Your house would be very safe for kitties though.

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  9. Thanks for the information! Our cats eat roses all the time, good thing I don't like lilies!

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    1. Black Kitty, I think they are about the only flowers I will allow in the house from now on. I've never had a cat that nibbles plants before.

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    2. How is the kitty doing? Hey, it looks like you weren't tagged for the Liebster Award! Why don't you give it a try? http://multicrafteral.blogspot.md/2015/09/tagged-for-liebster-award.html

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  10. Great post! As a plant lover and an a animal lover, I know a lot of plants are dangerous to animals. All animal owner should have a posted list.

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    1. Ms Leo, that is a great idea and preferably one with pictures of the plants and flowers just in case you don't recognise the plant name. I knew some of the dangerous plants but until now I didn't know about lilies.

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