Lilies are beautiful flowers, but did you know that they can be deadly for your cat? If your pet tiger has been nibbling on a lily, he is at risk of acute kidney failure, and this happens so quickly that there is often no time to get to the vet. A nightmarish scenario best avoided! Always place poisonous plants and flowers out of your cat's reach, or even better, don't bring them into your house or put them in your garden.

Besides the lily, there are many other plants and flowers that you regularly see in Dutch households and gardens, but which are toxic to cats. We give you some examples:
-Agave
-Aloe vera
-Amaryllis
-Chrysanthemum
-Cyclamen
-Dieffenbachia
-Ficus
-Hedera (ivy)
-Hortensia
-Hyacinth
-Kalanchoe
-Christmas Rose
-Christmas Star
-Spoonplant
-Saw palmetto
-Narcis
-Oleander
-Palm lily
-Sansevieria (lady's tongue)
-Tulp
-Fingerplant

Why do cats chew on plants and flowers?

When a cat suffers from hairballs or is nauseous, it follows its instinct and starts chewing on grass. This is because the grass causes him to vomit. Normally, cats have a pretty good sense of which plants they can and cannot eat, but if there is no grass available, cat will sometimes choose another plant or flower to induce vomiting and this could be a poisonous plant if you have one. If you still want to give your kitty something green to chew on, choose cat grass.

Symptoms of plant poisoning

The toxins in flowers and plants can cause two types of reactions. Some plants contain irritants, which cause a reaction or inflammation in the mouth or stomach, or on your cat's skin. Other plants and flowers have a so-called systemic effect, affecting or damaging organs such as the heart or kidneys.

A cat that has eaten a poisonous plant may have the following symptoms:

-Braken
-Diarrhoea
-Itching, redness or swelling at the mouth or eyes
-Drooling
-Lessness
-Excessive drinking
-Difficulty breathing and/or swallowing
-Collapse
-Inregular heartbeat

What to do if your cat has eaten from a poisonous plant?

Contact your vet immediately if you have seen or suspect that your pet tiger has eaten from a poisonous plant. The sooner you are there, the better. It helps the vet if you know which plant is involved, so that appropriate treatment can be initiated as soon as possible. After this call, check if your cat has any plant residue in its mouth or on its fur and remove it if necessary.

Once at the vet, depending on the plant and/or symptoms, he or she will give your cat a drug to induce vomiting or give activated charcoal to absorb the toxins. If necessary, the vet may also give painkillers or anti-inflammatories.

Not poisonous, but dangerous: the grass ear

Another green hazard for cats is the grass ear, also known as 'creeper'. Most dog owners are already alert to this pesky little plant, but cat owners are often not so familiar with it. If your cat goes outside, check its fur, paws, ears, throat, nose and eyes for grass ears regularly from spring onwards. This is because the creeper lives up to its name and crawls with barbs through these places into the body of your pet tiger and can cause all kinds of damage. If the grass ear is already so deep that you cannot remove it yourself, contact your vet immediately.