As a pet care business owner, I have an article with a Top 10 Most Toxic on our company website but how many website visitors truly read the resource articles? There is too much text out there all over the www and our human brain is tired of reading it all. Hence the result of life-threatening situations happening to our beloved pets... Below follows a true story.
This is Willow, a female kitten, playful and full of life.
One day Willow was playing with lilies in her mom's home office while she is online zooming with her colleagues at work. Willow batted at the lilies and got the pollen all over. How cute, how fun! Mom and her colleagues laughed and mom took a photo of Willow who is now black and white with yellow. Willow moved on to other mischief after her mom shooed her away and save the pretty flowers.
But wait a minute, aren't lilies poisonous? Willow's mom paused. Something told Willow's mom to do a quick online search. What follows is mom's story...
"While Willow was rolling next to me on the floor I googled and read, "All parts of the lily - including the stem, leaves, petals, stamens and pollen - are poisonous to cats. Even minor exposures (cat chewing on a leaf or getting pollen on his or her haircoat or whiskers) can be fatal."
I also read: "Cats typically do not survive, even with aggressive therapy (such as dialysis)."
I freaked out. Threw her in the shower (that wasn't fun) and immediately took her up to the closest vet emergency hospital. Due to Covid-19, they came and took her from my car and after her exam the ER doctor called me. She said her prognosis was very poor because they found the pollen around her mouth and on her tongue. She even said, "in my experience I've never seen a cat survive lily poisoning. Most owners only realize there's an issue when the cat is sick and by that point it's just too late"
Insert hysterical crying here. She said that her only saving grace may be that we sought treatment quickly but realistically she might not make it through the night. They made her throw up, gave her activated charcoal and aggressively treated her with fluid therapy and other meds. I went home a mental wreck. This is my fault!
Two days later -good news! Finally, she pulled through! We will go for a recheck soon but her doctors are confident her organs didn't suffer any long term damage from the poisoning.
I can't tell you the intense guilt I felt and still feel for buying those stupid flowers. I felt like a murderer, terrible fur mom, terrible person. I've had cats my entire life and have never heard of lily poisoning. The vets response to that was "most people only find out the hard way". I would hate to see anyone go through this, so share our story!
And so we are sharing. Willow's story ended well but 95% of lily poisoning patients do not survive. Imagine all these wonderful pet owners who are living with the guilt. As much as friends tell you "it is not your fault" or "it happens, do not blame yourself", it will always linger and hurt.
If only I had known.
With this post we want to set prevention through education in motion. Just like we go through a learning phase when preparing for a first human child, please educate yourself about all the do's and don'ts before getting a pet.
* Want to learn what a dog can and cannot eat? Click here
* Want to learn what a cat can and cannot eat? Click here
* What are the 10 top toxins and poisons for pets? Click here
* Are you aware of other dangers such as heat stroke and frostbite? Find more resource articles here
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| Easter lily |
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| Asiatic lily |
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| Tiger lily |
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