A Warning to **ALL** Cat Owners

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bonosloveslave

bonosloveslave

Offishul Kitteh Doctor
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A Warning to ALL Cat Owners

I *know* better, I am a vet and this still happened to me, so please learn from my mistake....:sad:

We are going to visit my grandparents-in-law for Easter lunch and I wanted to bring them a small gift. When I was shopping they had some gorgeous Easter lillies that I couldn't pass up. I know that Easter lillies are toxic to cats, and I deliberated about even bringing it in the house. It is going to go below freezing tonight so I didn't think it would be a good idea to leave it in my car.

I set it up on our big screen TV that is about 6.5 feet tall - I figured there was no way my cat Iris could jump up there, just while I went to the bathroom and put the ice cream away. Five minutes later, she is up on the TV - she had munched the ends off of 10 leaves. :|

I gave Iris hydrogen peroxide right away and I counted all the leaf pieces she vomited up, it looked like everything was there. I checked with an ER vet to see if I was ok since I caught it quickly or if they recommended full treatment. They said that they can absorb enough just in their mouths that it could cause big problems (lillies can cause irreversible kidney damage/failure) - they advised me to get her to the hospital ASAP to get charcoal and start fluids to flush out her system - for at least *48* hours...

So I drove a fast and furious 50 mile ride to my work, thankfully my boss came in to meet me there - I'm good but not talented enough to put an IV catheter in a cat all by myself - this was only about 2 hours ago. Now I get to cross my fingers and pray because we won't know until probably at least 24 more hours what her kidneys are going to do. :sigh:

I'm hoping we will be lucky that we caught it so quick - many people don't realize what has happened until it is too late.

Please, PLEASE - if you have a cat, do not even bring an Easter Lily plant into your home. It's not worth the risk. :(

(Any prayers/good thoughts/fingers crossed are appreciated)
 
*hugs*

I hope Iris will be okay. :( I'll definitely be thinking of both of you. And thank you for the heads up - my cats eat every plant in sight so I wouldn't want to put their lives in jeopardy.
 
Sending good kitty vibes your way. Hoping everything works out ok.

Yeah, my cats will eat anything...especially anything new, so thanks for the timely reminder.

And don't these pet emergencies always seem to happen on the holidays? My dog Zeke (a Blue Heeler) ate part of a can one Thanksgiving and had to go to the emergency vet. :rolleyes:
 
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So sorry to hear this - but I'm sure she'll be fine. Kitties can be pretty resilient - I've dealt with some cat trauma in my time!

Take care and all the best wishes your way. :)
 
OMG Beth :no: :sad: I am sending TONS of thoughts and prayers for Iris that she will be ok. Poor baby.. she has to stay at your work for 48 hours? I really hope she'll be ok :hug: :hug:

This is why I dont have any plants at all inside my house. (I would kill them anyway, I'm horrible at gardening). There are just too many that are toxic to cats. My cats have their cat grass and that's it. My godmothers cat almost died from chewing on a philodendren (sp?)... she had to have fluids and vet care for a day after they noticed she became lethargic and stopped eating. Scary stuff. :(
 
oh no, i'm so sorry you have to worry. :(

thanks for letting us know, i wouldn't have had any idea. this is all such good advice, the plant link, too. i tend to kill plants, so mine are all fake. except the geraniums on my patio, so i'd better check about those.

take care, beth.

i sure hope kitty is ok. :hug:
 
Um ok I just got back from emergency with my neighbor and her cat :huh: As soon as I read this I remembered I saw an Easter Lily on her table the other day so I went straight over there and sure enough, like 5 of the leaves were chewed up. And she told me that he threw up today. So off we went. They gave him charcol and fluids and sent us home. I guess because he's alert and acting normal but they told her to watch him to make sure he is eating and drinking and not vomiting anymore. If so bring him straight back. Jeez :crack:

If anything Beth this post probably saved my neighbor's cats life so thank you.
 
I just checked that link and thankfully the lone plant in my apartment (Pachira) isn't posionious to my baby. I've bookmarked it so I'll be extra careful over what i bring or allow in my house.

I had a poinsetta on a chair where Mia always hung out at Christmastime, but I'm not sure if she ever ate any leaves. :huh: That won't happen again.
 
So far so good today - it's still early to know for sure, but her kidney values this morning are lower than last night (which is what I wanted to see). We'll keep watching to see if they go the other way...thanks for your prayers :hug:
 
Gosh, I have lilies in my house all the time and my cat has never taken any interest in them (not to mention that I didn't know they were toxic to cats). Tulips are the only flowers my cat ever chews on which I see is also on the list.

Hope your kitty will be okay. :hug:
 
Glad to hear your cat's doing better.
I checked that site Sicy posted and just about freaked when I saw Aloe Vera on the list. I had no idea. Thanks for posting that! I'll pass it along to my other cat-owning friends...
 
Goodness, that is so scary to think of!

I adore cats&will make sure i remember that!

You must have been so frantic with worry, but looks like all is well!

:up: :hug:
 
Update....

While Iris was in the hospital she started vomiting - I think it was just a fluke, not related to the plant thing - but it could be. I was off on Wednesday so I brought her home, she was so sick. Vomited 3 times in 8 hours, peed where she was laying without getting up, drooling, just miserable.

She's better today but still have to coax her (or more force her) to eat. No vomiting though in about 36 hours. I won't know til netx week if her kidneys are in the clear, but as of today her values are still normal 5 days out.
 
omg :sad: Poor Iris. That is so sad. She must have eaten a lot because my neighbors cat Behr is fine now since his trip to emergency.

Beth & Iris :hug: Lots of good vibes coming your way girl.
 
Aww...poor kitty. She's feeling puny now. It's so hard to see them so miserable, and force feeding a cat is not one of life's little joys. I sure hope she feels better soon.
 
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