Hi all I’ve been a bit quiet recently because something dreadful happened last week. We came in to find our darling, baby puss cat, lying on his side in the kitchen, barely breathing, rasping horribly and lying in his own pool of froth, foaming at the mouth. Our boys are house cats so we knew something was terribly wrong from inside our house. I checked everywhere and nothing was chewed or missing that he could have swallowed. But I did have a huge bouquet of flowers…none of them were chewed though. Anyway the vet said straight away that he was suffering from poisoning and asked if he could have been in contact with anything toxic in the garage. That was a definite no as everything us shut away in cupboards. Then he asked about flowers or plants in the house. It would appear that despite me thinking that only the stamen of lilies are poisonous and cutting them out, the plants are so toxic, that even brushing against a leaf is enough to poison a cat when they groom themselves. Who knew. I feel terribly guilty for not being there when he needed me but also for having the damn flowers in the first place. We have been incredibly lucky because we got him to the vet very quickly. This type of poisoning is apparently, usually fatal. He is on a long road to recovery but he is a little fighter and should be ok. So this is a warning to all pet owners. Google toxic plants for cats and dogs. It is truly astonishing. There is a massive list of common plants and flowers that can prove deadly to our little friends. Catherine Xx
Catherine, What a fright for you - and l am so glad that you managed to get him to the vets in time. l am allergic to lilies - and dread it when anyone gives me a bouquet of flowers containing them. My friend gave me a posy of lily-of the - valley. And l held them in my hands and smelt the lovely scent. Well l ended up with such a swollen face you could not see any of my features and my hands had almost a ‘stigmata’ hole in the palms. Took weeks of anti-histamine and creams to get over it.
Next time l was at the vets - l noticed a poster about poisonous plants - and it said that lily of the valley was the most poisonous.
My friends cat [ house-cat] was very ill after it had licked the work surface after it had been wiped down with Dettox surface cleaner. lt had burnt its tongue.
l lost a beautiful cat after he had been poisoned with rat killer. He was a good hunter and had caught a rat and eaten it - the rat had already consumed rat poison. The vets put him on vitamin k drip - and he did seem to recover - only for it to re-act again two weeks later. So l always urge folk not to put down rat poison. The rats eat it - then it slows them down and they are easier for cats/dogs to catch. lts an awful slow agonising death for these animals. Neighbours dog died the same way after he had put the poison down.
Fingers crossed for your kitty,
F
Oh my goodness! I had no idea! What a terrible experience for you. Thank you for sharing this x
Awwww catherine how awful for you and your poor puss. Being a dog lover/ owner I know how dangerous certain plants can be. I would liken to mention its not just plants and bits and bobs about our homes, but our food can also be lethal to pets. So guys check out foods that are poisonous to our pets. http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/foods_poisonous_to_pets.html Lynn x for puss too.
I hope your cat makes a good recovery. Thank you for the warning. I thought it was just lily stamens too. Alison
Ohh Catherine, Thankfully you found this quickly, heres to a speedy recovery for the little fella!!
BeckyX
Oh christ Catherine, I read about lilies last year after I had just planted six of the buggers in the garden, scarily people in the dark ages also used them to poison people !!! Look gorgeous but totally lethal to pets. I thought I had destroyed the lillies as I dug them all up again but this year I notice the little blighters have come back so I’ll have to get hubby to dig deeper into soil and get rid of them for good. We’ve also got a few rats about outside as we live next to lots of fields but our pest control man will not put poison down as we have two cats and there is a risk of them catching the rats and getting poisoned also. I do wish your little cat a speedy recovery and thank god you got to the vets when you did.
I am so sorry to hear about your poor cat and hope he will be back to full health soon.
I did know about lillies and was always aware when I had my cat and she managed to get to 23 years old.
I do have a parrot (for the last 25 years) and am ashamed to say that I nearly killed him with teflon fumes. I had always been so careful, but this particular evening I made a stupid mistake and he was very very close to dying, but fortunately by some miracle he survived.
Lots of people have budgies and other birds that suddenly die and in some cases it may be down to an overheated Teflon pan and they never realise it.
Jaycie x
Hi, So sorry you had to go through that, very upsetting for you both. I help out at a Vets on a Saturday and Lillies are so lethal, we have warnings on our website 
I had no idea until I worked at a Vets just how many plants are toxic, it’s frightening. When I worked in an office during the week, my boss used to buy me and my colleague Lillies as a present if we had been really busy etc. I used to smile, say thank you and then quickly pass them to my Mum!! Well done for getting your cat to the Vet in time xx Sam x
Oh Gosh, thanks for that. My friends little puupy died last year due to poisoning. They never discovered what it was but she regularily has lilies in the house. I must tell her as they have now got another little puppy.
Moyna xxx
RIP, my gorgeous little man, Dooley bumptious. Daddy was with you when you took your last breath. Mammy loves you. We will miss you and we are heartbroken.
Oh my god, I am so sorry…poor little thing
Oh no, so sorry. ((((HUGS)))) xx
Oh Mrs H I’m so sorry. ((((Hugs)))))
Very sad news, I’m so sorry. Sam xx
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Oh Catherine, so sorry to hear about your darling little man.
xx
Oh no, so. Sorry to hear this shocking news Lynn xxxxx
So so sorry
Jaycie x
I’m so sorry Catherine. Poor little chap and poor you. You must all feel terrible.
Shazzie xx
Much love to you all x x