I have no statistics to back me up on this, but I am willing to bet that many pet owners also like to garden. But do we really know that all those pretty flowers both outdoors and in are safe for our pets?
Lilies are easy to grow and beautiful to look at. Lilies are frequently brought into the house as cut flowers or as potted plants. They happen to be one of my all time favorite flowers and I often use them in bouquets .
I thought that I knew which plants were harmful to my pets and kept them in specific areas if I grew them at all. Since both of my cats are kept indoors only I thought they were safe. So imagine my surprise when I received my ASPCA newsletter warning about lilies.
At this time of year many of us will have the beautiful Easter Lily in our homes and our curious cats might decide to take a bite or two out of the plants. This could have deadly consequences so please keep your lilies out of reach for your pets.
From the ASPCA article: Some examples of common lily varieties that are dangerous for cats include Easter lily, tiger lily, rubrum lily, Japanese show lily and certain species of daylily.
Read more about this pet poison alert and find a listing of other poisionous plants here; http://www.aspca.org/news/national/04-10-09.html#4
The ASPCA also has a 24 hour hotline. If you have an emergency you can reach their poison control center at 888-426-4435.
Fluffyfeet wishes you and your pets a happy and safe Easter.
Thanks for spreading the word on pet toxicities on your blog – so important for pet owners to be aware of the lurking household poisons in (and outside of) their house! As an ER specialist, I see so many toxicities that owners bring in too late (making it more expensive to treat, with a worse prognosis!). When in doubt, it’s so important to call a Poison Control for peace of mind!
I wanted to make you aware of another important resource out there also – Pet Poison Helpline is an additional Animal Poison Control Center, and it’s one of the most cost-effective animal poison ($35/case vs. ASPCA’s new $60/case) controls out there nowadays. Unfortunately, because animal poison controls are not federal- or state-funded, there is a fee to allow the service to be run 24-7. We provide a similar service, but have the added benefit of veterinary specialists (in internal medicine and emergency and critical care) as part of our staff. You can always call 1-800-213-6680 if you ever have a problem. Thanks for spreading the word!
Dr. Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC
Associate Director of Veterinary Services
http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com
http://www.drjustinelee.com
Thank you for the kind words. I will post your info for my readers.