Lily poisoning

All species of lilies are toxic to cats. Indoor cats with little choice in plant munching material are most at risk as they will try any cut flower that comes into the house. 

Any part of the plant - flowers, leaves or stems - is dangerous. Even lily pollen licked off the coat destroys cats’ kidney tubules. 

Lilies proven to poison cats include: Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum), Tiger Lily ( Lilium tigrinum), Day Lily (Lilium hemerocallus), Asian lily (Lily asiatic spp.) and Rubrum Lily (Lilium rubrum). 

If you see your cat with lily on her coat, in her mouth or in her vomit don’t wait for signs of poisoning. The sooner we get it out of her system and start treatment to protect the kidneys the greater her chance of survival.

Affected cats vomit and are depressed within hours of ingesting lily. Some then seem to recover before starting to show signs of severe kidney failure a day or so later. Others continue vomiting, go off their food and get more and more depressed.

If emptying the stomach and medications to prevent absorption of the toxin are effective, the chance of recovery is excellent.

If your cat absorbs enough toxin to cause damage to her kidneys then her outlook is very poor. It is essential to seek emergency care immediately after ingestion of the lily plant.

Pet insurance

Should we take out pet insurance for our cats? Medical or accident emergencies are hard to predict and the cost of the best treatment can challenge many budgets. If insurance is taken out while your pet is young then you can cover most eventualities. Sally’s story is typical of many we see every week. Names and faces have been changed to protect the not so innocent!

Sally lives with her retired carer, Kathy. Besides food and sleep her life’s work is keeping a close eye on the street. One night last summer she checked out one yard too many.

A German Shepherd defended his territory and left Sally with a broken leg and a gaping wound on her back. She limped home to Kathy who bundled her into the car and straight over to the emergency centre at Fyshwick.  The casualty team treated Sally for shock. Once she was stable they anaesthetised her, sutured the wound and splinted her leg.

Next morning Kathy brought her back to Hall Vet Surgery. Dr Jim X-rayed her leg and suggested the most appropriate fracture repair. Kathy wanted the best for her little friend and readily agreed to the surgery.

Because Kathy had taken out pet insurance for Sally when she was a kitten she did not have to break into her retirement savings. The insurance meant that she did not have to compromise and could give Sally the very best and most effective treatment. The morning after surgery she was thrilled to see Sally up and walking on the leg.

Sally stayed in hospital for 5 days so we could dress her wound and continue pain relief and antibiotics. Purr therapy and constant nursing care helped Sally through her long week away from home.

Pet insurance made all the difference to the outcome of Sally’s adventure. Without it Kathy could not have afforded the emergency care, fracture repair or the hospitalisation. She may not have recovered as completely and as rapidly as she did.

Kathy visited Sally daily, delighted with her rapid recovery and the care we lavished on her. When Sally was finally allowed to go home the insurance company reimbursed her for the bulk of the cost of the emergency care at Fyshwick, and the surgery and recovery at Hall.

Sadie's bad day

Sadie is not having a good day - last night she found some tasty capsules on her human's bedside table. No sooner had she licked up the yummy powder she found inside them than her humans whisked her off to the Emergency Centre at Fyshwick.
Despite her protests the doctor hooked her up to a drip and started her on tablets to counteract the drugs. DRUGS???? Sadie's eyes widened - no wonder her heart was beating very fast and her legs wouldn't behave. Now she thought about it she also felt a little faint.
Labradors are not the only ones that hoover up every morsel they can find. Some cats love to clean up after their owners and sneak in extras too!
This photo was taken  at Hall Vet Surgery this morning. Sadie says this is not her best side but at least she's feeling more normal today. Cats take a long time to metabolise many human drugs so it will be a few days until she is really herself again.