Lilies are fragrant and beautiful, but they are poisonous to cats! What other flowers and plants should we pay attention to?

When I was a child, I read a fairy tale. In the story, a tiger loved to visit a rose garden at noon. The sun was always warm, and there were always gorgeous red roses, noble yellow roses, and warm pink roses in the rose garden. Every time the tiger couldn't make up his mind which color of flower to eat, the beetle in the garden would cooperate and ask in a rough way: "Tiger, do you really want to eat that red rose with thorns?"

In human imagination, if there is any romantic animal in the world who thinks flower petals are beautiful, sweet, and light, and wants to pounce on them and eat them, it must be a cat. In fact, the life of cats is really that romantic. Cats do love to eat flowers, and they eat a wide range of them.

Cats are all flower maniacs

People who don't keep cats rarely notice that cats love to eat flowers. This is because in the impression of most people, cats who voluntarily live with humans are solitary carnivorous hunters, and cats do have difficulty digesting plants other than meat.

Cats can't even taste sweetness because they have lost the ability to digest carbohydrates during the evolutionary process. (So, those literary youths who think cats treat flowers as desserts can step down now.)

Although cats are carnivores and eating plants will make them sick, they just love to eat flowers and plants. Cats may vomit, convulse, suffer liver failure, or even die after eating many flowers and plants. However, these lonely hunters who eat flowers just refuse to learn their lesson. Even if they vomit again and again, many cats will repeatedly eat the flowers that make them sick. (So cat owners should remember to keep an eye on them~)

Cats are affectionate, flowers are ruthless

Many plants are poisonous to cats. The most toxic ones include castor beans, rehmannia, lily of the valley, Japanese yew, oleander, azalea, and hydrangea. A single castor bean can kill a cat, and mistletoe is also deadly.

Are you really not mad at the sight of those two-legged beasts being affectionate under the mistletoe? | Dr. Nick V. Kurzenko / calphotos.berkeley.edu

Morning glories, daffodils, irises, hyacinths, honeysuckle, and other flowers are also poisonous. Christmas trees (such as fir and spruce), pine needles, and even water around the base of Christmas trees can cause oral inflammation, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, shivering, and hind leg weakness in cats. Poinsettias are not very poisonous, but may cause gastrointestinal irritation and vomiting.

People don't usually think of lily plants as being commonly poisonous, but they can make cats very sick. Some veterinarians and toxicologists believe that lily plants are a major cause of acute renal failure in cats.

Next, let’s take a look at some common flowers that are toxic to cats.

Azalea | cats.about.com

Azalea: All members of the Ericaceae family are moderately toxic to cats from head to toe.

Chrysanthemum | cats.about.com

Chrysanthemum: Chrysanthemum is a popular perennial plant in autumn. Its poisonous parts are leaves and stems. The consequences of cats eating chrysanthemums include: vomiting, diarrhea, depression, drooling, and loss of appetite.

Narcissus | cats.about.com

Narcissus: A traditional harbinger of spring (and also the myth of a handsome man who was so narcissistic that he poisoned himself), if cats eat its leaves, flowers or pods, it may cause diarrhea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Hydrangea | cats.about.com

Hydrangea: It is a very popular gardening flower because it is very suitable for making dried flowers. Its toxicity is relatively low. Cats may experience stomach pain, vomiting, and weakness after eating its spherical corolla.

Iris | cats.about.com

Iris: An old-fashioned garden favorite, they are fairly safe, but their bulbs are somewhat toxic and can cause typical gastrointestinal symptoms in cats.

Ivy | cats.about.com

Ivy: A plant commonly used for ground cover and shade. Many varieties of ivy are moderately toxic to cats, and if the leaves are ingested in excess, they can cause gastrointestinal symptoms, along with breathing difficulties, coma, and even death.

Lily | cclc.org.tw

Lilies: Lilies bloom year-round. Sadly, they are the most toxic to cats, and ingesting any part of the plant can cause death. (If you have cats, don't buy lilies!)

Marigolds | cats.about.com

Marigolds: Annuals, colorful and very easy to grow. Their special aroma deters insects and they are often planted near roses to prevent aphids. If cats eat the leaves or stems of marigolds, they will cause mild redness in the mouth, drooling, stomach pain and diarrhea.

Wisteria | cats.about.com

Wisteria: A naturally occurring vine whose seeds and pods are poisonous and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and collapse if eaten by cats.

If a cat unfortunately eats a poisonous flower

To treat a cat with flower poisoning, you and your veterinarian must guess what kind of flower the cat swallowed. Sometimes, the same flower has a variety of common names in addition to its scientific name, which can cause the veterinarian to misdiagnose the condition. Therefore, make sure that the flower you are talking about is the same plant as the one the veterinarian is talking about. It is recommended that cat owners bring the flowers that the cat has chewed to the veterinary hospital so that the veterinarian can verify it. Or go to a flower shop or nursery and ask the florist or nursery gardener to help identify the flower variety.

How to protect your cat?

Keep poisonous plants out of reach of cats

Watch out for chewed flowers

Pay attention to whether the cat has a poisoning reaction

References

[1]Plants That Your Cat Shouldn't Eat

[2]Daffodils' Toxicity to Cats

Author: Shen Bing

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