Lily Pollen - a danger for cats

Recent research from the UK has indicated that lily pollen can be lethal for cats.

One recorded case in the UK showed that a cat which brushed past pollen from oriental stargazer lilies and licked it form her fur immediately became violently ill and died within hours after going blind, suffering renal failure and becoming paralysed.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals highlights the Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum), Tiger Lily (Lilium Tigrinum), Rubrum Lily (Lilium Speciosum), Japanese Show Lily (Lilium lncifolium) and some species of the Day Lily (Hemerocallis) as liable to cause kidney failure in cats but to be safe, all lilies should be avoided.

If the damage has not been too severe, cats can be saved if taken to a vet within six hours of becoming ill from lily pollen, but the chances of survival decrease rapidly after that. If renal failure has occurred, kidneys will most likely have ceased functioning within 18 hours.

The best advice is to avoid lilies altogether, but if you do want to plant lilies in your garden, stake those plants which need support and plant tall lilies which are less likely to be accessible by cats.