Lilies: a serious danger to cats
Easter bouquets can contain lilies, and they are especially dangerous to cats. Any part of the plant can damage the kidneys: the leaves, the flowers, the pollen and even the water the bouquet stood in. Licking pollen off its fur or drinking from the vase is enough.
If you share your home with a cat, it is best to keep no lilies at all and to ask people not to give them. Lilies are less dangerous to dogs than to cats, but do not let a dog chew them either.
Chocolate eggs and egg hunts
Chocolate is dangerous to both dogs and cats, and a dog can sniff out sweets even when they are well hidden. If you hide eggs for children in the garden or at home, count how many you hid and collect them all after the hunt, before the dog finds them.
Foil and plastic wrappers swallowed along with a sweet can block the gut. Some sweets contain xylitol, a sweetener that is very dangerous to dogs. Keep baskets of sweets up high.
Tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs
In spring, tulips, daffodils and other bulb flowers bloom in pots and flower beds. They can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and drooling, and the bulbs themselves are especially harmful.
A dog that likes to dig can unearth bulbs and chew them, so do not leave bulbs for planting lying open, and fence off the flower bed. Put bouquets and pots where a cat cannot reach them.
What to do
- If you have a cat, keep lilies out of bouquets and pots.
- Keep chocolate eggs and baskets of sweets up high.
- Count the hidden eggs and collect them all after the hunt.
- Put foil and wrappers in a closed bin.
- Store bulbs out of reach and fence off flower beds.
- Put pots and bouquets where your pet cannot reach them.
When to contact a vet urgently
If your cat may have chewed a lily, licked its pollen or drunk water from the vase, contact a vet straight away, even if it seems well: kidney damage only shows later. Contact a vet straight away too if your dog or cat ate chocolate or sweets with xylitol, chewed a bulb, or is vomiting, has diarrhoea, is drooling heavily or has become dull.