Toxic to cats · Plants

Are Lilies toxic to cats?

Extreme severity No safe amount — No amount is considered safe.

Yes, Lilies are extremely toxic to cats. Even a small amount can be life-threatening, so treat any exposure as an emergency and contact a vet immediately. No amount is considered safe.

Video explainer

Why are lilies toxic to cats?

Open the video page →

What to do right now

  1. Call your vet or the nearest emergency vet clinic now, say your cat may have been in contact with lilies, and go straight in. Do this even if your cat seems completely normal.
  2. Don't make your cat vomit and don't try home remedies. If the stomach needs emptying, the vet will do it safely at the clinic.
  3. Put the flowers and vase water where no pet can reach them, and keep the exposed cat away from your other animals.
  4. If there is pollen on your cat's face or fur, try to stop it grooming. Wipe the pollen off gently with warm water only if it takes a moment. Never let this delay the trip to the vet.
  5. Bring the plant, a flower or a clear photo so the vet can check whether it is a true lily, and note roughly when the exposure happened.
  6. If you need advice on the way, call a pet poison line. In the US: Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661 or ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888) 426-4435 (fees apply). The call doesn't replace the vet visit.

Go to an emergency vet if

  • Your cat chewed a true lily or daylily, has its pollen on its face or fur, or drank the vase water, or you think it might have. Go even if it shows no signs.
  • You don't know which kind of lily it was. Treat it as a dangerous one until a vet tells you otherwise.
  • Your cat is vomiting, drooling, refusing food or unusually quiet, and there have been lilies in your home or garden.
  • Your cat drinks or urinates much more than usual, seems dehydrated, passes little or no urine, is very weak, collapses or has a seizure.
  • Your cat chewed lily of the valley or a gloriosa lily. These are not the lilies that cause kidney failure, but they are emergencies too.

Symptoms to watch for

  • Vomiting
  • anorexia
  • kidney failure

How much is dangerous

Even a tiny amount can be deadly. Eating a little of any part of the plant, even a small bite of a leaf or petal or a few grains of pollen licked off the fur, can seriously injure a cat's kidneys. Less than one leaf, part of a flower, some pollen or vase water can kill a cat. Treat any contact with a lily as an emergency.

When signs appear

First signs, such as vomiting, drooling, not eating and low energy, usually appear 1 to 3 hours after exposure but can take up to 12 hours. Early vomiting often stops on its own within a few hours. That is not a sign of recovery: kidney damage can still be developing. Signs of kidney damage, such as drinking and urinating more, start about 12 to 24 hours after exposure. Kidney failure sets in within 24 to 72 hours (the Merck Veterinary Manual gives 2 to 4 days), and without treatment it is fatal. Some cats show no obvious early signs, and kidney signs may not appear until 2 to 3 days after exposure, when treatment is harder, so don't wait for signs. Speed matters most: when treatment starts 18 hours or more after exposure, the kidney failure is generally irreversible.

Why it's dangerous

Ingestion of even small amounts of certain lily genera causes severe, acute kidney failure in cats.

How vets treat it

If the exposure was recent and your cat is alert and stable, the vet may give a medicine to make it vomit, then anti-nausea medicine and activated charcoal to limit absorption, and may clean pollen off the coat. Veterinary guidance then calls for a hospital stay on a drip (IV fluids) at a high rate for 48 to 72 hours to protect the kidneys, with blood tests about every 24 hours for the first 72 hours. If the kidneys stop making urine, the main option is dialysis, which is costly and only offered at some referral centers.

Outlook

The outlook is excellent when treatment starts early, before kidney damage sets in. Once the kidneys stop making urine, the outlook is guarded to poor, and cats that survive may keep permanent kidney damage that needs lifelong care. Even if you found out late, go to the vet straight away.

Where pets are exposed

  • True lilies (Lilium), including Easter, tiger, stargazer and Madonna lilies, and Asiatic and Oriental lilies and their hybrids.
  • Daylilies (Hemerocallis), which carry the same risk of kidney failure. They grow mostly in gardens, where cats that go outside can reach them, including in a neighbor's garden.
  • Cut-flower bouquets, especially around Valentine's Day, Easter and Mother's Day, and potted Easter lilies. Mixed bouquets often include stargazer, Casa Blanca or rose lilies, and the florist may not tell you the species.
  • Every part of the plant: petals, leaves, stem, bulb, roots and pollen, and even water from a vase that holds or once held lilies. Cats often swallow pollen while grooming after they brush past a bouquet.
  • Not every plant called a lily is a true lily. Peace lilies and calla lilies irritate the mouth but don't cause kidney failure, and lily of the valley is dangerous for a different reason (see the questions below). If you can't tell which plant it was, treat it as a true lily.

Prevention

  • If you live with a cat, keep true lilies and daylilies out of your home altogether. Keeping them out of reach isn't enough: cats get into closed rooms, and aging flowers drop pollen and leaves.
  • Check every bouquet you receive and ask florists to leave lilies out. Giving the scientific names (Lilium, Hemerocallis) avoids mix-ups.
  • Don't grow lilies or daylilies where your cat or neighborhood cats roam, or fence them off.
  • Before you buy or accept any plant called a lily, find out exactly what it is and check the label for warnings about pets.
  • Pick safer cut flowers instead, such as roses, sunflowers, snapdragons, zinnias, orchids or gerbera daisies.

Good to know

Even pollen or water from the vase can be lethal. Dangerous genera include Lilium and Hemerocallis.

Common questions

Is lily pollen on my cat's fur dangerous?

Yes. Grooming just a few grains of pollen off the fur can be enough to cause kidney failure. Treat it as an emergency and take your cat to a vet right away, even if it seems well.

My cat chewed on a lily and looks normal. Should I still go to the vet?

Yes, go now, even if your cat seems completely normal. Early vomiting often stops on its own within a few hours, but that is not a sign of recovery: kidney damage can still be developing. Some cats show no obvious early signs, and kidney signs may not appear until 2 to 3 days after exposure, when treatment is harder. Don't wait for them: when treatment starts 18 hours or more after exposure, the kidney failure is generally irreversible. Treatment that starts early, before kidney damage sets in, gives an excellent outlook.

Are peace lilies and calla lilies poisonous to cats?

Not in the same way. They are not true lilies and don't cause kidney failure. Their calcium oxalate crystals irritate the mouth, causing drooling, pawing at the mouth, mouth pain and vomiting. Rarely, the swelling gets bad enough to make breathing hard. Call your vet if your cat is very uncomfortable or has any trouble breathing. If you're not sure which plant it was, treat it as a true lily.

Is lily of the valley dangerous to cats?

Yes, but for a different reason. It doesn't attack the kidneys the way true lilies do. Its heart toxins (cardiac glycosides) can cause vomiting, an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, seizures and death, and they affect dogs as well as cats. Any contact is an emergency, so see a vet straight away.

Is a pollen-free lily safe for my cat?

No. Every part of the plant is toxic, so taking away the pollen doesn't make it safe. Pollen-free varieties, such as the Roselily, are still dangerous to cats.

Are lilies dangerous to dogs?

True lilies and daylilies don't cause kidney failure in dogs. A dog that eats them may get a minor stomach upset. Lily of the valley and gloriosa lilies are dangerous to dogs too, so treat those as an emergency. Peace and calla lilies can irritate a dog's mouth.

Sources

This page is informational and is not veterinary advice. If your pet has been exposed to something risky, contact your vet or an animal poison control line right away.

· How we prepare our guides

More substances toxic to cats

Rhododendrons Extreme severity Sago Palm Extreme severity Star of Bethlehem Extreme severity Black Locust High severity Everything toxic to cats →

Barcode food checks, now on iPhone.

Scan a product's barcode with StrawPaw to spot ingredients that can harm dogs and cats. The app is free to download.

Download on the App Store