March 26, 2010

I'm going to try and get better about posting. I have a tendency to get so busy with work and having a few of my own crew being elderly means I'm dealing with quite a few kitties who have some chronic health issues. I also adopted another diabetic kitty at the end of April 2009. She has needed quite a bit of care. Besides dealing with the diabetes she also had to have a toe amputated on her hind foot. But enough on that for now.

Happy Spring to all my Furry Friends!

With the spring holidays almost upon us, I wanted to send out a warning regarding Easter Lilies and other plants in the lily family. If you have cats in the house, do not have any sort of lilies in the house, including Easter lilies, Tiger lilies,Glory lilies, Asian Lilies, Rubrum lilies and Stargazer lilies.. Lilies are very toxic to cats and it only requires ingesting a small amount for them to become tragically ill. Lily plants cause kidney failure in cats. Both the leaves and the flower are toxic and it can take as little as one leaf to be fatal. Within 30 minutes of eating the plant your cat will appear to be depressed, not interested in playing or his usual activites. Other symptoms that come a bit later include vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss. If you even suspect your cat may have eaten lily material you must get your cat to the vet. Earlier treatment results in a better chance for survival. It is best of you can get your kitty into treatment within 6 hours of ingestion. Odds are reduced when therapy is begun 18 hours post ingestion as by that time kidney damage has already begun. A lot of people may not even notice a slight change in kitties behavior. With all of the usual activity over the holidays it becomes even easier to overlook. The safest course of action is to not even have these plants in the house. If you have a kitty that goes outside, it is not safe to have these plants outside in your yard.

There are many more plants that are poisonous to cats and dogs. Lilies are toxic to only cats. There are also plants to are safe to have around our furry friends. For a listing of both toxic and safe plants you can go to the ASPCA website.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/

I hope you all have a wonderful spring---I'm looking forward to seeing some sunshine. I know my furry crew is looking forward to open windows and fresh breezes.