Oct 21

Tiger Lily, Stargazer Lily, Asian Lilies, are beautiful and fragrant flowers, however they can be deadly to your cat.

My oldest daughter loves flowers and cats.  She or her husband normally buy a bunch of flowers each week as a treat to each other.  So last week Jessica innocently brought home a bouquet of lilies.

After a few days of enjoying the blooms, one of her cats started vomiting.  At that point Jessica notices that some of the flowers had been chewed on. Fiona, the cat, continued to vomit and appeared lethargic.  She was taken to the vet and this is when Jessica was told how toxic the Lily is. 

The smallest amounts of a lily can be life threatening.  Within only a few hours of ingestion of the lily a cat may vomit, become lethargic and or develop a lack of appetite.  These signs continue and worsen as kidney damage progresses.  Without prompt and proper treatment by a veterinarian, the cat may develop kidney failure in a matter 36 to 72 hours.  As Jessica stated to me the toxians “ nuke” the kidneys.

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is leading a nationwide campaign to warn cat owners about the dangers of the Easter lily and other variations in the lily family; however not everyone has heard the message.  Too much information is better than none, and so that is why I want you, my reader, to know.  

I will keep you posted as to Fiona’s progress and hopefully her road to recovery.

Oct 5

It’s October and before you know it we will be hearing Christmas carols on the radio and in the department store.  Even though the retail world tries to rush us through another season in the hopes of us spending more money, we still  have to get through Halloween on October 31st.  Halloween can be fun, however it can also be scary for our furkids. 

Think about it, every time the door bell rings and the children yell “trick or treat”, and that scary looking green monster with blood dripping down his mouth with outstretched hands for treats, or the growling goblin staring at our furkids at the door all this can be overwhelming.

If Halloween is a holiday you love enjoy it, however you may want to have the furkids in a room far from the action so that they are not upset. 

You may also want to put a note on the door for the trick or treaters not to ring the door bell, just knock.  That could be easier on the four legged ones. 

Remember if you have your own trick or treaters coming home with goodies, make sure the bags are put away and not left on the floor to be sniffed and eating by the furkids.  Candy and wrappers are not easy on their digestive systems.

My hope is that you and your have a safe and fun Halloween with happy non tramatized furkids.