Ask the Expert: is a peace lily poisonous to cats
i think my son’s cat ate the tips of the leaves of my peace lily. Emily
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Ask the Expert: is a peace lily poisonous to cats
i think my son’s cat ate the tips of the leaves of my peace lily. Emily
Emily,
I had a similar question a while back and the answer is yes and no. According to the ASPCA Poison Control Center, peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) can cause oral irritation, intense burning irritation of the mouth, lips and tongue, excessive drooling, vomiting and difficulty swallowing. The toxic substance in a peace lily is the calcium oxalate crystals. Most animals will not ingest enough of the plant to kill them. However, the calcium oxalate crystals that are ingested can do some damage.
If you think your cat has ingested some of the peace lily, have your veterinarian check the cat out. I would suggest moving the plant to a place where the cat won’t be interested in it. If want the plant and the cat to live in harmony with each other teach the cat to stay away from the plant. aversion therapy is the best way. Every time the cat go near the plant spray it with cold water.
Thank you. Cat showing no symptoms so far — just checked on him and he is his usual curious self. All I can figure is he did not ingest enough to cause any problems. This cat in the past swallowed a needle — they had to open him up and get it out. Then 2 years ago he swallowed a piece of a Hartz cat toy and they had to open him up and get it out. As you can figure – this is one valuable cat now!
Emily
Emily,
Sounds like this cat is looking for an adventure with inappropriate things. Have you try growing grass, alfalfa or catmint inside the house? These would be good things for him to chew on and very easy to grow. Just a thought that might be cheaper than the next vet bill. Good luck. Keep me posted.
My baby kitty, was acting very different in her eyes n face I could tell she was swollen in her lips and mouth area . this concerned me alot. In recapping the day and when she first started acting different I recalled her playing n my aunts plat well this plant is a peace lilly . kitten s Will b kittens n curious she ingested enough of the plant to cause a few side effects so I got Benadryl using a eye dropper n crushing a 1/4 of the pill to begin w to take the swelling all the way down I had to actually give her 3/4 of the tablet wich crushed and liquidized w water drawn up n a eye dropper n forced down her throat . finally swelling Down enough and her settled down . I’m waiting out the night
Hope your cat is feeling better!
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