Lilium spp. is toxic to cats. The reported severity is critical. Also known as True Lilies, Martagon Lily and Columbia Lily.
This plant is known to be potentially deadly!
If your animal ate this plant, call your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control on (888) 426-4435 or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661. Fees may apply.
Vomiting Loss Of Appetite Lethargy Kidney Failure Death Drooling Depression Increased Urination Weakness Recumbency
The color of each symptom follows the severity scale above.
Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are native to the Northern Hemisphere and their range is temperate climates and extends into the subtropics. Many other plants have "lily" in their common names, but do not belong to the same genus and are therefore not true lilies. True lilies are known to be highly toxic to cats.
Some Lilium species are toxic to cats. This is known to be especially so for Lilium longiflorum, though other Lilium and the unrelated Hemerocallis can also cause the same symptoms with equal lethality. The true mechanism of toxicity is undetermined, but it involves damage to the renal tubular epithelium (composing the substance of the kidney and secreting, collecting, and conducting urine), which can cause acute kidney failure. Veterinary help should be sought, as a matter of urgency, for any cat that is suspected of eating any part of a lily – including licking pollen that may have brushed onto its coat. Due to the high mortality rate, medical care should be sought immediately once it is known a cat came into contact with lilies, ideally before any symptoms develop.
Also recorded as Lilies and Lily.
More from the Liliaceae family:
Countries with the most wild observations, from GBIF data.