Take it from someone who just dropped a fortune at West Vet, you do NOT want to risk this happening to kitty this Easter!

With Easter coming up on Sunday, you'll probably notice how many of the floral arrangements at Albertsons, Fred Meyer and other florists around the Treasure Valley include Easter lilies. They are absolutely gorgeous flowers, but if you're a cat owner skip bringing them into your home!

According to the Pet Poison Helpline, they are EXTREMELY poisonous to cats.  Plants in this family include the Tiger, Day, Asiatic, Easter or Japanese Show Lily and they lead to severe acute kidney failure in house cats.  Every part of the plant is poisonous, including the pollen so simply putting them out of the cat's reach doesn't mean that the problem is solved.  Even drinking water from a vase that held lilies could lead to rapid kidney failure.

Kitties that suffer lily poisoning decline quickly so if they've been around the plant look for signs of vomiting, not being hungry, lethargy, dehydration, not urinating, urinating too frequently, walking drunk, disorientation and in some cases seizures.  There's no antidote for lily poisoning so you need to get that little guy (or girl) to the vet as soon as possible to get them on IV fluid therapy.  The sooner you get them in, the better chance they have at recovering without permanent kidney damage.

Our cat was facing kidney failure from another condition a few weeks ago and I can tell you with confidence that if you need to take your pet to West Vet for emergency services they will do absolutely everything they can to try to get them back to 100%.  You're never in the dark about what's going on.  During Kota's ICU stay, Dr. Brandt and Dr. Lindberg checked in with updates two to three times a day.  They got him out of the woods and when his follow-up labs came back at his regular veterinarian, they looked nearly perfect. It looks like he hasn't suffered any permanent damage from the ordeal.

That said, being a good pet parent is necessary to help the pet ER give your pet the proper care.  If they've ingested part of a lily plant, bring it with you. It can help them decide where to start!

You can reach West Vet's emergency room at (208) 375-1600 and the Pet Poison Hotline at (855) 764-7661.

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