The smell of lilies is not necessarily toxic to dogs. Most things must be ingested or come into contact with their skin in order to cause toxicity symptoms. However, lily pollen itself can cause illness. If there are pollen particles in the air, it might settle on your pup's fur or snout where they can lick it off.
Lilies have a very pretty characteristic flower, yet all parts of the plant are toxic to dogs and cats. Dogs are less likely to come into contact with lilies, and they are also less likely to groom themselves and lick the lily pollen off their coat.
Lily toxicity signs in pets
Lily toxicity signs occur less than 12 hours after ingestion and renal damage occurs between 12 and 24 hours after exposure. Signs include: Decreased activity. Lethargy.
Even a small drink from a lily's water, or sniffing pollen and then licking their nose, can cause toxic shock in your pet, especially in cats and small dogs. Two or three lily leaves are enough to be hazardous to a cat and result in death.
Easter/Asiatic Lily (Lilium spp.)
They have several common names: Asiatic Lily, Easter Lily, Stargazer lily, Oriental lily. All of these should be avoided by pet parents. All parts of the plant are toxic and small amounts can cause severe injury to the kidneys.
The entire lily plant is toxic: the stem, leaves, flowers, pollen, and even the water in a vase. Eating just a small amount of a leaf or flower petal, licking a few pollen grains off its fur while grooming, or drinking the water from the vase can cause your cat to develop fatal kidney failure in less than 3 days.
Affected dogs show signs 30 minutes to 4 hours after ingesting the poison. Initially affected dogs become anxious and have an elevated body temperature. Panting is usually seen. Progressively they become worse and staggery.
Symptoms of calla lily poisoning in dogs include drooling, difficulty swallowing, vomiting, pawing at the mouth and loss of appetite. In severe cases, the swelling may obstruct the dog's airway, making it difficult for them to breathe and potentially leading to asphyxiation.
Once in the hospital, your veterinarian may give your dog intravenous fluid, flush your dog's stomach, give your dog activated charcoal to absorb the toxin, or perform surgery. Supportive medications may help your dog's kidneys and liver process the poison and heal.
Vomiting may induced if the cat recently (within a few hours) ingested the plant and has not vomited. The cat may be given activated charcoal to bind any toxin remaining in the stomach. Intravenous (IV) fluids may be initiated to support kidney function and to protect the kidneys from the circulating toxins.
Once an ingestion is suspected or confirmed, time is critical. Prompt veterinary treatment can save a pet's life. Poisoning in dogs is a medical emergency. If you think your dog ate something potentially dangerous, seek immediate veterinary care or call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435.
Is daylily toxic to dogs? Unlike true lilies, daylilies are not toxic to dogs. So if you've got some of these vibrant blooms growing your garden, you don't need to fret if you catch Fido chewing on a leaf or petal. Daylilies are popular with gardeners because they're resilient and easy to cultivate in most climates.
The right flowers
“Lilies should be avoided for kids bedrooms as they are toxic if ingested. While lilies are extremely fun to watch open up and have beautiful colour, they can be dangerous, especially for babies and young children.
Like the golden pothos, peace lilies are also on NASA's top list of air purifiers, making them one of the best plants to help you sleep better. As well as purifying the air, removing toxins and increasing humidity, the peace lily releases large amounts of oxygen throughout the entire day.
Interacting and ingesting flowers, whether they are sniffed or eaten, can get dangerous because not all beautiful flowers are harmless. If your dog ingests or sniffs a toxic flower or plant, they will show a number of symptoms. But the symptoms depend on the plant itself.
Fragrances – Strong smells, like perfumes or certain flowers, can also affect asthma. Avoid scented flowers like lilies and skip the morning spray of perfume. Hyperventilation – When emotions peak, they can lead to shortness of breath or hyperventilation, which can transition to an asthma attack.
Returning to lilies, all plants in the lily family are dangerously toxic to people and pets — though, interestingly, most plants that gardeners call ''lilies'' belong to other plant families. Don't relax, however, because the majority of those lilies-in-name-only are also poisonous. Take crinum lilies, for example.
If you don't know what poisoned your dog, be aware that your vet is not able to test for every possibility, but blood tests may help determine the source. Some poisons, such as antifreeze and certain rat poisons, have antidotes, so whenever that's the case your vet will administer the antidote as soon as possible.
Diagnosing toxicity in your pet is often difficult. Tests that help make specific diagnoses are: blood tests, tissue samples for histopathology, and X-rays. When sending blood and tissue to the laboratory, the veterinarian asks for a specific test because there is no blanket test that identifies toxins.
If your pet got into something non-edible or something very toxic (like dark chocolate), induce vomiting by giving 1 teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide. This will result in a foamy vomit (so do this outdoors, or have some newspaper handy for cleanup).
Typically, daylilies and flowers that are considered true lilies won't harm your dog. That is, unless he helps himself to an overly generous serving of one of these plants. Yes, they're technically considered non-toxic to dogs, but eating too much of any plant will do a number on your pup's digestive system.
Both of the true lily plants, Lilium sp. and Hemerocallis sp., can produce severe toxicosis and acute kidney injury (AKI). In fact, all parts of the plant are toxic and there are documented cases where exposure to the pollen alone has caused AKI.
If you think your cat may have eaten lily then bring both your cat, and the plant itself if possible, to the vet immediately. The sooner your cat starts supportive care, the better the outlook will be. There is no antidote to lily poisoning. Your vet will assess your cat and implement supportive care.