For cats · Free tool

My cat and a lily

True lilies — Easter, Tiger, Asiatic, Oriental, Stargazer, and daylilies — are deadly to cats. Any part, in any amount, including the pollen and the vase water, can cause sudden kidney failure, and the window to treat is narrow. If your cat may have touched, chewed, or licked a lily, treat it as an emergency and call your vet or a pet poison line now.

A feline emergency — act now

For true lilies, there's no safe amount. Every part is dangerous — petals, leaves, pollen, and even the vase water — so a cat that brushed pollen onto their fur and groomed it off has been exposed. The kidney damage begins silently while a cat still looks only mildly 'off,' and the window for effective treatment is roughly 18 hours, before kidney signs appear. Don't wait to see how they do — call your vet or a pet poison line right now.

What to do now

  • Call your vet or a pet poison line right away — the Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661 or ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435.
  • If there's pollen on your cat's fur or face, gently wipe or wash it off so they don't groom more in.
  • Bring the plant or a clear photo — confirming a true lily (Lilium) or daylily (Hemerocallis) versus a look-alike changes the whole plan.
  • Don't wait for symptoms: the treatment window (decontamination and IV fluids) is about 18 hours, before kidney signs show.
  • Move the plant out of reach of the cat and any other pets.
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Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661ASPCA Animal Poison Control (888) 426-4435

General triage guidance, not a diagnosis — based on ASPCA Animal Poison Control, Pet Poison Helpline, the Merck Veterinary Manual, and the FDA. For a known or suspected true-lily exposure in a cat, time is critical; when in doubt, call.

Sources: ASPCA — Which Lilies Are Toxic to Pets?; Pet Poison Helpline — Lilies Are Toxic To Cats; FDA — Lovely Lilies and Curious Cats: A Dangerous Combination

Common questions

Which lilies are dangerous to cats?

The deadly ones are the true lilies — genus Lilium, which includes Easter, Tiger, Asiatic, Oriental, Stargazer, and rubrum lilies — and daylilies (genus Hemerocallis). For these, all parts and even the pollen and vase water can cause acute kidney failure in cats, at any amount.

Are all 'lilies' deadly to cats?

No — and the distinction matters. Peace lily, calla lily, and Peruvian lily are not true lilies; they contain calcium-oxalate crystals that cause mouth and stomach irritation (drooling, pawing at the mouth, vomiting) but not kidney failure. Lily of the valley is also not a true lily but is dangerous in a different way — it affects the heart. Any of these still warrants a call, but only the true lilies and daylilies cause the classic feline kidney emergency.

My cat brushed against lily pollen — is that really dangerous?

Yes, it can be. Cats groom, so pollen on the fur ends up swallowed. Gently wipe or wash the pollen off to limit further grooming and call your vet or a pet poison line. Treat pollen contact from a true lily the same as eating a piece of the plant.

How quickly do I need to act if my cat ate a lily?

Very quickly. Early signs — vomiting, drooling, lethargy, and loss of appetite — can start within a few hours and may briefly improve, which is falsely reassuring. Kidney injury is underway during that mild phase, and the effective treatment window is roughly 18 hours. Waiting until a cat is clearly sick often means waiting too long.

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These tools estimate risk — they don't replace your veterinarian and can't examine your pet. For anything worrying, or when in doubt, get a free triage assessment or call your vet.