Romantic lilies risk poisoning cat

Echo certainly lives up to this; an indoor cat, she is super loving, adores being held, and runs to greet Ryan and his girlfriend, Elena, at the door of their home in Wigan.

Anniversary flowers

Last year, for their anniversary, Ryan bought Elena a beautiful bunch of flowers, which they then left in a vase on the kitchen worktop while they both went to work. When Elena came home, Echo’s face was yellow with pollen from the lily anthers where she must have been rubbing against them. Elena sent a picture to Ryan who, amazingly, had heard that day how toxic lilies are to cats!

Lily pollen

The couple made an appointment with a vet using the Agria App which comes free with all Agria Pet Insurance policies. The vet asked if the couple knew whether Echo had ingested any of the pollen, saying, “This isn’t something you want to mess around with.”

3 days on IV drip

Although Echo seemed fine, the poison could cause her to become gravely ill, with her organs shutting down. Ryan and Elena took her to their nearest emergency vet. She was put on a drip while they gave her a precautionary purge, flushing her system out and monitoring her closely. After 3 days she was allowed home with activated charcoal tablets to mop up any residual toxins in her system, and dressings for her IV wound. Poor little thing was also rather anxious and traumatised after her dramatic admission and treatment.

Flowers no longer hold the same appeal as before although, as a teacher, Elena often gets given them. Any potentially toxic flowers, like lilies, daffodils and tulips, are removed and the remaining bouquets are kept in the conservatory, safely out of Echo’s reach. 

On receiving the bill for Echo’s treatment, Ryan and Elena were very pleased with Agria’s claims service, “It was as easy as could be, really simple, both using the Agria App and no qualms with payment of the claim.”