Grieving owners demand mandatory warnings after common household lilies kill their pet cats
Devastated owners who lost pets to poisoning are demanding retailers be forced to warn customers about the deadly affects of common flowers.
Two Australians are raising the alarm after losing their beloved pet cats to the toxic affects of a common household plant.
They say retailers selling lilies – a flower that can be fatal to cats – should be required to warn customers of the potentially deadly outcome they carry.
Jun Peng told news.com.au how he suffered a devatasting double blow this year, with the sudden death of his mother followed soon after by his cat Reuben falling seriously ill.
Mr Peng had received lilies from friends after his mother passed, and he had not registered the danger they posed for Reuben until it was too late.
“During those tough times he was sleeping next to my pillow, which he never does,” he said.
“He was always somewhere else or just staring out of the window. So it brought a lot of comfort.”
Weeks later he noticed Rueben, who was less than two years old, was drinking more water and losing weight. Blood tests revealed he had kidney disease.
Despite spending thousands on treatment, Reuben did not recover and Mr Peng made the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye.
Lilies can also lead to illness in dogs but they have been found to cause severe health problems for feline pets such as fatal kidney failure.
“Even a tiny amount – a nibble of a leaf or flower, or a lick of pollen that’s landed on their coat can cause fatal kidney failure,” celebrity vet Dr Katrina Warren said this year.
“All parts of true lilies (Lilium & Hemerocallis species- including Easter lilies, Tiger Lilies, and Asiatic Lilies) are toxic – leaves, stems, flowers, pollen, even the vase water.”
Mr Peng said after learning of the issue, he called the business which sold the flowers to ask if they had warned of their toxicity to cats.
They told him the only warning given was about possible allergies for humans.
He is calling for warning labels on plants that are toxic to animals, like lilies, be mandatory in Australia.
“Retailers and online shops, if they just able to have an online prompt or a sign behind the counter,” he said.
“It’s not too much of an ask”.
His change.org petition has gained more than 6500 signatures in a few weeks.
Another grieving owner Jeremy Smith whose change.org petition is also calling for the same label change told news.com.au of the “horrific” impact lilies had on his beloved cat Shanti.
Dr Smith’s wife had been gifted a bouquet of lilies for a work achievement and they were placed near a split-cycle airconditioning unit.
“And then not knowing the issue at the time, I think turning that on probably blew a lot of the pollen, and then made almost the whole house … toxic to my cat,” he said.
The Melbourne man said by that Saturday, within 72 hours, Shanti had become “really submissive” and she continued to deteriorate.
“And by the time I kind of realised that she was extremely unwell on the Sunday, the damage had already been done,” Dr Smith said.
“I took her to the vet, and they tried to put her on the dialysis, but unfortunately it all happened really quickly.”
The indoor cat was almost 12 years old but had been in good health, with Dr Smith saying having to put her down was “soul destroying”.
“It was certainly one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, which I know sounds silly compared to what some humans go through,” he said.
“But at the time she was my best friend.”
He said the circumstances of Shanti’s death led to guilt and struggles with mental health.
Dr Smith does not think warnings were a big ask, and even hared a poster from a hospital at Box Hill in Melbourne, advising patients lilies were banned from the facility.
“Lilies are beautiful but they can cause allergy related symptoms in some people,” the poster states.
Anna Jabour, chief executive of Flower Industry Australia, said although there were no mandatory labelling rules she was “open to further conversations” about how to address the issue.
“Lilies can be harmful to pets, particularly cats, and we understand why some consumers are raising concerns. It is usually devastating to lose a pet,” Ms Jabour said.
“In Australia, there are currently no mandatory labelling or safety-warning requirements on cut flowers, at a state or federal level.
“I do know florists offer informal advice when customers mention they have pets at home.
“I’m open to further conversations with groups about practical ways to support education.”
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry said the issue fell outside of its responsibilities, and directed news.com.au to the consumer watchdog and veterinary medicine body.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority also said the line of questioning was outside its remit.
When news.com.au contacted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), a spokesperson said they were “unable to assist” as the query was “in relation to safety issues relating to animals”.
“The ACCC’s role in product safety is to address the risk of serious injury, serious illness and death from safety hazards in consumer products,” they said.
It is understood any such mandatory safety standard would require a policy from the federal government.
