Winnipeg is a 1.5 year old domestic medium hair cat who arrived at RRAEH after getting into a bouquet of lilies. Any part of lilies is HIGHLY toxic to cats, including the water in the vase, and can lead to acute kidney failure and death if ingested. Treatment of this toxicity is decontamination (this includes bathing if pollen is on fur, inducing vomiting if leaves/petals ingested, and giving activated charcoal to prevent any further toxin absorption) and IV fluid diuresis while monitoring their kidney values. Early veterinary intervention in these cases is essential for a good prognosis.
Winnipeg’s owner decided to move forward with hospitalization. We gave Winnipeg a face wash to get any leftover pollen off, gave her a dose of activated charcoal, kept her hospitalized for 48 hours on ‘round-the-clock IV fluids, and checked her kidney values daily. At the end of her stay, she was given the green light by her doctor to go home with instructions to come back for a recheck of kidney values in another 24 hours to check for changes while off of IV fluids. Her recheck came back with flying colors, and her doctor declared her clear of any kidney damage due to her lily ingestion, she could now resume her normal daily life. Her owners’ quick actions were so important for this great outcome!
She is doing great today and her favorite thing to do is attack her mom’s feet at bed time each night.
