Is stargazer lily poisonous is a question one would worry when they invest in this plant. While lilies make the most beautiful bouquets, they can be deadly to cats and other pets too.
A small bite of stargazer lilies or a taste of the pollen can cause severe symptoms that lead to death if untreated. However, lily toxicity is less intense in other animals like dogs.
This article will help you understand everything about stargazer lily toxicity to your pet.
Contents
Is Stargazer Lily Safe?
No, the stargazer lily is not safe, as it belongs to a family of toxic lilies. This plant is mostly poisonous to cats and as they would consume it, they would face symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and even as intense as kidney failure and death.
The other types of poisonous lilies are tiger lilies, Asian lilies, and Easter lilies. Although they are toxic to cats, other animals like dogs and rabbits will suffer mild stomach upsets.
Lily toxicity in all pets and even humans causes severe symptoms that require you to visit a vet immediately after your paw friend ingests it. These lily is one of the most poisonous lilies to cats. A small bite on the leaf or a lick of the pollen grains can cause severe symptoms to the pet. Some signs your cat ingested stargazer lilies are vomiting, lack of appetite, lethargy, and shaking.
A small bite of the plant’s petal or a lick on the pollen grains will leave your cat fighting for its life, which means that you must make sure how you would keep this plant away from your house, or on higher shelves. However, the chemical that makes stargazer highly toxic is still unknown, but overall, the sap that it contains is toxic.
– Symptoms in Cats
Cats will mostly suffer the symptoms of lily poisoning, like vomiting, drooling, lethargy and weakness. Pet owners who don’t notice these signs assume that their pet is doing great and fail to contact the vet. However, even the most minor ingestion of this plant can be dangerous. 
Failure to treat the symptoms of lily poisoning leads to kidney damage. Since the kidney does not heal after it gets damaged, the damage continues and later causes death to your pet.
Whenever you spot your cat eating a lily, call the vet immediately, even before the signs begin showing. Unless you saw your cat feeding on a lily plant, the symptoms will have you thinking it is food poisoning. Additional signs of lily poisoning are shaking and a lack of appetite.
However, if your cat throws up, you can observe the contents to see if there are parts of the lily plant. Besides, knowing the problem with your pet will help the vet understand how to save their lives. Note that these symptoms can disappear for a few days and then show up again, which means that the amount was big, and the toxicity was intense.
If you suspect your pet ate the toxic stargazer lily, take them to the vet even after the symptoms disappear. This is because the next stage of the sickness is severe and causes worse effects.
If you leave your cat untreated, the symptoms return after a few days. The pet will get thirsty faster and urinate more frequently. There will also be increased lethargy and vomiting.
Then, kidney failure symptoms start showing up. Your cat’s urination frequency decreases, and they later stop urinating after these symptoms. At this point, it is easy to say that kidney damage has occurred at a higher degree, and it is irreversible. Remember that the kidneys don’t heal themselves after injury, like the skin, which can cause your cat’s death.
– Symptoms in Dogs
Although stargazer lilies cause severe effects on cats, however, dogs would also suffer mild symptoms. The lily plant causes stomach upsets in dogs, but they don’t experience extreme toxicity like kidney failure as other pets would.
However, some lily plants, like peace lilies, can be highly toxic to dogs, but again the stargazer won’t be as severe. This plant contains calcium oxalate crystals which irritate the animal’s skin and throat, making it itch and irritate it. Calcium oxalate has sharp crystals that cause intense burning and irritation in the mouth and nose. The crystals also injure the tongue and stomach lining.
What Are The Treatment for Lily Poisoning?
The treatment for lily poisoning is vomiting medication, gut cleansers, and IV fluids. These will help the body of the animal, get rid of the toxins ingested. The treatments should be prescribed by the vet, who will help the pet heal.
– Vomiting Medication
If you notice your cat feeding on stargazer lily and take them to the vet, they will induce vomiting. Vomiting helps the body eliminate lilies poisonous parts and the ingested toxins by reducing the poison’s effects on the cat’s body.
As the vet gives it vomiting medications, it will start the act of throwing up the flowers that were in the stomach, so that the body doesn’t consume it and lead to intense toxicity levels.
– Gut Cleansers
The vet will also give your pet activated charcoal to prevent more absorption of the poison from the stomach to the body. Active charcoal is one of the best poison removers that are found, it helps clean the guts and reduce the toxin levels. The vet will induce vomiting to help the pet remove the toxins and administer activated charcoal to stop the absorption of the poison to the body.
– IV Fluids
The veterinarian could administer IV fluids to your paw friend to support the kidneys because they have a lot of work to eliminate the poison that entered the bloodstream, and with these fluids it is good to give your pet proper immunity. Most cats die after ingesting stargaze lilies because there is no specific test to diagnose the plant’s poisoning.
How to Prevent Lily Poisoning in Your Pets?
You can prevent lily poisoning from your pets by placing them out of their reach, adding some wire protection, so they wouldn’t come close, and lastly spreading some repellents around the plant. You would be keeping your pets safe and even saving their lives.
The failure to treat the poisoning can lead to worse effects like kidney failure, resulting in the cat’s death, which means you are doing this for their safety. If your cat ingests stargazer lily, take them to the vet immediately for an examination.
– Out of Their Reach
The best way to prevent the dangers of this plant is by ensuring it is not anywhere near your home. If you like beautiful bouquets of lilies, you can always place them out of the reach of the cats, and they won’t go near it, like in hanging baskets.
If a friend brings you lilies, help them understand the dangers of you keeping them, which means it is great if you keep them out of their reach.
Most cat lovers are unaware of the dangers of lilies to cats, so spreading the word and awareness will help. However, if you keep them away, whether placing them in hanging baskets or even out of their reach on a higher shelf, this is how you will be protecting your cat and even saving their lives from being harmed such as having kidney failure.
– Wire Protection
If you have lilies growing on a wall, you can fence the area with wire to prevent the cats and other pets from accessing it. When you receive this plant, always check on your pets to notice any weird behavior, because what if they already did nibble on them, before you took any action. 
As you try to protect the barrier with some wire mesh, your cat will feel like it is a challenge to get closer to this plant and to nibble on the flowers or the stems, often times they will not aim to jump because they would feel that the wire is dangerous for them too.
Besides the lily leaves and petals, other parts of the plant, like lily bulbs, are also highly toxic. The bulb makes the most poisonous part of a lily plant because the substance is more concentrated.
– Spread Repellents Around the Plant
You can also spread some repellents around the plant, such as citrus oil, around the plant and your cat will not approach the plant and get harmed as a result. You can do this by simply spreading the liquid on come cotton balls and the intensity of the smell will revolt them away.
In addition to this, you can also place some rosemary oil the same way, or even thyme oil, and the pet will not come close to this plant in any way. Remember that if you skip placing some repellents, and they eat this plant.
FAQ
1. Are Oriental Lilies Poisonous to Humans?
Yes, oriental lilies can be poisonous to humans and pets, with some causing severe effects and death if ingested. Oriental lilies can cause a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, blisters, nausea, and vomiting.
Other lilies cause skin redness when the toxic sap comes into contact with your body, swelling, and blisters. Touching your eyes with contaminated hands causes them to have a burning sensation.
2. Are Oriental Lilies Poisonous to Dogs?
Oriental lilies cause severe symptoms in dogs after ingestion. You will notice vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and reduced appetite in your dog. Failure to treat the symptoms can lead to excessive thirst and frequent urination, which are signs of kidney failure.
Oriental lily cat toxicity is also high. Cats suffer similar effects as dogs after ingesting this lily, and failure to treat the symptoms causes kidney failure.
Conclusion
Although lily bouquets are attractive, they can cause your pet’s death. Some lily plants are more toxic than others, but avoiding all types is advisable. Some essential points you will learn in this article are:
- Stargazer is a highly poisonous plant to cats and can lead to death.
- Poisoning symptoms in cats can disappear after a day or two, and failing to treat them causes kidney failure in your pet.
- If your cat feeds on stargazer lily, don’t wait for the symptoms to show before taking them to the vet.
The best way to avoid lily poisoning in your pets is by avoiding having any lilies in the house. You can also educate your neighbors on how toxic these plants are and what to do if pets feed on them. Although poison symptoms disappear after a day or two, it continues to damage the kidneys and later causes irreversible kidney damage, resulting in death.
References
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/stargazer-lily
https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/lily-toxicity-the-potentially-fatal-danger-to-cats/#:~:text=True%20Lilies%2C%20which%20include%20the,small%20amount%20can%20be%20fatal.
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/lovely-lilies-and-curious-cats-dangerous-combination
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