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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

I'm cat-feeding for neighbours and I've just chucked all their bouquets of flowers in the bin!

39 replies

thecatneuterer · 21/03/2015 19:26

Should probably be AIBU, but I'm too much of a wuss for that.

My neighbours are away for three days. I'm feeding their two cats. I've just been round and there were four huge bouquets in vases, featuring mostly lilies. I dithered for a bit and wondered if I could put them anywhere where the cats don't go - but the cats have access everywhere. I considered cutting out all the stamens but a) what a PITA b) some weren't yet open so still not safe c) even without the stamens they're still not cat-safe. So I just chucked them all in the bin.

I could claim that they just died in three days - but then they won't know about the dangers. I think I'll have to fess up. They're not going to be angry are they? They're only flowers after all.

OP posts:
GerundTheBehemoth · 21/03/2015 19:29

I did the same thing when cat-sitting for friends once (though just the one bouquet). Told the friends that I'd done it and why, and they were fine about it.

AlpacaMyBag · 21/03/2015 19:31

You should have put them in the loo and.shut the door.

Anyway too late now. Safety first and.all that. You sound like a responsible catsitter.

SunbathingCat · 21/03/2015 19:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
thecatneuterer · 21/03/2015 19:33

Alpaca - the loo is the way the cats go out. There is a louvre window they climb through. There really was nowhere.

OP posts:
Original poster
thecatneuterer · 21/03/2015 19:37

Sunbathing the lilies you get in bouquets are the really poisonous ones. Arum lilies aren't deadly, but you don't often get those in bouquets, most of the others are.

OP posts:
Liara · 21/03/2015 19:41

Lilies are poisonous to cats? I didn't know, and I've had cats (and lilies) for over 20 years.

Luckily they seem to have largely avoided each other.

Couldn't you have taken the bouquets home while they were away?

JaquelineHyde · 21/03/2015 19:45

I would have put them in a bedroom and shut the door, having one less bedroom to go in wouldn't be a problem for the cats and the owners would have had one lovely smelling room when they returned.

sugarman · 21/03/2015 19:46

I am more aghast that you added them to landfill than compost

Original poster
thecatneuterer · 21/03/2015 19:50

Liara lilies are deadly. If a cat brushes against a lily and gets pollen on it's coat, and then cleans itself, it's enough to kill. Likewise if pollen drops on the floor and a cat walks through it. We see countless lily poisonings at our clinic. Most die.

And I'm not taking them to my house. I've got 22 cats! No lily is going to pass my threshold.

And I suppose I could have put them in a bedroom, but that would mean entering the bedrooms, which I would have felt uncomfortable about. And they did clearly tell me that the cats like to roam around so not to close any doors.

They're only flowers. They would have died soon anyway. I hope that's the way they'll see it. I'm just wondering why there were so many bouquets though - must have been some sort of special occasion.

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 21/03/2015 19:50

Liara

TCN had 22 cats of her own when she last gave us a count! (She volunteers for a rescue.)

So many people don't know about lilies' poisonous qualities including, it seems, most florists. I know they're good value for money for florists as well as being long-lasting and very showy but I just wish that you could order a 'cat-friendly' bouquet over the phone without getting a 'Whuh?' in response.

Original poster
thecatneuterer · 21/03/2015 19:52

sugarman Grin. I'd be worried that the pollen could be a danger even in compost. That's probably being over cautious though.

OP posts:
EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 21/03/2015 19:55

I would be pleased you had done it once you had explained about lily poisoning.

cozietoesie · 21/03/2015 19:56

For those who haven't encountered the issue.

lilies

Liara · 21/03/2015 20:10

I have literally thousand of lilies in my garden (they are naturalised and already were here when I bought this house) and apart from my two cats, there are at least 10 feral cats living in my garden.

Now I'm worried, but there is nothing I can do about it!

Original poster
thecatneuterer · 21/03/2015 20:15

Liara. If they're arum lilies then they're ok. If they're the oriental type then I'm amazed the cats are still alive. And have the feral cats been neutered by the way? Are you in the UK?

OP posts:
Liara · 21/03/2015 20:18

No, not in the UK. Not arum lilies (although millions of those too). Madonna lilies (lilium candidum). Also some day lilies, but not many.

No, the feral cats have not been neutered. I live in the middle of a forest that has lots and lots of them, they seem to have a fairly stable wild population, sometimes fed by random landholders. We don't feed the ones that call our garden their patch, but they seem to hang out here anyway, and don't mind the dogs one bit.

cozietoesie · 21/03/2015 20:21

Well you certainly can't decree the contents of other people's gardens and cats go where they will if there's any conceivable access.

The real problem with lilies is (as I understand it) the concentration of toxins and the fact that all parts of the plant are poisonous - so that, for example, if a cat brushes against a poisonous lily at the wrong time, gets sufficient pollen on its coat and then grooms it off ........

By and large, you can rely on cats to avoid poisonous plants - and there are a lot of them - because they're simply unappealing to eat in sufficient quantity to affect the animal. All of your cats are presumably just giving the lilies a wide berth which they would naturally do with any obstacle.

Just keep your fingers crossed - but I wouldn't plant any more.

cozietoesie · 21/03/2015 20:26

Yes - those two are both liliums. Your cats have been lucky.

ItMustBeBedtimeSurely · 21/03/2015 20:27

I'd be massively annoyed tbh. But then, I'm clearly an irresponsible cat owner because I've never avoided lilies in the house.

rockybalboa · 21/03/2015 20:27

I've had cats my entire life and never knew this!! Shock

PlentyOfPubeGardens · 21/03/2015 20:27

I would imagine four huge bouquets of lilies would have cost quite a lot, unless they were brought home from an event in which case they might still have had sentimental value.

I completely understand the need to keep them out of reach of cats but I would be more than a little pissed off if someone had just chucked my flowers in these circumstances (although I'd appreciate the explanation so I'd know for next time).

Could you not have shut them in a small room (flowers, not cats!) or put them very high up out of reach?

cozietoesie · 21/03/2015 20:31

rockybalboa

I've seen many more lilies in bouquets in recent years (probably a cost thing) and also simply more bouquets around. The knowledge probably wasn't around backaways.

CaTsMaMmA · 21/03/2015 20:32

I mix cats and lilies...love them both!

My first two cats just ignored them, the third one would occasionally brush past them, so I'd snip off any pollen stains from his fur, he is still with us. Cats four and five like to eat ALL the flowers so if I have any I tend to keep them in the front porch, bathroom, or on the mantle, all cat inaccessible areas.

kittyvet · 21/03/2015 20:35

Outside cats seem less prone to lily poisoning that indoor cats but no one knows why. One theory outdoor cats have plenty of other types of vegetation to chew on. All lilium family toxic though, even outside ones.
I think the OP did the right thing. Wouldn't want a cat to die on my watch!

kittyvet · 21/03/2015 20:39

Catamma just so we are clear even just a tiny bit of pollen or chewed bit of leaf will cause irreversible kidney damage and death within 4-7d to a cat that chews them! I wouldn't risk it with my cats.