12/04/2025
⚠️ Plants That Poison the Holidays: What Pet Owners Need to Know
Holiday decorations often include lilies, poinsettias, mistletoe, and holly. While all of these plants can cause illness in pets if eaten, one stands out as the most dangerous by far.
💮 Lilies and Cats 🐈⬛
Lilies in the true lily and daylily families are extremely dangerous for cats. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration every part of the plant is toxic. Even small exposures, such as licking pollen from their fur or drinking water from a vase containing lilies, can lead to fatal kidney failure in less than three days. The toxin affects only cats. Dogs may experience mild stomach upset but do not develop kidney failure.
🎄Poinsettias, Mistletoe, and Holly
These plants can cause mouth and stomach irritation, leading to salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, and sometimes lethargy. Symptoms are usually mild.
☑️ Poinsettias can cause GI irritation but are far less dangerous than their reputation suggests.
☑️ American mistletoe can cause vomiting and, in sensitive animals, lethargy.
☑️ Holly can lead to vomiting and diarrhea in pets that eat it.
If vomiting, diarrhea, or lethargy persist, contact your veterinarian or an animal poison control center.
If Your Cat Encounters Lilies
If you think your cat has eaten part of a lily, brushed against the pollen, or drunk vase water containing lilies, seek veterinary care immediately. This may be a medical emergency. Bring the plant or a photo to help your veterinarian identify the species and determine the level of risk.
The Willie M. Reed Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL), in collaboration with the Purdue University Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory (PPDL), can assist with identifying many types of plants, both wild and domestic.
☎️ You can reach the ADDL at 765-494-7440 or by email at [email protected]
and the PPDL at 765-494-7071 or by email at [email protected].
Purdue Agriculture Purdue Extension Purdue University Indiana State Board of Animal Health IVMA: Indiana Veterinary Medical Association American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)
