My cat ate a true lily—what should I do?

Updated 2026-09-30 · 6 sources

Based on: US FDA – Center for Veterinary Medicine, Giftinformationscentralen (Swedish Poison Information Centre), Animal PoisonLine (UK, VPIS)

Call a vet now

Call your vet or the nearest emergency vet right now. Even a small amount can cause fatal kidney failure in less than 3 days.

What to do now

What to do right now

Call your vet or the nearest emergency vet right now.
Note what was eaten, how much, and when.
Bring the packaging.
Keep your cat calm and remove what is left.

Don't

Do not make your cat vomit unless a vet tells you to.
Do not give any human medicine.

Why it can be dangerous

True lilies, including Lilium and Hemerocallis, are known to cause acute kidney injury in cats.^[5] Even less than one leaf, part of a flower, or pollen groomed from the fur can potentially cause severe poisoning in a cat.^[3] If treatment is delayed by 18 hours or more after ingestion, kidney failure will generally be irreversible.^[1]

Signs to watch for

Vomiting
Abdominal pain
Dehydration
Kidney failure

Initial signs usually start within 1 to 6 hours of ingestion, and fatal kidney failure can develop in less than 3 days.

Where it is found

Leaves
Stems
Flowers
Pollen
Vase water
Rhizomes (roots)

What the experts say

“Eating just a small amount of a leaf or flower petal, licking a few pollen grains off its fur while grooming, or drinking the water from the vase can cause your cat to develop fatal kidney failure in less than 3 days.”
— US FDA – Center for Veterinary Medicine [1]

“Ingestion of even a small quantity (e.g. less than one leaf or part of a fl ower), as well as grooming pollen from the fur, is enough to potentially cause severe poisoning in a cat.”
— Animal PoisonLine (UK, VPIS) [3]

If your pet is struggling to breathe, has collapsed, is having a seizure or can't stand up: go to the nearest vet now.

Not sure how serious it is?

OkPaw asks a few quick questions about your pet and tells you in 30 seconds whether it can wait. Free on Google Play for Android.

OkPaw is on Android now – an iPhone version is on its way.

Common questions

How much can be dangerous?

Any amount of leaf, stem, flower, pollen, vase water or rhizome can be toxic for cats.^[4]

What signs should I watch for?

Signs include vomiting, abdominal pain, dehydration and kidney failure.^[4]

How soon can signs start?

Initial signs usually start within 1 to 6 hours of ingestion, and fatal kidney failure can develop in less than 3 days.^[1]^[3]

Sources

How this page was made: written with the help of AI from the sources below, then checked claim by claim against those sources. Urgency levels follow OkPaw’s fixed safety rules. It is guidance, not a diagnosis. How we write our pages