Mary Allen
Finally, the first little flowers stretch their heads into the spring air. Wonderful, but these 5 flowers can be dangerous for your cat.
In many places, snowdrops and crocuses herald spring. While the early bloomers are beautiful to look at, many of them are poisonous to cats. You should be particularly careful with these 5 flowers!
Snowdrop
Early in the year, you can see them peeping through the thawed snow: small, delicate white snowdrops bloom in gardens and forests.
What you can’t see are the toxins they contain, which the flower wants to use to protect itself from predators: gazetted, galanthamine, and lycorine can cause diarrhea in cats and cause the cat to vomit. When ingesting larger amounts, drowsiness and circulatory problems can also occur.
Young cats in particular can sometimes not correctly assess the danger and nibble on the leaves in their curiosity. So better keep an eye on the little bullies!
Hyacinth
The sweet-smelling hyacinth also gets us in the spring mood and therefore often ends up on the balcony or window sill.
For the sake of our cats, however, it should be kept out of the reach of house tigers, because it is full of toxins from the bulb to the flowers. Salicylic acid, calcium oxalate, and saponin irritate the mucous membranes in the mouth and throat of kitties and lead to nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea.
If your cat has gotten some of the hyacinths between its teeth, give it plenty of water and, to be on the safe side, consult a veterinarian.
Tulips
Tulips grow on the balcony and in the garden from March to April. You can get them as cut flowers from flower shops or supermarkets even earlier.
The bright splashes of color spice up every apartment. However, they contain tulip side tulips, which cause gastrointestinal irritation in cats and cause abdominal cramps.
Falling petals can be misinterpreted as an interesting toy and pose a danger to your loved one.
Find a safe place for the bouquet or choose flowers that are less dangerous for your house cat, such as roses.
Daffodils
The closer Easter gets, the more often the yellow daffodil can be seen everywhere. There are daffodils as garden plants or as cut flowers, but they are anything but a nice Easter surprise for kitties.
Similar to snowdrops, the flowers contain lycorine and galanthamine, as well as calcium oxalates. The toxins trigger cramps, cardiac arrhythmia, and colic in cats.
Flower bulbs in particular contain many toxins, but the water from cut flowers must also be kept away from cats.
Lily of the valley
In the spring, the lily of the valley also blooms in the forest and garden, is tied into bouquets, and offered for sale everywhere. For your cat, the flower is a danger.
Glycosides are found in the berries of the white, bell-shaped flowers in particular, but also in the rest of the plant. If your kitty eats something from the flower, this can result in vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness.
Circulatory problems, cardiac arrhythmias, and, in the worst case, cardiac arrest can also occur. If you observe any of these symptoms in your darling, consult a veterinarian immediately.
In the spring, young cats should only be allowed outside under supervision. Older cats usually know which flowers to avoid.
Nevertheless, you should observe outdoor cats when they are back home in order to recognize the symptoms mentioned and to be able to react quickly if necessary. If the kitties show a desire for something green, cat grass is the right thing for your darling. Offer it so that your little darling can nibble happily on it and no longer needs any more “green stuff”.