Chinese New Year is coming! It is time for us to decorate our houses with flowers of bright colors and sweet aromas, creating a festive atmosphere and bringing us good fortune. However, as a cat owner, have you thought that some flowers are poisonous to your cat? You need to prevent them from approaching the following 4 Chinese New Year lucky flowers:
1. Lucky Bamboo: It is also known as the wealth bamboo. This plant is widely used in Chinese New Year celebrations. It is a strong Chinese belief that this plant is a symbol of great auspiciousness and wealth. Dracaena sanderiana or Lucky Bamboo is a native plant of Central Africa and is highly toxic to cats. Although it is not toxic to human, it may cause serious complications if ingested by cats. Dilation of the pupils, increased heart rate, and drooling are the first observed signs of toxicity. Other signs might include loss of appetite, abdominal pain, and depression.
2. Jade Plant: It is often a decorative house plant and is also used extensively in the Chinese New Year celebrations. This plant has beautiful small pink and white flowers and is native to Mozambique and South Africa. Even a minute quantity of any part of this plant can be severely harmful to the health of your cat. The toxin can even be transferred to cats by chewing the plant leaves. If your cat has eaten this plant, it will show signs of toxicity such as impaired movement and loss of muscle function. Take your cat to the emergency vet immediately in case the cat experiences similar signs and keep this plant out of reach of your furball.
3. Lily flower: It is an important part of many of the world’s cultures and it is used in great amounts for the Chinese New Year celebrations. Although the exact mechanism is still not fully understood, the family of Lilies are very well known to be nephrotoxic to domestic cats (Funny enough, domestic cats are the only animal species known to date to be susceptible to Lily nephrotoxicity). Both the leaves and flowers are very toxic to cats and can cause severe signs. Some of the main signs include excessive urination, drooling, vomiting, loss of appetite and weakness. These signs begin to show in the first 24 hours of ingestion and immediate emergency veterinary care must be sought if you suspect your cat might have ingested Lilies.
4. Anthurium: Anthurium or Laceleaf/Flamingo plant is another plant that is used for the festival in quite large numbers. It is a common household flowering plant that is best known for its air-purifying qualities. However, it is not safe for cats at all. This plant has calcium oxalate crystals in its leaves that are released when the cat bites the leaf. These sharp crystals penetrate the oral mucosa causing severe irritation. Severe oral swelling leads to drooling, vomiting, problems with eating and breathing difficulties. Take your cat to the vet immediately in such a case and keep these plants out of reach from your cat.
While the Chinese New Year lucky flowers and plants are a wonderful part of our Chinese New Year celebration, they are no friend of your cats. Select your decorative plants carefully, you need to take proper care of and pay extra attention to your cats if you plan to decorate your home with these plants. Make sure that they are out of reach of your cat so you can enjoy calmly without unwanted accidents.
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