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<p class=MsoNormal><span class=articleheadline1><b><font size=2 color="#003333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:normal'>I just came
across this story on a Scottish news website. Christine Gray <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=articleheadline1><b><font size=2 color="#003333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=articleheadline1><b><font size=2 color="#003333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-weight:normal'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span class=articleheadline1><b><font
size=4 color="#003333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:13.0pt'>Cat owners
warned of lily's fatal touch</span></font></b></span> <font size=1
color="#333333" face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:#333333'><br>
<br>
<span class=article1><i><font color="#333333" face=Verdana><span
style='font-style:italic'>JAMES REYNOLDS</span></font></i> </span><br>
<span class=article1><font color="#333333" face=Verdana>ENVIRONMENT
CORRESPONDENT </font></span></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>A
NATIONWIDE warning has been issued to pet owners about the dangers of lilies
after a bunch of flowers caused the horrific death of a family cat. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>The
13-year-old Siamese called Catalina died after brushing against the
pollen-laden stamens of oriental stargazer lilies and then cleaning itself. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>Within
minutes of licking the pollen from its fur, the cat began to vomit, and died
just a few hours later, after going blind, suffering renal failure and becoming
virtually paralysed. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>According
to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the
incidence of such cases is on the increase, and it is now lobbying florists
selling lily varieties to put warning labels on the packaging to alert cat
owners. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>A
spokesman for the organisation said: "All lilies are poisonous to cats,
with just one leaf eaten possibly leading to death. We will now be urging both
manufacturers and producers to issue warnings on their goods so that consumers
have an informed choice." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>The
RSPCA is also hoping to work with the Royal College of Veterinary
Surgeons’ poisons department to produce a factsheet on the issue. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>The
cat’s owner, Josh Hartnett, from Folkstone, said Catalina had
"suffered terribly", and said its death was "vile". "I
can’t believe something so simple as a flower can kill pets in such a
terrible, terrible way, and there is absolutely no way of knowing about it,"
he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>"We
have seen the flowers in many places, all with no warnings at all. In <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> I have
discovered that there is immense coverage on this subject, warning of the
dangers, but here there is nothing." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>The
RSPCA’s <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>
counterpart, the ASPCA, identifies the Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum), the
tiger lily (Lilium tigrinum), the rubrum lily (Lilium speciosum), the Japanese
show lily (Lilium lancifolium), and some species of the day lily (Hemerocallis)
as those most likely to cause kidney failure in felines. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>But
although the plant is potentially deadly to cats, it is not thought to affect
other pet species. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>Alex
Campbell, a toxicologist and managing director of the National Veterinary
Poisons Information Service, said: "No-one really knows what the toxic
mechanism of lilies is, but it is something in the plant that causes the
tubular cells in the kidneys to die. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>"It
appears that it is just cats that are susceptible. They have a slightly odd
metabolism compared to other animals - lacking certain enzymes - and this seems
to make them especially vulnerable." <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:9.0pt'><font size=1 color="#333333"
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:#333333'>He
added: "It may be useful to introduce a label warning of the effect these
flowers can have on cats, but it is important not to become alarmist and to use
common sense."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Georgia><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Georgia'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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