Lilies in the “true lily” and “daylily” families are very dangerous for cats. The entire lily plant is toxic: the stem, leaves, flowers, pollen, and even the water in a vase. 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. The toxin, which only affects cats, has not been identified. Dogs that eat lilies may have minor stomach upset but they don’t develop kidney failure.

Lily is a common name given to flowering plants belonging to the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae. Lilies grow in Europe, North America, and Asia that have more than 100 species and many cultivated varieties. These are wonderful, long-lasting cut flowers that come in a variety of shades- white, pink, red, orange, and yellow.

In Greek mythology, the Lily was the flower of Hera, wife of Zeus. The legends have it that the lily was formed from the milk of her breast. However, in Roman mythology, Venus, the Goddess of beauty was so jealous of the flower’s white loveliness that she caused the pistil to grow from its center. The lily flower was considered sacred in the Minoan civilization where lilies were found in pictures in a villa in Crete.

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