I hate to do this, but... [Attention Whoring] Our cat died, and it was my fault

[Joe Republic]

I hate attention whoring, but I really have to get this off my chest.

Last week I bought some flowers for my wife, to welcome her home after a brief trip to Texas.  Among them was a white lily.  As with any flowers I bring her, she placed the vase high up on the mantel where our four-year-old cat Twiggy can't get to them.

After a couple days, the lily wilted, and the petals fell off onto the floor.  Twiggy got at them.

On Thursday night she stopped eating and drinking, and Friday she started vomiting the entire day.  By Saturday we took her to the vet, who told us that lilies are toxic to cats, and gave her some meds to hopefully flush it all out.

Today there was little improvement (although the vomiting stopped), so we took her back for more tests, and discovered that she had suffered permanent kidney damage.  Later in the day she suffered a seizure, indicating the toxins had passed into her brain.  Knowing there was little hope left, we made the decision to end things.  We're both just miserable right now.

I'm not really asking for sympathy, but I just wanted to warn you guys if you didn't already know, please keep your cats far away from lilies.  I had no idea, which is why I feel just utterly terrible.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Thanks for the warning.  I didn't know that.  And you have my sympathy anyway. 

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

so sorry to hear this Joe

Cats are such sensitive creatures, it can be hard to keep track of everything harmful.   Just remember you gave Twiggy a good life while she was here.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

My sympathies I know how much that hurts.

But Lilies are toxic to cats?! Crap... I have them in the apartment all the time.

[tik 🪀✨]

Oh that is so awful, I really feel for you. Losing a pet stings in a unique way, I hope you two feel better soon.

[/]

I'm very sorry to hear about this and send my sincere condolences.

R I P Twiggy

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

I'm very sorry to hear about your cat, Joe. I love cats (pretty much can't live without them around) so I know exactly how you feel. Losing a beloved pet is no less painful than losing a family member. I mean, they are family members.

I know it's not much of a consolation at this moment, but you couldn't possibly know lilies are toxic to cats. This is the first time I hear this myself.

[afleitch]

Joe, as a cat lover, you have my absolute sympathy. My family believe something similar happened to our cat years ago, though we only connected the dots after we had to put her down.

I hope you and your wife still have space for a furry ball of crazy in your life.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Ugh.  I'm very sorry to hear this, Joe.  As a fellow pet lover these times are just brutal.  Go easy on yourself.

Grumps.

[TDAS04]

I'm very sorry to hear that.  I have to be careful with my cat, because he probably would eat that stuff.

[dead0man]

ugggg, that sucks.  Sorry.

[Torie]

My condolences. I empathize with you. I killed my cat by closing the automatic garage door on her. The neighbor found her body the next morning. The cat's feline friend, who came to visit her every day in my living room coming through the cat door (they would spend hours together), spent about 40 hours sitting alone on my roof, and then I never saw that cat again. I felt like sh*t.

[SATW]

I'm sorry to hear that, that's horrible

[Hatman 🍁]

I had no idea either. Good to know, as I have two cats. But I rarely buy flowers for my s.o.

[IceSpear]

Damn, that sucks. I'm sorry.

[Badger]

The fact you are obviously so cut up about this, Joe,just shows what we all already know: you're a good guy.

[Ebowed]

That's awful, Joe.  I'm really sorry to hear that.

[King]

That's rough, man. RIP

[Mr. Illini]

I'm sorry to hear about this.

I have had a pet cat for many years and let me tell you - if I were in your spot, the same thing would have happened. I know that poinsettias are poisonous to cats and have kept my cat away from them if they're ever present, but I have never heard of lilies being poisonous.

I will make sure my cat is not in the presence of them in the future now that I know.

I'm sorry again, and maybe you will find some comfort in a fairly unknown quote that I took down many years ago after reading it.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Joe Republic]

Thanks, you guys.  Your kind words mean a lot, and I'm glad I was able to warn a few other cat owners as well.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

My family has two cats, who are allowed outside with supervision, and there are lilies in the garden. Now I'm thinking we should probably dig them up. Thank you for warning us, and I'm sorry for your loss.

[Eraserhead]

That's awful. Sorry to hear it. Ugh.