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True lily and daylily: toxicity, first aid and care

True lily and daylily (Lilium spp., Hemerocallis spp.): severe for cats, irritant for dogs, irritant for small children. The toxic principle, the signs, what to do, and how to grow it.

Cats: SevereDogs: IrritantChildren: IrritantEmergency risk

Also sold as: Easter lily, tiger lily, stargazer, Asiatic and Oriental lily, day lily.

This is a reference table, not a diagnosis and not veterinary or medical advice. It cannot tell you how much of a plant matters for a particular child or a particular animal — that depends on body weight, on the part eaten and on how long ago. If a person or an animal has eaten part of a plant, phone the poison information centre or a clinician; do not wait for symptoms, and do not make anyone vomit unless you are told to.

What is in it

Toxic principle: Unidentified nephrotoxin (cats only) — Alkaloids and other systemic poisons.

Nobody has yet isolated the compound, which is unusual for a poison this well characterised clinically. What is established is the effect: in cats, and so far only in cats, material from a true lily or a daylily destroys the cells lining the kidney tubules. Every part counts — petal, leaf, stem, pollen and the vase water the cut stems stood in.

What it looks like when it goes wrong

Vomiting and drooling in the first two to six hours, then a deceptive recovery where the cat looks fine again. Between roughly 24 and 72 hours the kidneys fail: the cat stops producing urine or produces far too much, refuses food and water, and goes profoundly flat. By the time those late signs are visible the damage is usually done.

What to do

This is the plant on this page where minutes genuinely matter. Phone a veterinary clinic straight away, say the word "lily", and go — do not wait to see whether the cat becomes unwell. Decontamination and intravenous fluid therapy started in the first hours is what separates a full recovery from kidney failure. A cat that merely brushed past pollen and groomed it off has taken a dose.

Anywhere in the European Union, 112 reaches emergency services and can put you through. Lithuania's poison information bureau (Apsinuodijimų kontrolės ir informacijos biuras) publishes its own round-the-clock line; if you do not have it to hand, use 112. For an animal, your own veterinary clinic or its out-of-hours service is the first call — human poison centres do not advise on animals in every country.

How to grow it

Garden lilies are among the easiest bulbs in a cold climate: plant them three times their own depth in autumn in soil that drains, and leave them alone. The regional pest is the scarlet lily beetle, which is conspicuous and best picked off by hand. Cut flowers last longer if you snap out the anthers — which also removes most of the pollen risk, though not the risk from the petals themselves.

What it gets confused with

The single most useful thing to know here is which plants are not lilies. Peace lily (Spathiphyllum), calla lily (Zantedeschia) and lily of the valley (Convallaria) are not Lilium: they have their own, different and generally lesser problems, and they do not cause this kidney injury. The trap runs the other way too — daylilies are not in the lily family at all, and they do cause it.

A plant that is not on the toxic lists

If you are deciding what to keep in a home with a cat, a dog or a small child, this one fills a similar role and is not flagged by the veterinary services.

Others that work the same way

Alkaloids and other systemic poisons — these behave alike, and what you would do about them is alike too.

Source: International Cat Care — plants poisonous to cats · checked 2026-09-06

Care guidance is standard horticultural practice for a cool-temperate northern climate. Poison-centre numbers are listed on the hub page and are worth confirming against your own country's health service.

Frequently asked questions

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