  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign  U of I logoCollege
of Veterinary Medicine  Back to search page.  Poisonous Plants
and Pets Don't Mix  Pet Column for the week of January 31, 1994
Office of Public Engagement 2001 S. Lincoln Ave. Urbana,
Illinois 61802 Phone: 217/333-2907 By Linda March Information
Specialist  House plants provide us with beauty and enjoyment,
but some can also cause major problems for your pets.  According
to Dr. William Buck, director of the National Animal Poison
Control Center (NAPCC) at the University of Illinois College of
Veterinary Medicine in Urbana, "a lot of ornamental plants have
irritating sap that will cause an animal to salivate or maybe
vomit and have diarrhea."  He says that plants like the hibiscus
and those in the Easter lily family, which are not toxic to
people, may be very harmful to pets. Two or three days after
cats have eaten a few leaves of a Tiger lily or Easter lily,
they will go into renal failure. After ingesting hibiscus, a dog
will vomit persistentl