12 Flowers That Are Poisonous to Animals
Don't bring these blooms (including tulips!) into your home if you have pets.
You might know that some plants are toxic to pets, but what about flowers? Whether you're making an arrangement of freshly cut spring blooms or just received a birthday bouquet, if you have a pet at home, you'll want to double-check that certain flowers aren't in the mix. Believe it or not, if your dog or cat ingests even a small amount of a toxic flower, it can cause health issues ranging from GI upset to life-threatening organ failure.
You can try to keep toxic flowers and plants out of your pet’s reach—but that’s easier said than done with cats, who investigate everything and anything you bring into your home. If you know you have a little explorer, or if you have a new pet and aren’t sure about their habits, keep the most dangerous plants out of your home altogether. And keep a close eye on pets outdoors if you have any of these planted in your garden.
Now, you obviously can’t watch your furry friends 24/7. If you suspect your pet has nibbled on a toxic plant—even if you’re not entirely sure—call your vet ASAP. It’s always better to be safe rather than sorry. Just remember that any plant can cause diarrhea or vomiting if ingested in large enough quantities, so it's best to keep your pets from munching on flowers and flowering houseplants altogether.
Read on for the 12 flowers that are most toxic for animals (domesticated or wild!).
Lily
If you have cats, one plant you should never have in your house is lily, even in bouquets. Lilies can cause irreversible kidney failure. Even a few grains of pollen or drinking water from a vase that contains lilies can be fatal for your cat. Lilies are not toxic to dogs.
Tulip
The entire plant is problematic, but the highest concentration of toxins is in the tulip bulb. If ingested, tulips cause intense GI upset, drooling, loss of appetite, seizures, and cardiac abnormalities. Keep the bulbs away from pets when you’re planting your spring garden, and keep indoor potted tulips away from your pets.
Cyclamen
Cyclamen is a plant that you may receive as a gift around Christmas or Valentine’s Day. It’s also grown as ground cover outdoors in warm climates. However, cyclamen contains toxic terpenoid saponins, especially in the root of the plant. Ingesting it may cause excess salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, heart irregularities, and even death in cats and dogs.
Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe is another frequently gifted plant that contains toxins that produce serious GI distress, as well as abnormal heart rhythms in both dogs and cats.
Amaryllis
If your cat or dog ingests any of this beautiful plant or bulb, the toxins of the amaryllis can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and tremors.
Peace Lily
Peace lily is a popular low-maintenance houseplant with beautiful glossy leaves and white spoon-shaped flowers. But peace lily plants contain calcium oxalate crystals that cause oral irritation, drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, and irritation of the mouth, lips, and tongues of cats and dogs who ingest it.
Chrysanthemum
This seasonal favorite contains many different toxins, including pyrethrins, which can cause GI upset, drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea. If large enough quantities of mums are ingested, cats and dogs also may develop loss of coordination and depression.
Daffodil
This spring flowering bulb, also called narcissus, is in the same family as amaryllis. Daffodils can cause a long list of symptoms including vomiting, low blood pressure, convulsions, and cardiac issues. The bulbs are the most poisonous part.
Sweet Pea
Sweet peas may be lovely springtime flowers, but they can be deadly to cats and dogs if ingested. These flowers contain aminopropionitrile, which can cause weakness, lethargy, seizures, and death.
Oleander
Oleander is a popular landscape shrub in warm climates. However, its leaves and flowers contain toxic cardiac glycosides, which cause abdominal pain, drooling, depression, severe vomiting, and even death.
Hyacinth
Hyacinths are beautiful spring bloomers which are part of the lily family, so they contain alkaloids that cause intense vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and tremors if ingested by cats or dogs.
Autumn Crocus
This is usually a landscape plant, not a gifted plant. But if you do grow autumn crocus, make sure to keep pets away from the bulbs and the plant. Ingesting any part of this flower can result in oral irritation, bloody vomiting, shock, and multi-organ damage in both cats and dogs.
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