October is when the patio plants move inside ahead of the first frost, and a cat who ignored them all summer suddenly has them at chest height on a windowsill. Most houseplants cause nothing worse than a sore mouth. The few that cause kidney or liver injury are true lilies, sago palm, autumn crocus, and cyclamen and amaryllis bulbs.
Why the risk changes this month, not in spring
Nothing about these plants is new. What changes in October around South Surrey is access. The hanging baskets come off the deck, the big pots get dragged into a bright corner, the tender things get rescued from the first cold night, and the garden centres fill up with indoor plants and forcing bulbs at the same moment.
So a household that had six plants in July has fifteen by the end of the month, and all of them are now indoors with the animals, in the warm, in reach. Cats are the group most affected, because a cat will investigate a new leaf at head height simply because it moved. Dogs are less interested in foliage and far more interested in the pot, the soil and the bulb buried in it.
One more October-specific detail: the heating comes on, the air dries out, and people water more and mist more. Fertilizer spikes and liquid feed go into the pots, and a dog who digs will find them.
The ones that genuinely matter
True lilies, for cats
This is the one to get right. Lilium and Hemerocallis species, which covers Easter lilies, tiger lilies, Asiatic and Oriental lilies and day lilies, can cause severe kidney injury in cats. Every part is a problem, including the pollen that lands on the fur and gets groomed off, and the water in the vase. If there is pollen on the coat, stop the cat grooming and wipe or wash it off on your way out the door, because it stays a hazard until it is off the fur. A cat who chews a single leaf is a same-day emergency, not a watch-at-home.
If someone sends a bouquet this autumn, take the lilies out before it goes on a table, and put them in the garbage rather than the compost. Peace lilies and calla lilies, despite the name, are a different family and a much lower risk; they cause mouth irritation rather than kidney failure.
Sago palm
A cycad rather than a true palm, despite the name, and often sold as a bonsai specimen, and the most dangerous plant most people will ever have in a living room. All of it is harmful and the seeds are the worst part, with liver injury the main concern. Dogs chew the trunk and the seeds. If you own one and you own a dog, the honest advice is to get rid of the plant, to a household with no pets or to the green waste rather than to a friend with a dog. A dog who has chewed any part of a sago palm needs to come in immediately, and needs follow-up blood work over the next two to three days, because the vomiting often settles before the liver problem shows up.
Autumn crocus
Worth separating from the ordinary spring crocus, which is a mild stomach upset. Colchicum, the autumn-flowering one, is severe, affects the gut and the bone marrow, and signs can be delayed by a day or more. If you have planted or been given autumn crocus corms, keep the bag out of reach entirely. A pet who has eaten any part of an autumn crocus needs to be seen the same day even if it looks completely well, because looking fine for the first day tells you nothing.
Cyclamen and amaryllis
Both arrive in South Surrey shops in October and both concentrate their trouble in the tuber or bulb. The leaves and flowers cause drooling and vomiting; a dog who digs up and eats the bulb is a bigger problem, including effects on the heart rhythm with cyclamen. An unsealed bag of bulbs on a garage shelf is the easiest version of this to overlook. If a bulb has been dug up and chewed, phone us straight away and bring the bag or the label.
Dieffenbachia, philodendron, pothos, monstera, ZZ plant and peace lily
These are among the most common houseplants in Canadian homes, and they all contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. The result is immediate: burning, drooling, pawing at the mouth, a swollen tongue, sometimes a reluctance to swallow. It is genuinely painful and it looks alarming, but it is rarely dangerous, and the pain itself usually stops the animal eating much. Rinse the mouth with cool water if your pet allows it, offer something cold to lick, and phone us. Swelling that affects breathing is the exception that needs to come in immediately.
Dracaena, snake plant, jade and aloe
Lower-grade problems, usually a day of vomiting and a flat animal. Aloe gel is harmless but the leaf lining is not. Worth keeping off the floor. If your pet is vomiting repeatedly, will not drink, or is still flat the next morning, phone us rather than waiting it out.
Poinsettia, and other things that are less dangerous than their reputation
Poinsettia has a reputation it does not deserve. The milky sap is an irritant, so a pet who chews a leaf may drool and vomit, and that is usually the whole story. Christmas cactus is similarly mild. Spider plants are safe, and mildly interesting to cats for reasons nobody has ever fully explained.
Mentioning this is not an invitation to relax. It matters because owners who believe poinsettia is deadly sometimes assume the plant they actually need to worry about, the sago palm or the lily, must be equally famous. The dangerous ones are mostly the ones nobody warns you about.
Cats, dogs and the two different problems
Cats eat leaves and flowers, and they eat them at height, which is why putting a plant on a shelf solves nothing. A cat who is chewing houseplants with real determination is sometimes bored, sometimes short of something to chew, and occasionally unwell, so a cat who has suddenly started is worth a conversation.
Dogs mostly eat the pot. Soil, bark mulch, hydro-gel beads, slow-release fertilizer pellets, the bulb buried in the pot, and the little plastic plant label. Potting soil can contain fertilizer and sometimes insecticide, so a dog who has dug out a pot is worth a phone call even if the plant itself is harmless.
Our guide on toxic spring plants and cats in South Surrey covers the bulbs and flowering shrubs of the spring garden, from daffodils and tulips to hyacinths and azaleas.
If your pet has already eaten some
This is the part that matters more than the plant list, because the list only helps the people who read it in advance.
- Phone us and describe the plant. A photograph of the whole plant, the leaf and the label beats a name every time. Plant names on shop labels are often wrong and common names overlap badly.
- Keep what is left. Bag a sample of the chewed leaf or bulb and bring it in.
- Note the time, and roughly how much. A nibbled corner and a stripped stem are different situations.
- Leave any vomiting to us. Not with salt, not with peroxide. With an irritant plant it makes the mouth and throat worse on the way back up.
- Rinse the mouth gently with cool water if the plant is one of the irritant group and your pet is willing. Do not force water into the mouth.
- Nothing from the bathroom cabinet, and nothing from a human first aid kit, whether or not it was left over from another animal.
- Come in with the pet as well as the leaf. With lilies in cats and sago palm in dogs, the window where help is most straightforward is the first few hours.
Bring them to our urgent care. If the species or the quantity gives us pause, our pet diagnostics team can check kidney and liver values and repeat them over the following days, which is the only way to know whether a cat who looks fine after a lily actually is. Our medical services team handles the follow-up.
Monday to Saturday we are open 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and on Sundays and statutory holidays 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. We are closed on Sundays and statutory holidays until ten, so if a cat has been near a lily at eight on a Sunday, do not wait for us: go to the nearest open emergency hospital and phone them while you travel.
Setting the room up so none of this comes up
- Do the audit once, now, while the plants are moving. Walk around with your phone, photograph anything you cannot name, and look it up. Twenty minutes, once a year.
- Rehome the two headline plants. If you have a cat, no true lilies in the house at all. If you have a dog, no sago palm.
- Height is not a barrier for a cat. A closed room is. Shelves, macrame hangers and mantelpieces are all cat furniture.
- Cover the soil. A layer of large pebbles or a mesh disc stops digging, stops a cat using the pot as a litter box, and hides the fertilizer pellets.
- Store bulbs and feed like chemicals. Sealed, high, out of the garage floor rotation.
- Give cats something legitimate to chew. A tray of cat grass or oat grass genuinely reduces interest in the other plants.
- Check the bouquet, every time. Flowers arriving as a gift are an easy one to miss, because nobody in the house chose the plant.
- Mention it at the next visit. A wellness program appointment is a good moment to ask about anything you are unsure of, and to flag a cat who has started chewing.
Frequently asked questions
My cat chewed a leaf off a lily. How urgent is this really?
Handle it as an emergency and phone us straight away. For true lilies in cats, a small amount of leaf, flower or even pollen groomed off the coat can cause kidney injury, and the outcome depends heavily on how quickly care starts. This is the one plant where we would rather see a cat who turns out to be fine than wait for signs.
My dog ate a pothos leaf and is drooling and pawing at his mouth. What do I do?
Phone us, and in the meantime rinse the mouth with cool water if he will let you and offer something cold to lick. The crystals in pothos cause immediate burning rather than lasting harm, so this usually settles, but tell us if the tongue or lips look swollen, if he is struggling to swallow, or if his breathing changes, because those need to be seen now.
Is poinsettia actually dangerous?
Much less than its reputation suggests. The sap irritates the mouth and stomach, so expect drooling and perhaps vomiting from a pet who chews a leaf. It is not in the same category as a lily or a sago palm. Keep it out of reach, but do not throw it out in a panic.
How do I know what my plant is? The label fell off years ago.
Photograph the whole plant plus a single leaf and send it with your enquiry, or bring the photo to an appointment. Common names are unreliable and several very different plants share one. We would rather work from a picture than a guess at a name.
My cat uses a plant pot as a litter box. Is that a problem beyond the mess?
It can be. The soil may contain fertilizer or insecticide, and a cat who starts using pots when they previously used the litter box may be telling you something about the box, the household or how they are feeling. Cover the soil with pebbles, and if the habit is new, mention it to us.
Are there houseplants I can keep with a cat and a dog?
Plenty. Spider plant, Boston fern, areca and parlour palms, calathea, peperomia, African violet, cast iron plant and most true ferns are all reasonable choices, along with a tray of cat grass to redirect the chewing. No plant is worth a vet visit, so when in doubt, choose a different one.
What about the fertilizer spikes I push into the pots?
Keep the box sealed and out of reach, and use spikes only in pots your dog cannot reach, or cover the soil with pebbles or a mesh disc so the spike cannot be dug out. Concentrated feed is more of a problem than most of the plants it feeds, and a dog who has eaten several is worth a phone call with the packet in hand.
Speak to the team at Campbell Heights Animal Hospital
If your cat or dog has chewed a houseplant, phone us with a photograph of the plant. For a cat and a true lily, or a dog and a sago palm, set off for us while you call rather than waiting for an answer first. If we are closed, go to the nearest open emergency hospital and call them on the way.
Published by the team at Campbell Heights Animal Hospital.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for an in-person veterinary examination or advice about your individual pet. If you have an urgent concern about your pet, contact Campbell Heights Animal Hospital or your nearest emergency veterinary hospital right away.
Campbell Heights Animal Hospital
102-2755 192 St, Surrey, BC V3S 3X1
Phone: (236) 500-9000
Email: reception@campbellvets.com
Hours: Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Sunday and statutory holidays 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM