PLAINS TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A veterinarian in Luzerne County has a strong warning for cat owners this Easter.
If you're planning to buy Easter flowers, you should avoid one particular plant.
As the Easter weekend is upon us, not even the heavy rain could keep people from picking up flowers at this flower tent in Edwardsville.
But if you happen to own a cat, there's one plant in particular veterinarians want you to stay far away from.
Dr. Jess Nord at the Northeast Veterinary Referral Hospital near Wilkes-Barre says Easter lilies are extremely toxic to felines and can cause serious medical complications.
“It causes kidney failure and more often than not in these cats, they can have pretty severe kidney failure which can lead to death,” said Dr. Nord.
Dr. Nord is sending that warning to cat owners after a cat was brought in after it ate an Easter lily.
The cat is on the mend but will most likely spend Easter weekend in the hospital.
Still, Dr. Nord says it's good the owner brought the cat in immediately.
“As kidney's fail, they can start getting ulcers in their GI tract, they can get calcification of their organs,” said Dr. Nord. “And at end-stage processes, we might not see them urinate for 8, 12, 24 hours and that point that's life-threatening and we know there's not anything we can do.”
Dr. Nord says one of the alarming things is your cat doesn't even need to eat an Easter lily to get sick.
“The pollen itself can be toxic, I've seen pets pass away from just getting pollen on their face and ingesting that,” said Dr. Nord.
One shopper at the flower tent says her fiance's mother has cats.
“We try to stay away from the Easter lilies and try to get her something simple so we know the cats won't get ahold of it,” said Emily Wolfe of Kingston.
Other cat owners didn't know and were glad to be informed.
“I love my cat, it's like my baby, it’s like my third baby so I wouldn't want anything to happen to it so now I know, its good,” said Antionette Ninnons from Edwardsville.
If you have concerns over what may be harmful to your pet, consult your vet.