Ficus benjamina + kidney failure

[Kirsten]

I was wondering - since I have a few - if they are really toxic to cats or not.

I did a lot of online research in this matter, but did not get any satisfying results. Some said they are toxic and can cause kidney failure in cats, others say there are no documented cases about cats being poisoned with that plants so they aren't classified as toxic.

I was wondering how others are thinking about that.

I used to spray mine with Bitter Apple spray to be on the safe side, but this morning, I saw Lily playing with one of the leaves.

Now I have noticed that she obviously hasn't peed today (at least the litterboxes are empty, except for one pee from Luna - hers have a bigger size), so I'm a bit worried because usually she pees a lot. She's not showing any signs of illness, she's playful as usual and is greedy for food. Maybe she just wasn't drinking much...

Kirsten

[ScantyNebula]

I don't know much about it but I found a couple links :

http://www.dysartdays.com/animalhouse/poisons.htm#FiddleLeaf

http://www.littleyorkplantation.com/catpoison.htm

http://www.geocities.com/taliskercats/plants.html

http://www.hswv.com/tips/poison-plants.html

From the looks of the last link, It seems like you should get rid of the weeping fig =/

[ScantyNebula]

More:


QUESTION:
Are liriope, bottlebrush and ficus benjamina considered toxic to animals?
Also what on the list of impations thats toxic is the one that most
people plant in their baskets and flower gardens? I'd like the scientific name.

ANSWER:
liriope

The bulb from Crinum species contain some toxic alkaloids at low levels, but the
worst symptoms I know of involve nausea and severe vomiting and diarrhea.

bottlebrush

I don't know of any toxic effects of bottlebrush. As a kid, I noticed that the
blossoms always, always seemed to have a lot of bees buzzing around them, and I
guess being stung by a bee is a pretty toxic experience!

ficus benjamina

Like many other members of the fig family, the sap of weeping fig can cause some
nasty itchy reactions to the skin. And many people are allergic to the dust that
rises from the leaves during cleaning.

Impatiens species

I imagine that a steady diet of Impatiens would cause problems due to the high
oxylate content, and you would think one would get the swollen mouth symptoms
since it contains raphide needles, but I can find no cases in the literature of
poisoning.

[ScantyNebula]

http://www.calpoison.org/public/plants.html

[Kirsten]

Thanks for the links!

I find it a bit confusing that the info varies on the different pages. It's the same on the German websites about toxic plants. Even my vet couldn't tell me much about it.

For example I have banned ferns and many of my palm trees and yuccas a long time ago because I have read they are toxic, later I saw lists of non-toxic plants and they were on it - strange! :(

Kirsten

[ScantyNebula]

I know .. but most the links I found did list it as a "do not own around cats" plant .. better safe than sorry I guess :cool:

[Kirsten]

Yes, you're right, especially with these curious kittens around!

BTW, I think the most dangerous plants to cats are lilies... ;)

Kirsten

[ScantyNebula]

I know! I saw that during my research! How Ironic! :D
]]]]]]---- sorry Lily stepped on the keyboard again. ;)

[Kirsten]

]]]]]]

LOL, would like to know what her comment means! :D

Kirsten

[Cataholic]

If your "Lilys" are toxic, please ship them all to me!!:D

[Kirsten]

Ha ha ha! :D

Yeah, I have a little "tiger lily" here, but she's not for sale! :D

Kirsten