Sorry if this is overly long but I just need to get it all down...
About a year ago my girlfriend and I adopted a kitten from a friend. What a strange cat he was. Tigger seemed an appropriate name as he was definatly bouncy and kind of looked like Tigger. Over the passing year this cat got more and more unusual making him more and more special to us. He always seemed to look like he was upset or disturbed. He loved to be around you at all times but not always within reach. But when he wanted affection he'd climb all over you and kneed you with his claws. He didn't like not knowing where you were at anytime so I used to play hide and seek with him. I'd run and hide somewhere in the house and he would start looking for me. When he couldn't find me quickly he would start crying. I'd make a noise now and then to keep him on track. When he'd finally spot me he'd let out a meow and a purr at the same time and come running over.
Tigger also liked to eat anything and everything. Every cat likes meat and fish, tigger also liked bread, vegtables, pickels, mustard, pretzels, limes, or anything else he could get his paws on. I remember a time when I stepped out of the room with 2 plates on the table, one with steak and the other with broccoli. Tigger walked past the steak and ate the broccoli. Though his favorite snack was houseflies. If you opened the back door and one was trapped in the screen he would bolt from anywhere in the house and snatch it right outta the air and eat it. We also taught him to say please when asked but not to beg for food. It was very cute with his little chirp purr.
Tigger also liked to walk on his leash. We actually took him for walks around the block on numerous occasions. The only problem was dogs. He had a bad experience in a pet store as a kitten when a big dog popped around a corner and barked right at him and after that he just froze when he could see a dog barking at him. Other than that he would just walk along the sidewalk like any dog would. He even manged to teach our other cat how to do it.
Well his love for eating everything finally got him in trouble. I just had to put Tigger down due to complete renal failure from ingesting an Asian Lilly flower. The plant is in the front yard and looks beautiful. My cats were never allowed to wander freely and we never let them near plants we aren't sure about.
5 days ago my girlfriend picked one of the lillies for her hair and that evening left it on the table. I never noticed it there and it got forgotten. Lucky enough the cats didn't find it that night but the next day while my girlfriend was watching TV, my 1 year old Tigger found the flower and decided to snack on it. I was at work at the time and she didn't notice until after the fact. She never considered the fact that it could be toxic.
That night when I got home from work I noticed that there was still some food left in the bowls. This is highly unusual for my cats but I didn't think much of it. The next day there was some vomit on the floor but one of our cats loves to eat grass and then throw up in the house so again I didn't clue in. When I got home that night, Tigger seemed to be okay but there was food left over again. He didn't seem ill but he wasn't his normal cheery self. Neither of us clued in yet again. The next night when I got home from work he was vomiting a clear fluid. I started to worry but it was 1AM in the morning so we did nothing. I couldn't sleep that night at all so in the morning we took him to the vet. That's when we recalled he had eaten the lilly flower.
The vet run some tests to see how things were but it was far too late. It had already been 60 hours since he had eaten the lilly and was in complete kidney failure. There was little to no chance of a recovery this late in his condition so we had to put him down. He was a 1 year old energetic and hilarious cat with a personality mike between cat, dog, and human. He will be dearly missed and will serve as a cold reminder how fleeting life can be.
So if you have a cat that like to eat things like mine, always keep an eye on what they eat and if they even lick a plant you aren't sure about, check it out immediatly. Treatment within 6 hours of ingesting a lilly has a good chance of saving your cat but after that the chances for recovery are heartbreaking.
About a year ago my girlfriend and I adopted a kitten from a friend. What a strange cat he was. Tigger seemed an appropriate name as he was definatly bouncy and kind of looked like Tigger. Over the passing year this cat got more and more unusual making him more and more special to us. He always seemed to look like he was upset or disturbed. He loved to be around you at all times but not always within reach. But when he wanted affection he'd climb all over you and kneed you with his claws. He didn't like not knowing where you were at anytime so I used to play hide and seek with him. I'd run and hide somewhere in the house and he would start looking for me. When he couldn't find me quickly he would start crying. I'd make a noise now and then to keep him on track. When he'd finally spot me he'd let out a meow and a purr at the same time and come running over.
Tigger also liked to eat anything and everything. Every cat likes meat and fish, tigger also liked bread, vegtables, pickels, mustard, pretzels, limes, or anything else he could get his paws on. I remember a time when I stepped out of the room with 2 plates on the table, one with steak and the other with broccoli. Tigger walked past the steak and ate the broccoli. Though his favorite snack was houseflies. If you opened the back door and one was trapped in the screen he would bolt from anywhere in the house and snatch it right outta the air and eat it. We also taught him to say please when asked but not to beg for food. It was very cute with his little chirp purr.
Tigger also liked to walk on his leash. We actually took him for walks around the block on numerous occasions. The only problem was dogs. He had a bad experience in a pet store as a kitten when a big dog popped around a corner and barked right at him and after that he just froze when he could see a dog barking at him. Other than that he would just walk along the sidewalk like any dog would. He even manged to teach our other cat how to do it.
Well his love for eating everything finally got him in trouble. I just had to put Tigger down due to complete renal failure from ingesting an Asian Lilly flower. The plant is in the front yard and looks beautiful. My cats were never allowed to wander freely and we never let them near plants we aren't sure about.
5 days ago my girlfriend picked one of the lillies for her hair and that evening left it on the table. I never noticed it there and it got forgotten. Lucky enough the cats didn't find it that night but the next day while my girlfriend was watching TV, my 1 year old Tigger found the flower and decided to snack on it. I was at work at the time and she didn't notice until after the fact. She never considered the fact that it could be toxic.
That night when I got home from work I noticed that there was still some food left in the bowls. This is highly unusual for my cats but I didn't think much of it. The next day there was some vomit on the floor but one of our cats loves to eat grass and then throw up in the house so again I didn't clue in. When I got home that night, Tigger seemed to be okay but there was food left over again. He didn't seem ill but he wasn't his normal cheery self. Neither of us clued in yet again. The next night when I got home from work he was vomiting a clear fluid. I started to worry but it was 1AM in the morning so we did nothing. I couldn't sleep that night at all so in the morning we took him to the vet. That's when we recalled he had eaten the lilly flower.
The vet run some tests to see how things were but it was far too late. It had already been 60 hours since he had eaten the lilly and was in complete kidney failure. There was little to no chance of a recovery this late in his condition so we had to put him down. He was a 1 year old energetic and hilarious cat with a personality mike between cat, dog, and human. He will be dearly missed and will serve as a cold reminder how fleeting life can be.
So if you have a cat that like to eat things like mine, always keep an eye on what they eat and if they even lick a plant you aren't sure about, check it out immediatly. Treatment within 6 hours of ingesting a lilly has a good chance of saving your cat but after that the chances for recovery are heartbreaking.
