COLUMBUS, Ohio - A woman
made rounds at flower shops on Tuesday in an effort to warn
cat owners of dangers posed by a certain flower.
Jeannie Diewald rescued two kittens - Chloe and Coco - after
they were abandoned by their mother about seven months ago,
10TV's Kurt Ludlow reported.
Diewald said she nursed both kittens back to health and
life was well. Then, last weekend, Coco started to shake.
"So I ran her to the vet really quick and the first
thing they asked me was, 'Do you have any lilies in the
house?'" Diewald said.
As it turned out, Diewald's boyfriend had recently surprised
her with a bouquet of flowers. Inside the bouquet were different
types of flowers that included Easter Lilies, Ludlow reported.
The doctors did everything that they could at MedVet,"
Diewald said. "But her kidneys weren't functioning
at all. The toxins were building up in her system, so we
had to put her to sleep."
According to veterinarians, each part of a lily flower is
toxic to a cat.
"They're extremely dangerous," said veterinarian
Dr. Janet Cohn. "Within just a few hours of ingestion
of a plant, they will go into what's called acute renal
failure - which means it's very sudden and the kidneys almost
completely shut down."
After Coco's death, Diewald took time to visit flower shops
and boutiques. Once inside, she asked the owners if they
would post homemade signs about the dangers lilies pose
to cats.
Anna Ferrell, who has worked at her family's flower shop
for several years, was unaware that lilies could kill cats.
Without much hesitation she agreed to hang one of Diewald's
signs.
"Absolutely," Ferrell said.
Diewald, meanwhile, said she hopes the signs might help
other owners keep their animals safe.
"I mean, we just miss her a lot," Diewald said.
"She was such a special cat to us."
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