Stargazer Lilies and Sago Palms: Beautiful but Deadly
The other day I was at Costco. En route to the checkout line I passed an enormous display of plants for sale. The display consisted entirely of sago palms. (This article discusses cycad sago palms, not true sago palms.)
As I walked to the checkout line I thought to myself that there were enough plants in the display to kill half of the dogs and cats in San Francisco.
Sago palms are beautiful and common house plants. Sadly, few people realize that they are deadly.
Every part of the common sago palm is toxic. The plants are palatable to cats and dogs. Both may suffer liver failure after ingesting the plant. Remarkably few people realize this, and countless loving pet owners unknowingly place their animals at risk by keeping these attractive plants in their homes or gardens.
Today I saw a cat who was in serious trouble. He was in the prime of life. He was an indoor-only cat. He appeared to be in perfect health. Unfortunately, his face was covered in lily pollen. A conversation with the owner confirmed my worst fears. The cat had chewed on stargazer lilies.
Stargazer lilies are staples of many bouquets. They are beautiful. They also are deadly. Cats especially are at risk. Lilies, especially stargazer lilies, may cause irreversible kidney failure in pets.
If you have pets, please don’t allow these two deadly beauties into your house. Nothing good can come of it.
You have questions. 
Thank you for this post, Doctor. Supermarkets and ever nurseries like Mahoney’s don’t put up signs for toxic plants. They should do it. After all, 63% of the households have at least one pet, in the US.
Almost all lilies are poisonous. Here are pictures of poisonous lilies and more info: http://www.thedailytail.com/safety-tips/are-lilies-poisonous-to-cats/
thank you so much for the tip. I had no idea about either and never considered a dog or cat would eat. You give such great sound advice and helpful articles I truly appreciate it
Those flowers are taboo in our house too! Besides being poisonous to us animals their scent gives mum terrible migraines.
Hi Dr. Barchas! This is really good information–I’ve always loved stargazer lillies, but I had no idea they were poisonous to Bailey. Yikes!
People might also want to check out the Cornell University Department of Animal Science’s poisonous plants page at http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/.
I’ve avoided stargazer lilies for a LONG time. My then boyfriend gave me a bouquet of flowers that had stargazers in it. My poor [indoor] cat was never the same since. She developed mental and behavioral issues. She was a wonderful cat prior to this, then became agitated, irritable, and just plain mean. She screamed at the top of her lungs whenever she passed the hallway mirror, mistaking it for another cat. It was HORRIBLE, and it only happened after the stargazers.