[tallulah]

I decided that I wanted to get into growing lilies this year - and then we got 2 cats!  Does anyone know of any safe lilies I can grow?

[Goosegirl]

As of last year, I now have four cats and don't grow any lillies. It is Sod's Law that, after trying to get them to grow, I had a magnificent specimen bursting with flower buds and had to dig it up..! I haven't heard of any safe ones and wouldn't risk it if I did.

[tosca100]

I wouldn't risk it with cats, they can get anywhere. We are growing our's on a wall out of the way of the dogs, but that wouldn't help with cats.

[mumofstig]

even if you remove them from your own garden, there is still next doors!..... assuming they are 'free range' cats

There is a list on-line of plants poisonous to cats and there are quite a lot to avoid if you choose to worry about them all.

[Trillium]

My town is full of cats. Every house has at least one cat, most have more and we get cats galore strolling through our property. I grow lilies and have never yet had a cat bother them. There's far too much else that's more interesting to them like mice, birds, somewhere shady to nap, etc. Cats tend to prefer to eat grass if they need greens, as lily leaves and shoots are just too thick for their taste.

[Debz]

I didn't know that cats had issues with lillies.  I don't have a cat but there are several local ones that go through my garden.  There must be far more interesting things for them because my lillies have never been touched.

[Goosegirl]

It's not that cats damage lilies, it's the pollen that very toxic and, if it gets on their fur and they lick it off when grooming, it can kill them.

[Trillium]

True, the pollen can be toxic, but I have cats constantly wandering my flower gardens in search of mice and whatever, and I've never found a dead one yet, nor anyone raising a ruckus over the fact that I grow lots of lilies. If your cat is to be contained in the yard where lilies would grow, that's a different story. For wanderers, it's not worth the worry. When I had several cats I let outside daily, they never went near the lilies, probably because they just didn't find lilies interesting. Plus, lily pollen is very heavy and sticky and really doesn't travel far.

[Debz]

You learn something new every day on this site.

[totalnovice]

It's not that cats damage lilies, it's the pollen that very toxic and, if it gets on their fur and they lick it off when grooming, it can kill them.

My god, i had no idea, i have hundreds of lillies and 2 cats!

[Trillium]

I wouldn't rip them out. And your cats are still healthy. If you watch your cats, you'll likely find they don't go near the lilies.

[LittleRedHen]

I've always grown lillies and my outside cat never bothered with it.  It ate lots of grass though!