Is Anthurium toxic to cats?
Anthurium (flamingo flower) is an irritant to cats (S2 Irritant): chewing it releases oxalate crystals that cause irritation and pain in the lips, mouth, and throat, and the ASPCA adds excessive drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing for the flamingo flower it lists.
- TOXINoxalate crystals (insoluble calcium oxalates)
- WHAT TO EXPECToral irritation and pain of the lips, mouth, and throat; intense burning of the mouth, tongue, and lips (ASPCA, A. scherzeranum); swelling of the mouth, tongue, and lips (ASPCA, A. scherzeranum)
- CALL THE VETCall your vet if drooling or vomiting persists or worsens, or your cat stops eating — and go immediately if you see swelling of the mouth or any trouble breathing or swallowing.
Symptoms
| SIGN |
|---|
| oral irritation and pain of the lips, mouth, and throat |
| intense burning of the mouth, tongue, and lips (ASPCA, A. scherzeranum) |
| swelling of the mouth, tongue, and lips (ASPCA, A. scherzeranum) |
| excessive drooling |
| vomiting |
| difficulty swallowing |
If your cat just ate it
Same tabletop look, minus the risk
3 tabletop plants graded S0 — non-toxic on record.
Care at a glance
FAQ
Is a flamingo lily a real lily? My cat chewed one.
No — flamingo lily is a name for anthurium, not a Lilium. Its record is about the mouth, not the kidneys: Pet Poison Helpline says chewing "releases the crystals causing irritation and pain to a pet's lips, oral cavity, and throat," and the ASPCA's flamingo flower entry adds "excessive drooling, vomiting," and "difficulty swallowing." That is S2 Irritant, the same mechanism as the calla lily — not the S4 kidney-failure record of the true lily. Remove the plant, watch for drooling, difficulty swallowing, or swelling of the mouth, and call your vet if any of these appear or persist.
Is anthurium the "flamingo plant" — and is that the same as polka dot plant?
The name is shared; the plants are not. The ASPCA uses "Flamingo Plant" for two different plants: Anthurium scherzeranum, the flamingo flower covered here, which it lists as "Toxic to Dogs, Toxic to Cats," and Hypoestes phyllostachya, the polka dot plant, which it lists as non-toxic — S0 Safe on our index. This page is the anthurium, S2 Irritant. If a tag says flamingo plant, the scientific name settles it: Anthurium or Hypoestes.
Does this page cover every anthurium, or only one kind?
Every Anthurium, with one honest caveat. Pet Poison Helpline's entry is for anthurium as a whole, and its wording — oxalate crystals causing "irritation and pain to a pet's lips, oral cavity, and throat" — is what the S2 grade rests on. The ASPCA's five entries (flamingo flower, oilcloth flower, pigtail plant, painter's pallette, tail flower) all name a single species, Anthurium scherzeranum, so the extra signs we quote from the ASPCA are recorded for that species. Neither source grades any anthurium differently.