Warning for Cat Lovers and Lily plants
***WARNING - Lilly’s flowers are poisonous to Cats***
We recently had this story shared with us from this lovely lady who recently adopted two cat rescue kittens and was not aware Lillie’s flowers were dangerous for cats.
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Hi there, we've just been through a bit of an ordeal with our kitties and thought sharing our storey might be useful. My partner bought me a lovely bunch of lilies and as usual one of my cats that loves to play with/destroy plants got into them. He got covered in pollen and it was only by chance that I sent a photo to my friend who told me lilies are poisonous to cats (which I didn't know). I took them both to the vet, Trixie (the tabby) was there for five days and then given the all clear, but Skepta who was covered in pollen was there for 10, plus had to have daily blood tests after that, due to kidney damage that the lilies cause. He is all good now and is getting back to his usual frisky self but it was an awful time , particularly for him. The Vets and nurses were phenomenal and super supprtive letting us visit everyday.
Hopefully this is useful for someone as we didn't know and the vet told us that the lily poisoning doesn't present like other poisonings in cats. Often they seem normal, just a little out of sorts until the kidneys are too far gone to cope. By then it is hard to treat and can cause long term damage to the kidneys.
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Thank you for sharing and hope Tricia and Skepta are recovering well
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.7% Critical thinking
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29.8% Resilience and adaptability
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2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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