Cats and houseplants are a genuinely different risk category to dogs and food. A dog getting into the pantry is usually a food problem. A cat and a bouquet of lilies left on the counter is one of the most common, and most preventable, causes of a cat ending up in emergency kidney failure — and it's often something well-meaning visitors bring into the house without anyone thinking twice.
The short answer
Lilies are the single most dangerous common plant for cats — every part, including the pollen, and even a small exposure can cause fatal kidney failure. A shorter list of other houseplants cause milder but still real reactions. The single most useful thing you can do is tell your sitter exactly what's in your home and whether any flowers have come in recently, since a bouquet is often the actual risk, not a plant anyone deliberately chose.
The one that matters most: lilies
True lilies (Lilium species, including Easter lilies, tiger lilies and Asiatic lilies) and daylilies are extremely toxic to cats specifically — this isn't a general "some plants are bad" caution, it's a genuine emergency-level risk. Every part of the plant is dangerous, including pollen that brushes onto a cat's fur and gets ingested during normal grooming. Even licking a small amount can cause kidney failure.
If a lily has ever come into your home in a bouquet, say so explicitly to your sitter, even if you don't think of yourself as someone who "has" lilies as houseplants — cut flowers count, and pollen can transfer to other things nearby.
Other common houseplants worth flagging
- Aloe vera — causes vomiting, diarrhoea and lethargy if ingested, despite being a common "safe-feeling" plant for humans
- Pothos and philodendron — common low-maintenance houseplants that cause mouth irritation, drooling and vomiting
- Sago palm — less common indoors but seriously toxic if present, worth mentioning if it's anywhere on your property
- Daffodils and tulips, particularly the bulbs — cause vomiting, drooling and in some cases heart arrhythmias
- Azaleas and rhododendrons — can cause vomiting, drooling and, in more serious cases, cardiovascular effects
What actually helps a sitter here
- A specific list of what's in your home, not "check if it's toxic" — a sitter unfamiliar with your plants can't identify them on sight, and looking it up mid-stay wastes the exact time that matters if something's already happened
- Where each plant is positioned, especially anything within jumping or climbing reach — cats access plants owners assume are "safely" out of reach far more often than expected
- What to do with any flowers that arrive during the stay — a delivery, a gift, anything brought by a visitor — since this is often the actual point of exposure, not an existing houseplant
- Symptoms to watch for: vomiting, drooling, lethargy, decreased appetite, or pawing at the mouth or face are the common early signs across most toxic plants, and any of them following plant exposure is worth an immediate call
Why cats specifically need this flagged, more than dogs
Cats interact with plants differently — chewing on leaves, brushing against pollen, grooming afterwards — in ways that make even "just looking" risky in a way it usually isn't for dogs. It's also more often an accident than curiosity: a bouquet nobody thought of as a hazard, sitting on a counter a cat can reach.
Why this belongs in the handover, not a mental note
This is exactly the kind of detail that lives in an owner's head as "obviously I'd never bring a lily inside" — right up until someone else does, without knowing. A sitter told plainly "no lilies, ever, and here's what else to watch for" can actually prevent the one scenario that turns a routine stay into an emergency vet visit.
Quirks & All keeps this kind of household hazard note on your cat's profile alongside the rest of the handover, so it's there before a bouquet ever makes it through the door.