One-year-old Astrid the Himalayan was half her age when she had a near-death experience and now Mr Walton is speaking out so other cat lovers don't end in the same predicament.

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"She was struggling, she was falling over, and her eyes spinning in her head and we thought 'wow, you're in trouble'," the pet owner said.

"We thought about it quickly - 'what could she have eaten' and we realised the only thing that hadn't been here was a bunch of flowers."

It turned out the centre of the bunch had a Peruvian Lily which had quite clearly had its top eaten off.

"I've never had a cat that chews plants, she's an absolute bugger for them, sometimes I think she's part dog," Mr Walton said.

"For me, cats are family, they always are. The very thought we put her in danger by our actions. That was absolutely gutting."

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Dr Lucy Asher from Greencross Vets in Wollongong treated the then six-month-old kitten, and said she could have died if it were any other species of lily - especially those with pollen.

"If they get a little bit of pollen on their coat then groom it off that can kill them," Dr Asger said. "Even if on a high shelf and the leaf falls off and they play with it and ingest it."

She said lilies and other plants were also toxic to dogs, but not usually fatal.

Many common plants, springtime flowers and fruit trees that can be found in Illawarra residents' backyards and in parks have toxins or seeds that can be harmful to dogs, cats, guinea pigs and rabbits.

Mr Walton said he now had a permanent internet tab on his smartphone with a list of all the known toxins to his beloved felines.

"Lilies are the ones everyone knows about, but there's a whole host of plants that can make your cat really very sick," he said. "Like aloe vera, chrysanthemums ... daffodils and poinsettias, ferns, tulips."

Flowering and non-flowering plants can lead to a variety of allergies. Many common kinds of grass, weeds and flowers all have the potential to disrupt pets' outside adventures.

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Sometimes these allergies can be due to direct contact with the plant, while other times the plant's pollen can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin of allergic pets. Other plants are more dangerous when they are eaten.

Dr Asher's advice to pet owners is to be mindful of any plants in the home or garden, and seek medical care if their pet's behaviour suddenly changes.

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