Is Autumn crocus toxic to cats?
Colchicum autumnale · Colchicaceae
Yes. Can kill a cat.
One of the few plants that damages the bone marrow. Signs can be delayed by days, which makes an early call more important, not less. Every species in the genus Colchicum is toxic, not just this one.
For a cat
Can kill
For a person
Can kill
What to watch for
- Bloody vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Shock
- Multi-organ damage
- Bone marrow suppression
Signs can be delayed by days. This is the plant where waiting to see what happens is least justified, because the most serious part of the poisoning is the part that shows last.
Why, and which parts
All parts, the bulb most of all.
Toxic principle: Colchicine and other alkaloids
Colchicine stops cells from dividing. That is why it damages the tissues that divide fastest: the lining of the gut first, then the bone marrow, which is the factory for red cells, white cells and platelets. It explains the delay as well. A marrow that stops production does not show it on the day, it shows it once the existing cells have run their course, which takes days.
How to recognize it
A goblet of six pink to purple petals rising straight out of bare ground, with no leaves beside it: the leaves come up separately in spring, which is where the name naked ladies comes from. Inside the flower there are SIX stamens with orange anthers, and that is the test that separates it from a true crocus, which has three. Dried material stays toxic, so it remains a hazard in hay and in cleared borders. The ASPCA still files this plant under the family Liliaceae; botanists place it in Colchicaceae, well away from the true crocuses of the iris family.
Sold as: Meadow saffron, Naked lady. A label on a pot is a trade name, not a botanical one, and the two often disagree.
Plants it gets confused with
Nearly the same flower shape and the same name, from a different family. The reliable difference is inside the flower: six stamens here, three in a true crocus.
Why it matters: Getting this one wrong in the reassuring direction is the dangerous outcome. We now publish a verdict on the spring crocus: Pet Poison Helpline records it as a stomach upset, and the ASPCA has no entry for it at all. Do not use flowering season to tell them apart, because true crocuses bloom in autumn too.
Wild garlic
Before flowering, colchicum leaves come up in spring among wild garlic and look much like it. Wild garlic smells strongly of garlic when crushed and colchicum does not.
Why it matters: This is the confusion the human case literature actually documents, including a 2026 report of a man who developed kidney and liver injury after picking colchicum for wild garlic. It is also a reminder that wild garlic is itself in the onion family and not something to feed a cat.
And for a person?
Dangerous to a person too
Dangerous to people too.
A plant's danger to a cat says nothing about its danger to you, and the reverse is just as true. This is a separate question with a separate answer.
This is information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot tell you what is wrong with your cat. Our rule is a simple one: if something is wrong with your cat, call your vet, and call an emergency clinic if it is out of hours. Nothing you read here is a reason to wait.
Worth keeping a paw on
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Other plants at the same level
Same verdict for a cat as Autumn crocus. The ones sharing its exact toxic principle come first.
