Sweet gesture to honor a cat owner’s late mom ends in another heartbreak as his pet dies and leaves him with a $5,000 vet bill
A cat owner was dealing with the sudden grief of his mother’s untimely death when another heartbreak struck. Jun Peng from Australia was mourning the loss in July 2025, while friends and family offered condolences to express their sympathy. His ragdoll cat, Reuben, was a source of comfort in the unfortunate times. But fate had other plans. Two months after his mother’s passing, Peng also lost his two-year-old cat, and the unexpected reason behind it left him with a $5,000 vet bill.
Flower bouquets started pouring into Peng’s home as tokens of sympathy from his loved ones soon after his mother’s demise. Little did he know, the kind gesture would prove lethal to his pet. Peng received all sorts of ornamental flowers, commonly used in decorative bouquets and arrangements. These include tulips, azaleas, daffodils, chrysanthemums, amaryllis, oleanders, cyclamen, and the most toxic — lilies. "I knew that peace lilies are toxic to cats, but I didn't know about the actual lily flowers, which are extremely toxic," Peng told 9news.com.au. Among the dozens of bouquets he received, one was a full arrangement of lilies.
Overburdened by his personal woes, Peng was barely worried about the toxicity of the sympathy flowers. His mother had suffered a cardiac arrest and spent weeks in the ICU, per reports published on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. A few weeks later, his cat started acting strangely, which eventually caught his attention. Reuben was suddenly losing weight and drinking water excessively. He kept an eye on his cat and rushed him to the vet when his condition worsened. The vet revealed that his pet was suffering from kidney disease, possibly after ingesting some part of the lilies at home. Blood and urine tests confirmed it. According to PetMD, all parts of lilies are extremely poisonous to cats and can result in potentially fatal kidney failure. Daylilies (Hemerocallis species) and true lilies (Lilium species) are among the toxic species.
Although the vet warned that Reuben’s chances of recovery were slim, Peng left no stone unturned to provide his feline with the best treatment and care in the world. He paid $5,000 out of pocket after the diagnosis, but Reuben was showing no signs of recovery. “At the end of the day, money comes and it goes, and you use it for the things that you love," he said, admitting that he cried a few times. "Eventually, he wasn't able to stand, and he wasn't eating. Seeing him in that state absolutely killed me.”
Two months after the diagnosis, Peng said goodbye to his beloved pet forever as he had to be put down. It was a difficult time for the pet owner, dealing with two losses at the same time. Instead of slipping into immense grief, Peng found motivation in bringing a change. "I don't want anyone else to go through this," he claimed and went on to start a Change.org petition in Reuben’s memory. It has received 828 signatures from fellow pet owners with similar experiences. He advised that every florist shop, supermarket, and online store have pet safety warnings on display for items toxic to animals. This way, another toxic bouquet or present would not inadvertently kill their innocent pet.