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This is the most common poisoning of all. We get about two a week even in our small practice and more in winter. When you come in please bring in the name of the type of poison with you if you know it.
These baits are made to be as attractive as possible to many species of animal. Rats and mice are fussy so if you suspect your pet has eaten it then it probably has. Given the opportunity to do so it will prefer the poison over its usual favourite food.
The amount to be fatal is very small with the more modern types. There are many different brands and types of poisons but nowadays they are all anticoagulants. That is they cause internal bleeding and death from anaemia (blood loss). The onset of symptoms after taking the bait can be from a couple of hours to many days.
The packaging of these poisons is still very poor. The poisons should be put out by the user in proper containers to which pets and children cannot get access. Supermarkets are culpable in selling it in packets without also selling safe dispensers with it.
You should only get the poison and the dispensers from pest control companies that also give you the right instructions. Check the phone book.
Yes your pet can die also from eating rodents that have been already poisoned.
How does the poison work? It has a similar chemical structure to the natural body chemical called Vitamin K which is essential to prevent bleeding spontaneously. By that poison being similar to vitamin K (but useless) it blocks out the blood clotting mechanism by over-riding it by quantity and it doesn’t take much. The saving of the animal is to beat the poison by re-swamping the system with real vitamin K instead.
What to do.
Ring immediately and tell us what happened. Don’t leave it till next day. If it has been eaten in the last few hours we will give a drug to cause vomiting (the sooner the better) and then send you home with an antidote. (Vitamin K). Ratsack will need about ten days antidote and the newer ones (Talon etc) may need 15 to 20 days. The chemical antidote vitamin K that you take home is a bit expensive but necessary. It is absorbed into your pet’s system by adding it to fatty food or giving it orally at the same time. (Because Vitamin K is fat or food oil soluble and is transported into the bloodstream by first dissolving in the fat in the food and then being absorbed.
If your pet has eaten rodent poison some time ago then all you may notice is a weakening and lethargy. If you look at the pink part of the gums you may see that it has turned white. Such cases may need a blood transfusion and a big dog or cat of your neighbour may be recruited to give a donation or we may be able to find one elsewhere. Only a small amount of blood is needed to save the life of your pet and then this is followed by the vitamin K antidote.