Poisoning by rat bait

My pet ate rat bait! What do I do now?!

Pet-proofing your home means keeping all dangerous items (including poisonous products) out of your pet’s reach. Unfortunately, accidents do happen, so it’s important for you to be prepared in the unlikely – but possible – event of your dog or cat ingesting rat poison. No matter how it came about that your pet got hold of the rat poison, it’s critical to seek veterinary intervention as soon as possible, to ensure they receive the proper care and can recover from poisoning. 

In this article, we look at the types of rat poisons (rodenticides), how they work, the symptoms of poisoning and how the vet will administer treatment for poisoning. 

Types of rat poisons

There are a number of different rat poisons or rodenticides. Rodenticides are classified into two ‘generations’:

First-generation rat poisons

First-generation rat poisons are less dangerous than second-generation baits, and often require multiple doses to cause death in dogs and cats. However, if your pet has ingested this poison, it is still important to seek veterinary care to ensure that your pet can be examined and is safe.

First-generation poisons include:

• warfarin
• coumatetralyl (Racumin)
• pindone
• chlorophacinone
• diphacinone

Second-generation rat poisons

Second-generation rodenticides are much stronger and more dangerous than first-generation poisons. If your pet has ingested any of these, it’s essential to get them to the vet immediately!

Second-generation poisons include:

• brodifacoum (Doom Rattex; Kombat Rats and Mice Pellets; Protek Kill All; Synvita Pulse)
• bromadiolone (Efekto Supakill; Muskil Wax Blocks)
• flocoumafen (Coopers Ultrakill)
• difethialone
• difenacoum (Tornado Bait Blocks; Rodex Raptor, Muskil Wax Blocks)

There are other rodenticides on the market that do not work in the same way as those discussed in this article, so treatment for these will vary. This is why it’s important to bring the rodenticide packaging to the vet to help identify the type of toxin involved so the vet can treat your pet appropriately.

How do rat poisons work?

Both first- and second-generation rat poisons kill rodents by preventing their blood from clotting, causing fatal bleeding. In pets, their effect is similar. 

In the body, specific enzymes enable vitamin K to form clotting factors in the blood. Clotting factors act like emergency first responders – they activate when there are small, often microscopic bleeds that happen in the body as part of normal, everyday wear-and-tear. Once at the scene, they call in other ‘emergency services’ – blood platelets and tough protein fibres (fibrin), which work together to form a gel-like mesh that helps to stop the bleeding.

Anticoagulant rodenticide prevents the formation of clotting factors by their respective enzymes, which means that bleeding continues unchecked, and the animal loses red blood cells. This starts to affect their body systems, which leads to organ failure and ultimately, death. 

How long does it take rodenticides to kill rats?

Depending on how much rat poison is ingested, second-generation rodenticides can kill rats within two to four days, and first-generation rodenticides can act within five to seven days. Acute anticoagulants work much faster and can kill rodents after only a few hours. If your pet consumes any rat poison, don’t hesitate: call the vet’s office immediately and make sure they get emergency treatment as soon as possible. 

Does your pet have to eat the poison itself to be affected?

Although directly eating the poison is the most common means of toxicity, your pet can also become sick by secondary poisoning. Poisoned rodents may be sluggish and weak, which makes them easy targets for prey animals – including birds of prey, cats, and dogs. This means that if your pet eats a rat that has been poisoned with a rodenticide, they will also be exposed to the toxin.

What are the signs of rat poisoning in pets?

Witnessing your pet eating rat poison is the most definitive way to identify ingestion of the toxin, but when you’re not there to see it, you won’t know that it is specifically rat poison they have eaten. 

Signs that rat poison has been ingested may take several days to show in dogs and cats. This is because the body has a reserve of clotting factors that is used up slowly, while the poison prevents new factors from forming. 

Signs of poisoning that you may see at home are also not very specific and can include:

• lethargy
• poor appetite 
• vomiting
• trouble breathing

More serious signs include very pale membranes in the mouth and the eyes, often with small red spots where the blood vessels have bled.
 
If you suspect your pet has eaten any rodenticide, take them to the vet as soon as possible! Do not wait until you see signs of illness before making an appointment.

Treatment for rodenticide poisoning

Care within a few hours

If you get to the vet within a few hours of poison ingestion, they will be able to make your pet vomit, removing as much of the rat bait from the stomach as possible to reduce the toxin’s effects. Vomiting is induced by a powdered medication placed in the eye or nose in dogs or by an injection in cats. If it has been longer than four hours since your pet ate the rat poison, it is not likely that it will still be in the stomach, so inducing vomiting is unlikely to be beneficial.

Care in the first 24 hours

After vomiting has been induced, or if it has been more than a few hours since ingestion, the vet will prescribe a toxin absorber to help bind any poison that may be left in the stomach or intestines. This will often contain activated charcoal as tablets, a powder, or a paste. 

Activated charcoal is different from regular charcoal – it has been specially treated to be able to absorb toxins in the gut. Regular charcoal pieces and briquettes used for braais and fires are sometimes combined with chemicals to make them more flammable and come in large chunks, which can get stuck in the intestines. Never feed standard charcoal to your pet!

The vet will also run a series of tests to check whether your pet’s blood is clotting normally – some of these tests will be run in the hospital, while some may need to be sent to a laboratory for further testing. 

If your pet shows signs of illness from the rat poison, it will be necessary to treat them in hospital. This will involve intravenous (IV) fluids to help support blood pressure and volume. Vitamin K treatment will also be given while your dog or cat is in hospital. If bleeding has already occurred, it may become necessary for your pet to have a blood transfusion (from a dog or cat donor to a pet of the same species) – this directly replaces lost blood cells as well as platelets and clotting factors, which will help to stop bleeding. In addition, supportive care will be given based on your pet’s symptoms. 

Uncontrolled bleeding can lead to blood pooling in the chest and belly. In these cases, further testing such as x-rays and ultrasound may be needed to assess the severity and extent of the problem. 

Care after the first 24 hours

After the initial assessment, supportive care will involve giving vitamin K supplements, often for several weeks, along with close at-home or in-hospital monitoring. 

If your pet does not show any immediate signs of illness, the vet may allow you to take your pet home for treatment and monitoring. If any signs of illness are noticed after the first 24 hours it is essential that you take your pet to the vet immediately. It is likely that they will then need to be admitted and hospitalised.

If your pet is showing signs of illness, treatment in hospital will continue as mentioned above, with additional testing done as needed. Follow-up blood tests are often recommended and will be done after the vitamin K treatment is completed to make sure your pet has fully recovered. 

How to prevent rodenticide poisoning in your pets

The best way to prevent your pet from having access to rat poison is to remove it from your property entirely. If you must have rat bait for rodent control, place bait in pet-proof containers, and store extra poison in a locked cupboard or in an inaccessible area (e.g. high on an enclosed shelf where it cannot be knocked down). 

Also consider alternative means of rodent control such as mechanical traps. Prompt removal of rodent carcasses is essential to prevent your pet from being exposed to poisonous material. Keep your pet under your control in public spaces so that they do not eat any foreign material that may contain rat poison.

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