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Rat and Snail Bait Poisoning In DogsBy Dr Libby Thompson Cats tend to be more finicky, but they will eat a rodent that ate rat bait and can still be poisoned in this manner. As owners of pets, we must be careful about what and where we leave things that can potentially harm them. I don’t believe dog (or cat) owners should run the risk of leaving snail bait out in the garden, or anywhere, for that matter, that the dog can reach. Snail bait causes obvious clinical signs fairly soon after eating. Initially, you may see uncontrollable and continuous muscle tremors and shaking. Depending on how much was eaten seizures may follow, with hyperthermia (overheating) and possible death. The animal may vomit and have diarrhoea as well. If you see your pet eat snail bait, take them to your vet immediately so vomiting can be induced and so prevent your pet going through signs of toxicity. If they are already showing signs, your pet may need to be anaesthetised to control the seizures, have their stomach emptied by gastric lavage, given charcoal by stomach tube and have their bowels emptied by enema, all to reduce the amount of toxin available to be absorbed. They may need intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration and blood tests to check for organ damage and other abnormalities. They also need to be cooled because overheating causes organ damage – brain included. There is an antidote for one type of snail bait but this does not make it
safe. Anticoagulant rat bait, unlike snail bait, does not cause any clinical signs immediately after eating. The poison is absorbed in the first couple of hours after eating but signs of poisoning may not be seen for 3 to 7 days depending on the animal’s activity level. There is a delay because the poison depletes the body’s Vitamin K which is needed to produce clotting factors, but does not affect the clotting factors already present in the body. Signs of poisoning can be subtle with the animal being a little more quiet than usual. Other signs may be blood in the urine or in their faeces, they may have black tarry motions, they may bruise excessively or start bleeding from a cut, lost tooth or when on heat and just not stop bleeding. They may have trouble breathing if they are bleeding into their lungs or chest cavity or they may just acutely collapse. They will have pale mucous membranes (gums and conjunctiva are easiest to check). If you see your pet eat rat bait or suspect they’ve eaten it, take them to your vet so they can make them vomit it up. We can ensure there are no residual effects with a blood test a week later that checks for clotting times and blood levels. How badly your pet is affected by an anticoagulant rodenticide depends on what type they ate, how much, how frequently and when. Warfarin has a shorter half-life and so needs shorter treatment length than does the second-generation brodifacoum. However the longer it is before they are treated the worse is the prognosis. If it’s too late to induce vomiting, then treatment consists of injections and tablets of Vitamin K, possible hospitalization (for monitoring of the animals condition and to reduce activity level and hence chance of bleeding), blood tests (to check red blood cell levels and clotting times) and possible blood transfusions. Both dogs and cats can be poisoned in a secondary manner – that is they eat the rodent that ate the rat bait. Use any poison with care, think ahead for your pet’s sake (because they
won’t) and if they eat it, seek veterinary advice. |
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