Rat Poison - Anticoagulant Poisoning

Anticoagulant Poisoning

URGENCY LEVEL Critical, vital emergency.

Seek immediate veterinary attention!
The prognosis is very good when the veterinarian intervenes
before the onset of internal bleeding symptoms.

FIRST AID AT HOME: None.

If possible, provide the veterinarian with the commercial name of the implicated product or its composition, if known. Veterinary poison control centers have a list of rodenticides and their compositions. Keep any packaging to hand if possible.

WHAT SYMPTOMS TO LOOK FOR?
The first signs of intoxication typically appear at least 48 hours after ingestion, most commonly 4 to 5 days after bait ingestion.

Intoxication is characterized by various, non-specific hemorrhages: blood in the stool, hemorrhagic vomiting, blood in the urine, nosebleeds, spontaneous bleeding through the skin (especially on the cat's paw pads), tears of blood or bleeding in the eye globe, variously located swelling (haematomas), pale gums (anaemia) with pinpoint or patchy bleeding.

Initial symptoms can sometimes be very discreet: weakness, hypothermia, pale gums.

In any animal showing unexplained weakness and having access to toxic baits (outdoors), anticoagulant intoxication should be suspected.

Haemorrhages may be visible:

Blood in the stool

Bleeding from the nose

Spontaneous bleeding through the skin (especially on the cat's fingers)

Tears of blood, blood in the eye

Various locations of blood filled swellings

Or invisible:

internal haemorrhages

Hemorrhages can also lead to, depending on their location, clinical signs such as coughing, lameness, or neurological disorders, accompanied by weakness and hypothermia.

These symptoms should be suspected in an animal showing unexplained weakness and having access to toxic baits (outdoors).

The delay (3 to 4 days on average) between anticoagulant ingestion and the onset of clinical signs complicates the diagnosis.

Important note:

There are several types of rodenticides, but the most common ones are anticoagulant products. There are other less common chemicals on the market that can cause convulsions in animals and can quickly kill your pet. In case of ingestion of a rodenticide, an emergency consultation is mandatory.

Rodenticides containing anticoagulant products are a leading cause of poisoning in dogs and cats and these types represent 90% of the rodenticide market.

A rodenticide is an active substance or a preparation that has the property of killing certain rodents considered harmful by humans. Second and third-generation anticoagulants (the most recent ones) are toxic after a single ingestion. They prevent the blood from clotting and alter the permeability of blood vessels.

They are available in the form of coated cereal bait, paste, granules... usually red in color. They contain antivitamin K substances that block blood clotting in animals that ingest a toxic dose.

Anticoagulants are toxic after a single ingestion and are lethal without the administration of the antidote.

Treatment:

In the case of recent ingestion of anticoagulant with no clinical signs (within 6 hours of ingestion), the veterinarian may induce vomiting and administer activated charcoal as well as the antidote, which is Vitamin K1.

Treatment with Vitamin K1 will be maintained for 3 to 5 weeks depending on the toxins. In this case, the prognosis is good.

If haemorrhagic symptoms are noted, the prognosis is more severe. Emergency treatment with Vitamin K1 will be initiated, along with intensive care treatments possibly including a blood transfusion.