Unfortunately, many pets get into toxins — even toxins that were meant to get rid of pests like mice and rats. An extremely common type of toxicity is rodenticide, or rat poison. There are three main groups of rat poison used, and they can all be very toxic to dogs and cats (and even our exotic pets, too). The most common type of rat poison used is an anticoagulant poison and include chemicals such as brodifacoum and bromadiolone. This type of toxin prevents blood from clotting by decreasing the body’s amount of usable Vitamin K1, which is used in several clotting factors — meaning that pets that eat this toxin cannot clot their blood properly. Approximately 2-3 days after ingestion, pets can start to bleed from their gums and their gastrointestinal tract, and they can bleed into body cavities such as the chest, abdomen or joints. You might see blood in your pet’s mouth, abnormal bruising, or blood in their vomit or stool, or they may look pale, have difficulty breathing, have an enlarged abdomen, or have joint swelling. Testing often involves evaluating your pet’s clotting times, and treatment at this stage frequently involves a hospital stay, plasma, possibly a blood transfusion, and repeat blood work with possible radiographs or an ultrasound.
Patients that usually have the best prognosis from this type of toxicity are those that are actually seen eating the rat poison by their owners, who then bring them in for treatment right away. Upon arrival, decontamination and treatment to prevent bleeding disorders are initiated. Decontamination often involves initiating vomiting and giving activated charcoal orally. Most patients are started on Vitamin K1 as well, to increase the amount of usable Vitamin K1 in the body and prevent clotting abnormalities. When treatment is started soon after ingestion, most patients recover very well, so getting your pet to the animal hospital quickly is extremely important.
The two other types of rat poison used are cholecalciferol/vitamin D3 rat poison and bromethalin. Cholecalciferol increases the amount of calcium in the body, which can deposit on organs and cause organ dysfunction, including kidney failure. Vague symptoms, including depression, anorexia, vomiting, and increased drinking and urinating, may be seen 1-2 days after ingestion. Once severe clinical signs are seen, treatment is usually aggressive and normally involves hospitalization — and due to the advanced effects of the toxin, the pet may not survive. Again, early treatment and decontamination will likely lead to a much better prognosis for your pet.
Bromethalin poisoning produces neurologic signs, such as disorientation or stumbling, tremors, and paralysis, and a pet that has ingested this toxin may start to show signs 10-24 hours after ingestion — but the symptoms can progress for 1 to 2 weeks. Again, pets with severe signs often need to be hospitalized with aggressive therapy, and patients that are brought in immediately for decontamination have a much better chance for recovery.
If your pet has ingested any toxin — especially rat poison — bring him/her to a veterinarian immediately for early treatment. And be sure to bring with you the container that the poison came in, so we can direct our treatment appropriately.
To prevent accidental ingestion and help avoid these kinds of poisonings, keep all toxins — including those intended to kill rodents — well out of reach of your pets.
© 2010 Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital. All rights reserved.
We buried my dad who died this week. My brother, a career criminal in & out of prison his entire adult life, loaded up his car stealing a bunch of things from dad’s house. I changed the locks to keep him out bc I am the executor of my dad’s estate & successor trustee of my parents trust. Both of them are now gone, so my bother feels he is entitled to everything being the eldest. He got angry I locked him out, and he threatened to get even any way possible. I’m single w/no kids, and only 1 passion, my 12-year old Shih Tzu “Mini Pie” (a loveable dog who is a real slice of heaven). I haven’t any problems w/anyone except this brother. Someone threw rat poison over my fenced in backyard. My dog started bleeding from the mouth profusely yesterday around 7pm. I got her to the Vet ER 30-minutes later. They kept her to give platelets, Vita K, Anti-Vomit meds, X-Rays, & doing blood work, but have not mentioned a transfusion. Everything so far has been $1,300. I cannot lose my dad & my dog in the same week. I have nothing else that is good in my life. I need my dog to survive. Can anyone suggest anything for me to propose &/or encourage or demand the Vet to do to help her chances of survival w/o long-term problems? Shih Tzu dogs can live to be 16 or 17, if cared for properly. I need my dog to live as long as possible. Any suggestions? Anything at all? Obviously, I need to move & keep my address secret away from my older brother who is from Missouri. Other than that, anything?
Sounds like they are doing everything. A transfusion would be last resort but the next step. Keep with the ER/Specialty clinic and good luck! There is nothing more than TLC, medication and time that can help now!
My dog ingested rat poison a week ago we did not know when or the amount yesterday we came home and found my dog very lazy and not normal took her to the er nothing was found took her in today to the regular vet and informed me of what they think was poisoning cause her blood not Coagulating so they gonna do a transfusion k1 and other things $$$$ please pray I need my dog
Is your dog okay? My baby Carrie is at the ER now and I am so scared. She was bleeding and had swelling. I can not lose her. Our bill is up to 1900$ right now. That is the least of my worries. Please tell me how your dog is doing!
my dog ate rat poison i took her to the vet any they asked what has she eaten and said those rat poison blocks they asked it it had this thing in it, it did they said it would be a miracle if she lived right now shes paralyzed and i have to help her eat
Sorry to hear that.
My Dig is a Shih Tzu 2 year s old ate a very small piece of theRat poison the green block it’s been like an hour an half and she’s not showing any signs of anything or poisoning I annotated with praying oil And prayed for her please keep my princess on prayers also
The effects do not kick in for many hours, please make her vomit and bring her to a vet…prayer oil is not the answer here I’m afraid.
Never put God in a box.
Can u tell me how your dog is doing this just happen to my mini Schneider I caught a her right away so she got to nibble it.
My corgi has eaten the same rat poison my brother puts in all the farm buildings near my house on our farm. Somehow, my corgi keeps finding this stuff if I turn my back for 2 seconds. It’s a soft yellow brick. My brother says it’s the only kind they sell around here! WTF. Each time I induced vomiting immediately and she has vomited all this yellow stuff up. I called the emergency vet; she said come in the next day but because they are booked up it would be considered an emergency call which is $150 on top of whatever else they do. I couldn’t afford it this time. I don’t know what to do. I’m just watching her carefully for any signs. Why do they have to make the rat poison so enticing to dogs? She treats it as a delicious treat, and being a corgi, runs from me when I try to take it from her mouth. She is 5, I’m training her and my other dog to walk with me on the far sans leash, but I’m afraid my corgi will never be able to be off leash when this is what happens when my back is turned.
Sounds like you have no choice but to 1) stop putting rat bait out or HIDE IT IN A RAT BOX that she can not get into 2) go to the vet tomorrow 3) keep risking this problem happening all the time. I would put the rat poison in a box with a small hole to get in?
I woke up Sat to notice my dog had eaten a 3oz pack of rat poison we rushed her to the vet immediately and they gave her a shot and sent her home and some meds ! Said to bring her back if she starts bleeding. She’s been fine but has thrown up one time this morning and acts fine just more tired today! How many days before we are in the clear or will she even survive?
Depends on the brand and active ingredient of the poison. Warfarin based rodenticides are the most common and last about 3 weeks. I can not believe they did not make her vomit? I assume the medicine in Vitamin K? If so then you should be good if you keep giving it and follow the vet instructions. Dont stop early and test her clotting factors before stopping….. watch for bleeding is a very poor way to describe the symptoms. You are looking for skin bruising, coughing, bloody urine or stool, bloody gums and nose bleeds or anything that looks abnormal. The dog is unlikely to spontaneously start bleeding. Call you vet for a follow up. Good luck.
I think my dog has gotten into some poison and I just now realized it tonight but I won’t be able to do anything until tomorrow. Will she be okay until then??
Seriously, gonna need more info here. No and Yes, or Yes and No.
My son found my dog chewing on rat prosise I made her thew it up she is not acking fun or anything but I was still wanting to tack her to the vet torrow just to mack shere she is ok do u th iij no she will be ok she is my son bestfriend and cant let anything happen her her
The rat poison is from tomcat and we had her thew it up not even 30 mints from win she eat it
The dog needs to go the vet asap! This is potent poison and the dog needs the antidote.
My dog ate a tomcat rat poison. Called the poison hotline, they said to induce vomiting and if nothing happened, take him for a walk then come back and try to give him 3ml of hydrogen peroxide instead of the 1 ml per lb. my dog is 17lbs, a mini pen. Am still taking him to the vet when it opens but for now trying to induce vomiting but nothing is happening. And I’m afraid to keep trying the peroxide. He ate it about 4hrs ago yet no symptoms so far. He’s still acting normal as usual. Though he was upset when I made him drink the peroxide.
Though I don’t think he ingested much being that it was already half eaten
Doesnt matter. EMERGENCY.
The poison does not effect the dog until more than 8-12 hours after ingestion. Your dog is in trouble and needs to see a vet asap. It is a shame he did not vomit, but even if he did he would need to see a vet. He needs Vit k3 as soon as they are open! Good luck.
My lab pit mix got into a Ramik rat and mouse bar on Saturday night around 11pm (pretty positive she barely ate any at all because we caught her with it in her mouth). We immediately contacted emergency vet and were instructed to give her 2 tbsp on hydrogen peroxide to make her vomit. Within 2 mins she vomited multiple times until she had nothing left. We didn’t see any chunks of the bar in her vomit. We also got VetOne dog vitamin k1 25mg chewable tablets and have been giving her it. She’s acting totally normal and eating/playing normally, do you think she is fine or will it still be even longer before we notice symptoms ?
USe the VITK1 for 30 days then re-check her clotting times at a local vet office or the ER. Then you should be out of the woods. Rat poison can last over 30 days in the system and the symptoms can be mild….then deadly. I would follow the vet advice to the letter. We advice 30 days on the K1 then wait 3 days then re-check blood clotting times. Good luck.
My 6 month old Aussie got a green bar rat poison 4 days ago, I did the peroxide and she vomited I did see specs of green in vomit and cleaned her teeth good as they had green residue also! She has been normal for 4 days now and today I notice she’s less active and eats but not excited about we treats like usual. No pale gums or bleeding just tired and less appetite I am in a really bad financial spot I’m super worried is there any over the counter things to help is the vitamin K1 available to buy or anything else to help her tomorrow will be the 5th day she did vomit 1 time after eating a lot drinks lots of water
You can try to find vitamin k1 locally. I would start asap regardless of her condition for 30 days. SHe got rat poison and is in serious jeopardy of being sick. The K1 is oral, so if you can find it you can give it to her.
My 25lbs, 20 weeks Lab/hound mix pup chewed a piece of blue mouse bait he found outside. That piece was about an inch cube, he chewed it for like 15 seconds and spited out. I washed his mouth and that was the only thing I did. I’m not sure how much he swallowed but I did find tiny piece of blue in his poop 16 hours later. It’s been 20 hours and he’s acting normal. Vet said to keep monitor him and if any symptoms show up, take him to ER. But is there anything I can do now to slow down the adsorption?
Not at this point. You shoul dhave made him vomit and taken him to the ER or the vet immediately. The cure is simple and cheap but if symptoms arise it is too late and expensive and risky. Do not wait on rat poison ever. Even for a little.
EMERGENCY MY DOG JUST ATE A BLOCK OF RAT POISING AND I MADE HIM THREW IT ALL UP BUT IM STILL WORRIED WHAT SHOULD I DO??
Bring him to a vet for the antidote. Many vets have the necessary vitamin K1 tablets or injection….. the dog would need charcoal usually and follow up blood work.
My 6 month old 25 lb puppy ate a couple bites of rice mixed with a brodifacoum based rat pellets. Perhaps about 15 minutes after I saw her get into the poison I was able to get her to vomit everything. Within 24 hours I injected 1.5 cc vit k1 SC. Within 48 hours I was able to give her a second injection. Meds and vets are hard to come by in my area. Her second injection of a different brand gave her sever hives and allergic reaction. I got her 1cc steroid and 10 mg Loratadine. Hoping to keep up the injections every 12 hours. No signs or symptoms yet. What should I be looking out for? There is no way for me to get the PT test. What happens if I can’t find any oral vit k1 for her? Keep up with injections for 4 weeks? Thank you!!!
I would not keep up the injections if she is allergic! I think the injectable MIGHT (really not sure) but used orally?? You should find out about that. If the injections are causing hives or a reaction then you need to stop that. Read the blog for symptoms but the main thing is bleeding and bruising. If you see any signs of bruising or bleeding then you need more Vit K1. I would try very hard to get to orals. We hardly use the injectable anymore and the orals are even better absorbed…. good luck.
Saw my dog chewing on tomcat bar. Only injested a small piece. Called vet and he said to give peroxide until he vomited. I did and he threw up the poison. Should I go get vitamin k1?
100% yes. Oral Vit K1 for 21-30 days.
We are pretty sure my dog was poisoned by a neighbor and he did not make it. I’m trying to help my sister get some closure so she can stop having nightmares. He escaped our yard to defend a different neighbor from the offending neighbors dogs and we think the offending neighbor took the opportunity to capture him and poison him. It was less than 12 hrs from his escape to his death. Our vet missed it because he also had a crossbow wound, which she deemed non-life threatening after an xray, and no obvious signs of poisoning when he was brought in other than he was disoriented and refused water or food, which she attributed to shock.
His symptoms were: 4-5 hrs post escape: foamy saliva and refusing food/water, disoriented on his return, he wouldn’t walk into the yard, he just stood in the drive and stared at my sister, I had to carry him into the house. He went to the vet because of the wound. We were told he’s shocky and might not drink or eat for a while, but otherwise fine and he was sent home. He stayed lethargic and refusing water or food, but his spit returned to normal. 4-5 hrs after that he went downhill quick. He lost the ability to move his hind legs, followed immediately by involuntary urination, loss of coordination in his front limbs, seizures, and howling in distress between seizures, in that order over the span of maybe 10 minutes. We couldn’t get ahold of the emergency vet, turns out their phone system went down, and it was a 20 min drive there even if we could. So we had to put him down ourselves to end his suffering, it was horrible. After death his mouth turned green. It was normal in color before death, I checked it myself when we first brought him in because I’d been concerned about poisoning, but all he had was foamy spit and dirt in his mouth like he’d been stepped on or shoved to the ground. Would rat poison do this?
NOt rat poison, but there are many other poisons out there. Impossible to tell from the description. Crossbow injury? That might have done this too and just missed as to the severity of that. It could be a number of things, but the acuteness of it sounds very suspicious and like either poison or toxin of some sort. Sorry for your loss.
My Chi/Rat Terrier mix (overweight – 30lbs) got into some rat poison we thought we had far enough under a cabinet. It was a bit more than 1/4 cup (way less than 1/2 cup). I have him at his vet now. Getting activate charcoal, liquid enema, etc. I have to leave him there overnight 🙁 They say he’ll be okay. I’m just looking for some reassurances and maybe suggestions as to what I should do once he get’s home (outside of getting rid of all the poison, even if I think he can’t get it!)
He should be fine if the vet took good care of him. Depending on the type of poison, he should be on Vit K1 for the next month (assuming it is the most common)
I have a husky puppy she is around 30lbs now I’d like to say. She got into the tamper proof dcon rat poison trap and ate the entire green bar. As soon as I saw her with the empty bait station I induced vomitting with hydrogen peroxide. She threw up alot and it was alot of green in the bile as well as whole chunks from the bar in her vomit. I monitored her for the entire day and her energy levels and eating frequency hadn’t changed. She did throw up again early this morning, but she ate it immediately after vomitting before I could see it.
I’m wondering if I should schedule a vet visit for today. We are in a tough financial situation due to covid so we were trying our best to do what we can from home.
Yes, I would be safe and get the antidote from the vet. It should not be that expensive. You can call them and see their thoughts too but I would get the K1 treatment started.
my black lab/pit swallowed a rat poison cube. We had my dog at the vet within 15 minutes. The vet said they couldn’t treat the dog until we got advice and a case number from animal poison control. Because of Co-vid, we had to wait in the car. animal poison control would not give advice or case number unless i paid $75. i dont get paid till tomorrow. The vet refused to see him and said he would be fine overnight and for us to bring him back in when my funds hit the account at midnight tonight. I got on-line and started researching quickly. I found information on inducing vomiting with peroxide and giving activated charcoal. i went out and got both items. Would have gotten the vitamin K too if i had known about it. will start my dog on it tomorrow. The peroxide made him throw up. Thank God my dog swallowed the cube whole. It came up the same way it went down, in one big cube. after he threw it up, i gave the charcoal. My question is, how soon can i give water. Most rat poison i know of, is activated after the rodent drinks water. When will it be safe? and when will i know if my dog is out of the woods.
You can give water immediately. Make sure you use the correct dose of Vitamin K1 and for the right time. I would 100% visit your local vet for advice and monitoring of this process. Glad the whole block came up for sure, now just follow through with the rest of the treatment.
It has been well over a month since Cade ate the rat poison. He is doing well. I lost my other dog a few weeks after this incident. She died at the age of 14 from natural causes. Cade has been my comfort since then, and I am grateful to have him.
My dog ate rat poison. Gave hydrogen peroxide per instructions dog did not vomit. Took dog to vet vomiting induced vitamin k administered. Now one month out dog seems fine but vomits once every afternoon.
Might be something else or a side effect of the peroxide causing an ulcer. Have him checked by a vet, that is not good. Could be acid reflux or something too. Too many options.
Hi, our dog (approx 55-60 lb Double Doodle) got ahold of a Ramik bar left by a neighbor (Diphacinone – 0.005%). I caught her in the act of eating it. I am not sure exactly how much she consumed, but do not think an entire bar. Within 10 minutes I called the emergency vet helpline where I was walked through inducing vomiting. She did vomit immediately, 5-6 times until there was only bile remaining. It appears she threw up everything – including socks she has got ahold of. 🙁 – (She will pull them from the laundry basket from time to time. We try to keep them in a room she cannot get into – but kids. 🙁 ) – Unfortunately, this happened a week ago and we were snowed in at the time; no getting off our mountain. – The very next day I had someone go to a Vitamin Shoppe and purchase Vitamin K1 tablets (100mg) and they used an ATV to bring it up our mountain. I have been giving her 200mg/day, dispersing the total amount 3 times a day, with fatty canned dog food. – She appears to be doing okay. I have also been giving her “Hemp Quiet Moments” chewables to help make sure she stays calm. – I had read conflicting dosages online about how much Vit K1 to give her. Is 200mg appropriate? I calculated 180mg/day per her body weight, and also read that there is no overdosing on Vit K1, therefore, decided to give complete 200mg in case I am off on her weight and to make dosing easier. Is this amount okay? I was going to give it for 3 weeks, but after reading your suggestions above, think perhaps a full 30 days.
Let me clarify …. she is not receiving 200mg/3 x day, I am dividing the 200mg throughout 3 interval feedings so she is receiving approx 66.6 mg each feeding; 200mg ttl for the entire day, not each feeding.
You are doing everything right but the Vitamin K1 seems a little high for a dose. I dont think 30 days will be high enough to be a problem. I’m calculating a slightly lower dose but if you split it 1/3x over the day you are probably find. You can go to 150mg if you want to follow the dose.Vit K1 can be overdosed but it is rare with the doses you are giving…. keep it up.https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/rodenticide-poisoning-what-to-do-after-exposure/
My dog was showing symptoms, although we can’t find any rat poison, but the vet has indicated all signs were rodenticide. We took her in and she was critical and after 2 days in the ER Vet, she’s home, but when I try to give her the Vit K, she whimpers. Also if I have to move her outside to her dog pen, she whimpers. Could this be tenderness from the poisoning? I’m very hopeful she is going to pull through, as she really is part of the family. It’s heartbreaking to have to watch your pet go through the horrible effects of the poison. Is there anything else I can look for around our home that may cause similar symptoms as rat poison? We’ve had 3 dogs on our property show signs. One did not make it. She even turns her nose to meat when I try to give her the meds (not her normal self).
So sorry for you situation. Does she have bruising on her body that is causing the pain and discomfort? I am not an expert on poisons or venoms in all areas but I would work with your vet on this. Many of the local vets will have some ideas for these situations, I would highly suspect rodenticide poison and look for any signs of the bait or a neighbors property or maybe in old walls or foundations. Sorry for your situation…..
My cat walked over freshly laid rat poison pellets (green) on the ground between the fence and shed in my neighbour’s yard. She was out of my sight for mere seconds, so I’m not sure if she ate any (though it was so quick that I doubt it) and I wiped her paws with a wet cloth before she could lick them. I later asked the neighbour for the package and read that one should rinse 15-20 min, if contact on skin, so I proceeded to wash her paws thoroughly and keep her from licking them until they had dried (this was however several hours after the initial contact) – the poison also said it was for intended for indoor use only and should be kept away from animals other than the target. Later that day, she wretched mildly and vomited a small amount of clear fluid (though not sure if this was related to the incident as she does this occasionally anyway). Prior to the incident, she had recently been to the vet as she was not feeling well and she was diagnosed with stage 1 kidney disease and I am treating her with Lactulose for constipation. The contact with the poison occurred 4 days ago. So far, she seems fine (no loss of appetite or other symptoms). No more vomiting. She is engaged and not despondent. Her stools are still not regular and are spaced about 2 days apart, but she did go today (no diarrhea or blood in the stools). At first, I thought she looks fine, so she is probably alright, but as I read more online, I’m not sure if that means she’s ok. What should I do and what should I expect, if I take her to the vet?
The answer is if you are ever concerned….. go to the vet for reassurance and check up. Seems like she would have symptoms by now if she ate any poison. It usually kicks in in 24-48 hours, but the brand and type would determine that. You can always call the number on the bag and ask the company…… or got to the vet for a check up and a good night’s sleep confident that she will be ok.