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By Olaf Klein
The seasons are changing and with it, rats and mice are looking for dry and cosy places to survive the winter months in comfort. Roof spaces in our houses and sheds, as well as the space that is left under our houses, are preferred places of residence. While it is a good idea to put out rat bait, there are a few things that need serious consideration. Rat bait is toxic to all mammals. The placement of baits is crucial to secure uptake by the target species and not our household pets. The bait should always be secured in place either nailed, wired or put into special bait stations.
Rodents tend to store baits that can be taken away and they are not eaten immediately. They make stashes for future use and these places can be accessed by your dog without your knowledge. When there are lots of rodents around that have taken up the bait there is also the chance of secondary poisoning of your cats because the rodent becomes a lot easier to catch. Not all cats eat their prey, but for the ones that do, there is concern in these situations. Rat baits are anticoagulants. They prevent the blood from clotting by inhibiting certain steps within the coagulation cascade. There is a time lag between eating the bait and the appearance of clinical symptoms. This is dependent on the amount of bait consumed per gram of live weight of the rodent, but usually it is not apparent before three days have gone by. This prevents the rats from making the connection between eating the poison and getting sick. Pet owners do not notice anything wrong with their pets until at least three days after the bait being eaten.
Once clinical symptoms have set in, we usually see pale mucus membranes, often increased respirations rates, lethargy and elevated heart rates. Water consumption is often increased as well. At this stage, treatment needs to be initiated. Diagnosis is usually made by history and clinical signs and confirmed by blood sampling to measure the prothrombin tine (coagulation ability). Treatment is often given before diagnosis is confirmed by blood test because once symptoms have set in, time is of the essence. The same time lapse that applied to the onset of symptoms applies to time from start of treatment to the disappearance of clinical symptoms.
The medication consists of Vitamin K and it has to be given much longer than the three to four days it took for the clinical symptoms to resolve – usually about three weeks. The all clear can only be given when the prothronsin blood test shows normal levels three days after the vitamin K medication has stopped. In very severe cases of rat poisoning, a blood transfusion is needed to stabilise the patient. If accidental consumption of bait is seen by the owner, their vet should be contacted immediately because it is very likely that the bait is still in the stomach and medically induced vomiting will bring it all up. With all this in mind, take care and prevent the need for veterinary intervention.
