My friend's cat was vomiting for 2 days and had diarrhea for 3-4 days after that. We gave him medication for diarrhea, because he told me he had changed his food, and I thought that was the problem. The diarrhea is improving a little, but then my friend casually told me that last week the cat had gone in the basement of the building. Then I realized he had been poisoned by something he ate at the basement, and I confirmed that because I went down there and found rat poison. We are going to the vet in an hour(when she comes in). The antidote is vitamin K1 and he will get it, but I wanted to know, if someone knows for sure, how the rat poison works. Do you think it could be in its system and it could be too late for the antidote to work? Or since the cat is improving (stopped vomitting and diarrhea is getting better) he has a chance? Or the improvement may be deceitful? Any experience on this?
Answers:
According to the website: http://www.redbarnanimalhospital.com/sho...
"Most rat poisons work by inhibiting certain liver enzymes involved in the formation of vitamin K-1. The activated vitamin plays a critical role in preparing certain clotting factors for essential clotting activities. When vitamin K-1 levels fall, internal and external bleeding will result. Hemorrhage is the cause of death in most; some dogs may have lethal complications of bleeding in the lungs, brain, or heart, or other vital organ systems.
Signs of rodenticide intoxication include difficulty breathing, bruising and hematoma formation (pooling of blood beneath the skin), especially on the abdomen, lethargy, depression, and pale mucous membranes (a sign of anemia). The breathing difficulty occurs when blood collects in the chest cavity (hemothorax) and interferes with lung expansion during inhalation. Blood may also collect beneath the pericardium (outer lining of the heart), a condition called hemopericardium. This can interfere with heart function."
"Your veterinarian may conduct bloodwork, including clotting tests, a complete blood count, and screens for various toxins, including rodenticides. Radiographs (x-rays) of the chest may be taken to look for hemothorax and hemopericardium.
If signs of rodenticide intoxication are severe the pet may require transfusions of plasma or fresh whole blood that contain the activated clotting factors and injections of vitamin K-1. Fresh whole blood or packed red blood cells may be needed if signs of anemia are severe. Oral doses of vitamin K-1 are then administered for several weeks. During this time, your veterinarian may monitor the clotting times for signs of improvement. If your dog did ingest a significant amount of poison and has bleeding into the chest cavity, a procedure called thoracentesis may be required. This involves the surgical insertion of a needle into the chest to drain the pooled blood.
Generally, if an affected dog or cat is promptly treated and can survive for two days after ingestion of the poison, the prognosis for recovery is fair to good. Repeated exposure is not uncommon, so the dog's environment must be totally decontaminated. "
I doubt that the animal ingested rat poision, otherwise it'd probably be dead by now. Good luck!
I would take the cat to be checked out by a vet asap.
I would take the cat to the vet, and tell him your story.. But the fact that he is still alive.. Makes me think he likely didn't get into the rat poison.
If he has improved by now he should be ok. Rat poison works fast on the body which would have already worked on him. It causes internal bleeding. The cat would have been passing blood from every end by now. I would still take him to the vet to make sure but vitamin K1 will help with any damage that was done from the rat posion.
It's my understanding that some rat poison are like a blood thinner and prevent the blood from clotting and they basically bleed to death.Since it's been about 5 days I hope it's something else making her sick.If it's the poison,the the vitamin K shot starts working pretty fast.It;s good to get her to the vet fast,pets can dehydrate really fast.
The probably didn't get exposed to very much poison since it is still alive. But, I would have taken it to the vet days ago. People take kids to the doctor if they have a fever, yet they let animals be sick and miserable. I think it's horrible that you and your friend waited so long to seek help. I hope the cat isn't hurt by your irresponsibility.
Rat poison will make the animal bleed from the inside. It's a slow, painful death for the animal. I would go to the vet right now, Don't wait for an hour.
If it's not rat poison, it could be something he ate. What brand of food was your friend giving him? There are several cat food recalls right now.
Rat poison is usually warfarin, a blood thinner. It causes death by internal haemorrhaging. I think it's fairly unlikely the cat ate rat poison, it does kill quite quickly. Also you probably would've seen blood in the vomit or diarrhoea.
I'm still glad you're going back to the vets, vomiting and diarrhoea for this long needs to be checked out whatever the cause.
Chalice
Whew, if your cat is doing better, then it should be ok. It may not have gotten into the rat poison though. That stuff makes the blood so thin, that it seeps through veins, etc. Perhaps your little darling got into some other nasty stuff. Radiator fluid is a common toxin. But also your kitty could have a wee bout of food poisoning of sorts, which animals can get too. Good luck with your cat.
mastiffs360.com
You did the right thing by taking the cat to the vet. Usually on here, people don't take their animals to the vet at all, but would rather have "home remedies" or what not instead of spending the money. We're only human and make mistakes - the fact that you didn't immediately suspect rat poison in a cat that isn't even yours does not make you a bad person. Don't listen to the others who have nothing better to do than rip you apart. The cat has seen a vet and will see the vet again today. They probably didn't read the entire post.
As far as the rat poison, that may have not been the culprit as more than likely, the cat would be dead already. What the others posted about rat poison, and it's effects, is correct.
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