mouse poision

Question
I have at least one mouse. Probably more that I don't want. I also have 2 cats that I adore. If I poison mousey, it takes a week or so for it to die. In the meantime, if one of my kitties were to catch mousey is it a problem? What symptoms would I look for.? Can I do anything to help her or just take kitty to an emergency vet?

thank you for your attention to this problem.

Answer
Hi there,
the way the mouse poisons work is by using up vitamin K, which is necessary for the blood to clot. It takes 48-72 hours for this to occur, so you are correct, it takes a while for the mouse to actually die from internal bleeding.

By the time the mice are dead, the poison is no longer in their intestinal tract, so catching a dead or dying mouse is no problem to your cat. It would only be a problem if the mouse just recently eaten a large amount of the poison and then your cat ate him (ie the poison was still in the mouse's stomach).

If you know for sure your cat has eaten a very recently poisoned mouse, your vet can do a clotting blood test, which is reasonably cheap to do.

The signs in your cat are pretty vague, your cat might just sleep a little more and have pale gums, often the bleeding is internal and as cats sleep 18 hours a day, it can be difficult to tell when they are feeling lethargic.

Could you use a mouse trap instead? They even have 'humane' ones now which are good for softies like me. They basically safely trap the mouse then you can take mousey for a little walk/drive a long way from your house and release him (or take him to the vet for humane euthanasia).

Eloise
Veterinarian in Sydney
www.lovethatpet.com