June 2015 OMG!! My pet ate rat bait! - Horsham Vet … · OMG!! My pet ate rat bait! There are two...
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OMG!! My pet ate rat bait! There are two major types of rat bait. First generaon poisons which contain warfarin, these have a shorter duraon of acon and in some cases very small amounts ingested over a long peri- od of me can be fatal. Second generaon poisons such as Talon and Bromakill (which have acve ingredients like brodifacoum) have a longer duraon of acon and a single dose may prove fatal. Ratsac, Talon and Bromakill are the most common ones we see. They are either blue or green pellets, blocks or granules. So how does rat poison work? It acts as an ancoagulant, causing haemorrhage by prevenng blood from clong. Rat poisons stop the natural producon of clong factors by the liver, it takes a few days before the body’s reserve of clong factors are used up and therefore haemorrhaging is usually not seen for 2-4 days aſter the poison has been ingested. If you have seen your pet eat rat poison contact us immediately. Bring the packaging in with you so we know exactly what toxin was ingested by your pet. Most likely we will need to induce vom- ing and the drugs we use are much more effecve than anything that can be used at home. If it is not possible to get your pet into the vet hospital within a couple of hours of eang the poison the vet may advise some opons to try to induce voming at home if appropriate. If your pet has had access to rat poison which you have been unaware of, the signs of intoxicaon are associated with bleeding and can range from very subtle signs such as being lethargic to frank bleeding from anywhere. Normal everyday movement re- sults in damage to blood vessels at the capillary level. When the body's clong mechanism is working properly, these microbleeds are repaired immediately without us being aware of it. However, when our clong system is not working, these minute traumas are not repaired and connue to bleed. The most common symptoms we see in animals affected by rat poison are: lethargy pale gums coughing or respiratory difficules (laboured or rapid breathing) Other less common signs that may occur are sffness or lameness from bleeding into muscles blood in the urine or faeces bruising or haemorrhages on the gums bleeding from the nose connued bleeding from small wounds or cuts seizures voming and or diarrhoea If your dog or cat shows any of these signs we need to see them as soon as possible as it may be life threatening. We have special equipment that allows us to test the clong performance of your pet’s blood and generally takes about 5 minutes to perform. If the result is abnormal; it helps us to make the diagnosis of rat poison intoxicaon. Treatment can range from your pet just needing Vitamin K which is a fat soluble vitamin and is the andote for these type of poi- sons, it allows the liver to start manufacturing clong factors again but it does take some me to work. If your pet is severely affected, they may require hospitalisaon and a blood or plasma transfusion as well as Vitamin K. If there is bleeding into the chest with severe respiratory difficulty it may be necessary to drain haemorrhaged blood from the chest cavity. Vitamin K treatment connues at home for at least 2-3 weeks and oſten longer to pre- vent a relapse. Strict rest is also important. Fortunately, most animals that are given early, appropriate treatment make a full recovery. So, it is that me of year. Unfortunately we can’t keep our eyes on our pets all day long, but we must make sure that rat poison is completely out of reach and there is no possibility of them eang any, not just at home but anywhere you take them. Remember that rats & mice can oſten drag baits out of their original posi- ons so there is always a danger to our pets when poisons are used. Just check what may be lying around. We love our pets very much and being over cauous can be the best way to protect them but if you suspect poisoning contact us immediately. June - 2015 Early treatment is imperative to save your pets life. Have you seen any yet? I have! Yes, I am talking about those pesky lile mice that your cat brings home to you and leaves on your doorstep. The soluon to the bigger issue is that people oſten rely on rat or mice poisons; but did you know that both dogs and cats can be affected by eang rat bait or potenally by ingesng rodents that have consumed rat bait? 25 Dimboola Road P:5381 1439 www.horshamvethospital.com.au HORSHAM VIC 3400 F: 5381 1717 [email protected]
Transcript of June 2015 OMG!! My pet ate rat bait! - Horsham Vet … · OMG!! My pet ate rat bait! There are two...
OMG!! My pet ate rat bait!
There are two major types of rat bait. First generation poisons which contain warfarin, these have a shorter duration of action and in some cases very small amounts ingested over a long peri-od of time can be fatal. Second generation poisons such as Talon and Bromakill (which have active ingredients like brodifacoum) have a longer duration of action and a single dose may prove fatal. Ratsac, Talon and Bromakill are the most common ones we see. They are either blue or green pellets, blocks or granules. So how does rat poison work? It acts as an anticoagulant, causing haemorrhage by preventing blood from clotting. Rat poisons stop the natural production of clotting factors by the liver, it takes a few days before the body’s reserve of clotting factors are used up and therefore haemorrhaging is usually not seen for 2-4 days after the poison has been ingested. If you have seen your pet eat rat poison contact us immediately. Bring the packaging in with you so we know exactly what toxin was ingested by your pet. Most likely we will need to induce vom-iting and the drugs we use are much more effective than anything that can be used at home. If it is not possible to get your pet into the vet hospital within a couple of hours of eating the poison the vet may advise some options to try to induce vomiting at home if appropriate.
If your pet has had access to rat poison which you have been unaware of, the signs of intoxication are associated with bleeding and can range from very subtle signs such as being lethargic to frank bleeding from anywhere. Normal everyday movement re-sults in damage to blood vessels at the capillary level. When the body's clotting mechanism is working properly, these microbleeds are repaired immediately without us being aware of it. However, when our clotting system is not working, these minute traumas are not repaired and continue to bleed. The most common symptoms we see in animals affected by rat poison are:
lethargy
pale gums
coughing or respiratory difficulties (laboured or rapid breathing)
Other less common signs that may occur are
stiffness or lameness from bleeding into muscles
blood in the urine or faeces
bruising or haemorrhages on the gums
bleeding from the nose
continued bleeding from small wounds or cuts
seizures
vomiting and or diarrhoea
If your dog or cat shows any of these signs we need to see them as soon as possible as it may be life threatening. We have special equipment that allows us to test the clotting performance of your pet’s blood and generally takes about 5 minutes to perform. If the result is abnormal; it helps us to make the diagnosis of rat poison intoxication. Treatment can range from your pet just needing Vitamin K which is a fat soluble vitamin and is the antidote for these type of poi-sons, it allows the liver to start manufacturing clotting factors again but it does take some time to work. If your pet is severely affected, they may require hospitalisation and a blood or plasma transfusion as well as Vitamin K. If there is bleeding into the chest with severe respiratory difficulty it may be necessary to drain haemorrhaged blood from the chest cavity. Vitamin K treatment continues at home for at least 2-3 weeks and often longer to pre-vent a relapse. Strict rest is also important. Fortunately, most animals that are given early, appropriate treatment make a full recovery.
So, it is that time of year. Unfortunately we can’t keep our eyes on our pets all day long, but we must make sure that rat poison is completely out of reach and there is no possibility of them eating any, not just at home but anywhere you take them. Remember that rats & mice can often drag baits out of their original posi-tions so there is always a danger to our pets when poisons are used. Just check what may be lying around.
We love our pets very much and being over cautious can be the best way to protect them but if you suspect poisoning contact us immediately.
June - 2015
Early treatment is imperative to save your pets life.
Have you seen any yet? I have! Yes, I am talking about those pesky little mice that your cat brings home to you and leaves on your doorstep. The solution to the bigger issue is that people often rely on rat or mice poisons; but did you know that both dogs and cats can be affected by eating rat bait or potentially by ingesting rodents that have consumed rat bait?
25 Dimboola Road P:5381 1439 www.horshamvethospital.com.au
HORSHAM VIC 3400 F: 5381 1717 [email protected]
25 Dimboola Road P:5381 1439 www.horshamvethospital.com.au
HORSHAM VIC 3400 F: 5381 1717 [email protected]
HORSHAM VETERINARY HOSPITAL - June 2015
HVH News
PICK UP AND DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR
Trouble finding the time to get to the clinic?
Are your pets too difficult to transport?
Just don’t like the fur floating through your car?
Let our trained nursing staff collect your pets for
their veterinary visits.
STAFF PROFILE - BELINDA COLLINS
How did you come to work at HVH? I first started grooming by
volunteering my time to assist a Groomer,, this gave me the
hands on experience while I completed my Grooming qualifica-
tion.
What do you enjoy most about working at HVH? Amazing Cli-
ents that really care about their animals and the great team of
people I have the privilege of working with each day.
What is your proudest moment at HVH? Successfully placing an
IV catheter on my first attempt, Pure luck and a great teacher!
(Thanks Dr Debbie)
What nugget of wisdom would you like to share with pet own-
ers? Definitely Pet Insurance!, I highly recommend it for all
pets.
Funniest Moment at work? There are too many to name and
most of them involve being urinated on by patients .
Do you have any pets?
Asha - 10yr old Great Dane X
Pixie - 2 yo Great Dane X
Goob & Pheonix - Domestic Shorthair felines.
Pudding & Custard - Muscovy ducks
Do you like to travel? I love visiting Tasmania and I travel an
average of 1900km per month to visit my partner who resides
in Swan Hill.
Favourite Food: Mexican, Indian (All vegan food really, not
fussed)
If you were an animal what would you be and why?: A Mako
Shark because they are the fastest shark in the ocean, I could
travel the world! How cool.
Favourite Movie/Book: Food Inc / Thug Life (Veggie book)
Staff Secrets about Belinda:
She gets very excited about new pamphlets, she sniffs
them and does a little happy dance.
She sniffs work jackets to identify her own!
She has an insatiable addiction for pugs (and their de-
rivatives), she does a rugby dash pushing others aside
to get first cuddle!
Belinda has been a team member at Horsham Veterinary Hospital for 7 years. Belinda is our senior groomer at Top Coat & Tails
and is currently training as a Veterinary Nurse. We asked Belinda a few questions to reveal her secrets! (and we revealed a few)
TOP COAT AND TAILS
GROOMING SALON
At Top Coat and Tails Grooming Salon we offer a boutique experience for your pet.
From premium pampering to a light freshen up, a suitable grooming solution for
your pets needs is available. Bookings by appointment only.
