My Dog Ate Rat Poison!!!!

So what do we do when a dog or cat eats rat poison?  The answer to that question all depends on how much time has passed between ingestion and the initiation of treatment.  If the patient ingested the poison less than 2 hours ago, I will most likely induce vomitting.  If we can make the patient vomit the poison back up then that takes away most of the risk.  If the poison was ingested longer than 2-3 hours ago, that changes our options since the poison will already have left the stomach for the intestine and absorption is imminent.  Rat poison causes coagulopathies, ie the blood doesn't clot.  In other words, when a mouse or rat ingest rat poison they bleed out internally.   Rat or mouse poisons are vitamin K antagonist.  Vitamin K is essential in the coagulation process.  It can also cause extensive damage to the kidneys, so treatment is aimed at decreasing the absorption of the poison, providing the necessary vitamin K and keeping the patient hydrated to prevent kidney disease.  I saw a large dog this week that had ingested an unknown amount of rat poison and the owners were not sure of the time frame, but it had been longer than 2 hours.   I sedated the patient after a physical exam and placed a tube into his stomach and pumped in activated charcoal which helps to decrease the absorption of the toxin.  I started an IV catheter and fluids as well as vitamin K.  This patient stayed in the hospital for 3 days and coagulation panels and general bloodwork was run daily to monitor changes.  This patient responded well to treatment and was sent home with vitamin K and should do well.  Unfortunately, not all patients are that lucky so it is imperative that poisons are kept out of reach.  You don't want to be the owner with the unlucky dog or cat!