Long-Term Prognosis For Rat Poison Cases Is Good
Rachita writes: Do most dogs that recover from rat poisoning, do so completely and without any long-term residual symptoms? In addition, do any precautions need to be taken when she is taken back home and is with her sister (who is healthy, no ingestion of poison)? Thanks again for all your efforts here! (For the full text of Tikki’s story click on this link and scroll down to the COMMENTS section.)
Rachita’s dog, Tikki,
- Tikki is on her way to healing after ingesting rat poison.
ingested a rodenticide while Rachita was out of town and her dog was staying with her parents. (Can you imagine the grandparent guilt?) There is special cause for concern in Tikki’s case because blood was discovered in the lungs during examination at the local emergency hospital.
In Tikki’s case, not only was vitamin K1 administered, but an infusion of plasma was also required. Plasma administration is especially helpful when clotting factors have been exhausted from the bloodstream. It takes time for the liver to begin to produce its own clotting factors, whereas providing exogenous plasma (from a local donor dog or purchased from a blood bank) allows the body to resume clotting at a near-normal level very quickly.
If rodenticide continues to be active in the body, plasma administration may have to be repeated.
Once a rat-poison patient is “out of the woods,” long-term prognosis becomes good. The degree of danger up to that point depends on a variety of factors including type of rat poison, duration of poisoning prior to treatment, effectiveness in removing rodenticide from the body. Other variables include patient specifics such as age, preexisting health problems and response to treatment.
Potential complications include pneumonia in Tikki’s case because blood is a good culture medium and the warm, moist lungs make a good place for infections to grow.
If a dog or cat bleeds so greatly as to deprive the brain of oxygen for a significant period of time, certain neurological problems may occur after recovery. Seizures and loss of mental acuity could also occur.
Rachita, breathe easy. Tikki sounds like she is well on her way to recovery. She is getting all the right treatments, and now you must be faithful on followup medicine and testing to ensure that she will be free from relapses.
Click on “Rodenticide Poisoning” under the Categories listings on the right side of this page. Read all of the posts, including the Comments in order to glean all of the information you need to ensure that your pet’s care is done correctly and completely.
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
MMRODENT
Related posts:
- Treatment For Rat Poison In Dogs And Cats
- Rat Poison (Rodenticide) Treatment In Dogs And Cats
- How Veterinary Oncolology Cases Are Worked Up
5 Comments to “Long-Term Prognosis For Rat Poison Cases Is Good”
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My 13-year old cat Ted was acting lethargic and blood tests showed rat poison. His veterinarian gave him Vitamin K1 and intravenus fluids. He didn’t seem to be responding after three days so gave him a blood transfusion from his brother. Next morning he was much more responsive and had a bowel movement. I have brought him home for tonight. His blood level is 17, up from 13 two days ago. He will not eat or drink and very wobbly on his feet. Any suggestions and thank you for all your posts.
Jess, it sounds as if some blood from prior bleeding may be lodged in the respiratory tract, or there could be ongoing bleeding. Be sure that your dog is receiving ongoing care for the poisoning, that his clotting parameters are being monitored frequently and that there are no other, complicating factors beyond the rodenticide. Click here for another article on rat poisoning. Please keep us posted on his progress.
Hi, my dog was recently rat-poisoned and has had his last injection today. However he has a very blocked nose, and keeps trying to blow “stuff” out. Very harsh coughing and breathing. The stuff is a murky brown blood-tinged snot. Is this normal for a dog on recovery road?
Thank you for loving that baby, Rachita. She’s a beauty and she’s very fortunate that you are giving her such excellent care. Keep us posted on her progress. Thanks for the reply, Dr. Randolph.
Thats excellent news Dr. Randolph! Thank you for taking the time to address my concerns. It has been about 4 days since Tikki came back home from the emergency animal hospital and slowly but surely, she appears to be healing. She was even able to eat most of her food and walk a little bit today (although she is still very weak and her physical activity is being monitored). Thankfully she is a fan of her medication because it comes hidden in a dollop of peanut butter, so we’re hoping she will be back to her usual playful self in a few weeks.