Winter, dogs, and rats and cats.

You know it’s winter when your otherwise enthusiastic canine cowers under the covers rather than leap up to join you on your morning walk.   Your feline friend positions herself over the heating duct or in perilous proximity to the open fire, tail flickering in somnolent delight.  And there are rodents.

Mice and rats sneak into our homes in winter for the paradise we offer: food, warmth, and shelter.  If you are using “rat-baits” to eradicate a rodent problem, be aware that these products also pose significant risk to the cats and dogs inhabiting our homes.

Rodenticides (mouse and rat baits) typically contain an anticoagulant toxin which interferes with the blood’s normal clotting function. When the rodent eats and digests the bait, it succumbs to internal bleeding resulting in death.

Unfortunately baits may also be eaten by an inquisitive pet.   Bored or playful dogs may dig out rat baits that you had scrupulously hidden, and cats may find a mouse - sick with rodenticide - and exhibiting their natural predator instincts, set upon, and eat the poisoned rodent.  The rat poison will then act upon a cat or dog in the same way, to disastrous effect.

What do you do if you suspect your pet has eaten rat bait, or a poisoned mouse?   Don’t panic.  This is a slow acting poison, but it certainly needs veterinary attention. Get help from your vet. This may be in the form of blood tests, and administration of specific medical antidotes, or in severe cases may require hospitalisation, blood transfusions, and intensive care.

Dogs and cats die from the use of rat and mouse baits.  If you cannot guarantee their isolation and disposal, consider other forms of rodent control.  Don’t let the “out of sight out of mind” concept of rat baits hide their potential dire consequences for your pet.

For Gisborne Gazette August 2020