Pet owners using rodenticides should be aware that cats and dogs are susceptible to the products’ poison, and veterinarians fear an increase in bromethalin toxicity in pets because of a ban on brodifacoum. Bromethalin is the active ingredient in Assault, Fastrac, Gladiator, Rampage, Talpirid and Vengeance, and it causes brain and spinal cord swelling characterized by weakness, incoordination, seizures, paralysis and death. There is no definitive diagnostic test and no antidote, note veterinarians Lee Pickett and Jennifer Coates. Supportive treatments are available but they are intensive, and animals that survive are often left with neurological deficits. PetMD.com/Fully Vetted blog (3/12), BerksPets.com (Reading, Pa.) (3/11)
The EPA provides a list of rodenticides that meet their safety standards and are approved for homeowner use on their website. Two, diaphacinone and chlorophacinone, are short-acting anti-coagulants similar to warfarin, which we touched upon yesterday. Any pet poisonings that are caused by these products should be comparatively simple to diagnose and treat, as long as pets are seen by a veterinarian in a timely manner.
The third active ingredient on the EPA list, bromethalin, is more concerning. Bromethalin is a neurotoxin. It causes fluid to build up within the brain. The swelling puts pressure on nerves, which inhibits their ability to transmit impulses. The symptoms that develop depend on the dose of the poison that an animal ingests. At relatively low exposures, symptoms include unsteadiness, weakness that starts in the hind end and can progress forward, muscle tremors, depression, and vomiting. When a dog gets into a large amount of bromethalin, the symptoms are more severe. Pets typically develop some combination of the following:
- muscle tremors
- seizures
- hyperexcitability
- unsteadiness
- paddling of the limbs
- high body temperature
- a loss of voice
- stiffness in the front legs
Testing for bromethalin exposure is not readily available so diagnosis is dependent on a history of exposure (if that is known) and a pet’s clinical signs.
With hindsight, I think I may have treated one dog for bromethalin poisoning, though I didn’t know it at the time. This dog belonged to an owner who was in town for a horse show. My patient was brought into the clinic with a weird panoply of symptoms, some of which fit with those mentioned above. We suspected that he had gotten into something at the horse show, but could never determine exactly what that might have been. My guess is that someone may have put out a bromethalin-containing rodenticide around the barns.
Decontamination (e.g., inducing vomiting and giving activated charcoal) is very helpful within a few hours of ingestion, but once symptoms develop treatment for bromethalin poisoning revolves around trying to decrease swelling within the brain, dealing with symptoms as they arise, and patient support. Since I didn’t have a definitive diagnosis for my patient, I was limited to symptomatic and supportive therapies. It was touch and go for awhile, but he was much improved after a few days of hospitalization, and a follow-up phone call to his home in California revealed that he had made a complete recovery.
He was lucky, if he had eaten more of the poison or had been brought in even a day later, I probably wouldn’t have been able to save him.
I hope bromethalin poisonings do not increase as a result of the ban on brodifacoum. Sending pets home with vitamin K after exposure to brodifacoum is far less stressful than hospitalizing them for severe neurologic dysfunction without a way to reach definitive diagnosis and no antidote in sight.
My dog just ingested bromethalin and I’m 48 hours in. Do you know how long it took for a recovery?
?My dog ate half a 4 pound bucket, and at 48 hours I see no symptoms. I’ve been giving him activated charcoal as the only treatment. I think the active ingredient wasn’t present in the Tomcat rat bait he ate (my fault for allowing him to access it – he is my best friend in the world)…
I just want to say my 2 dogs just got to 1.8kg of tomcat about 48hrs ago there in the vet the next 2days.
please tell me your dog is ok I’m at a loose right now
Omg. My dog is at the vet now. She got into 15 grams (9 grams is fatal for her). I caught it at max 3hrs after ingestion. No symptoms upon presentation and thus far. Please tell me your dogs are okay cuz I’m freaking out over here
Wow 4 lbs?! Did he ever develop symptoms?
My jack ate some today and going they treaent of charcoal now. Did your dog survive? Any treatments you are aware of ?
I’m using activate charcoal too – the Bromethalin goes through the liver, and becomes a much deadlier substance, which the activated charcoal may be removing…?
How much activated charcoal are you giving? My 15 lb puppy got in to a mouse trap but we don’t know how much she actually ate. They induced vomiting and said she should be fine now, but I want her to have the charcoal just to be sure! Scariest thing of my life!!
How much activated charcoal per pound?
My 65 lb husky ate a large quantity of it that he found in the backyard of a house we just moved into. He showed all the symptoms listed above within a few hours and we had to have the vet euthanize him less than 15 hours later. Our Chihuahua also got into but luckily only ate a little. He presented with back leg tremors, fever, and some signs of neurological dysfunction. After 24 hours of induced vomiting, and then IV fluids he was released from the hospital. It took about a week but he luckily made a full recovery.
We are so glad that he recovered!
How concerned should I be about secondary poisoning with bromethalin (eg dog eats a dead rat)? Is there an option that offers the least risk of secondary poisoning?
Last Thursday evening our Norwich Terrier was fidgety. My wife took him to the vet Friday morning who suspected poisoning. My wife confirmed that a neighbor had placed bromethalin around their motor home. The vet administered charcoal and an anti seizure medication via IV. The vet called later in the afternoon and said he was not able to control the seizures and recommended putting the dog down and said if we really wanted to try to save the dog he would need to be moved to a more well equipped facility – Cornell or Univ of Penn. My wife started the four hour trip to U of P. I was in DC on business and started the drive up to meet her. The dog was admitted to emergency with tremors and seizures and symptoms so far advanced that the vet offered little hope. Again there is not a lot of survival data to go on. Our concern was binding the poison in the dogs system to reduce further damage to the nervous system. We decided on a course of IV lipids to bind the bromethalin. The vet said that they could treat the symptoms with an anti-convulsant (Keppra) and boluses of mannitol to eliminate excess water from the brain. If this sounds like a lot to go through – it is. And we did not know if this course of therapy was going to work. With so much unknown we decided to give it a try. Saturday morning my wife ans son made the trip to Penn to see the dog. In speaking with the vet, the dog had shown insignificant improvement and it really wasn’t appropriate to bring the dog home (without putting it down) despite the poor prognosis. I guess the key point to mention is that the dog had not shown any worsening of condition either. The vet felt that we would need to make a decision if nothing more than to spare the family the continued stress. So we decided to give the dog one more night in the ICU. The next morning we left the house early fully prepared to have to put the dog down and bring him home. On our way to U of P we received the message from the vet saying the dog, while not having regained normal neurological function, had shown marked improvement. In fact more so than any other adult dog they have seen with that type of toxicity. When we arrived, while the dog was not able to really move around physically, he was responsive. Monday he was further improved but needed to be taken off the mannitol – luckily no issues – and he was moved to an oral dose of Keppra. He tolerated the oral Keppra well and came home on Tuesday. Hopefully this will be of use to someone with a pet that they cherish. I cant fathom how poisons without antidotes could be put on the market.
Thank you very much for the information. I am living in fear that someone is going to poison my babies (dogs) . I am glad your baby survived.
We are in the midst of this right now. 80 lb boxer and 7 lb Chihuahua both ate tomcat rat poison. We got them to the vet right away and vomiting was induced and Rhett administered charcoal. Daisy (boxer) started having tremorsand was given valium, they transported her to an ER for the night. Wrecker (Chihuahua)is so far not having symptoms but they are observing him. We are told that prognosis is not good for Daisy and Wrecker is still not out of the woods.
Did your dog make it with no long term affects?
How is your boxer? My 1 year 1 month old is in the midst of fighting.. never had seizures. Did not get to diagnose fast enough to induce vomiting or give active charcoal. 🙁 I need hope, haven’t given up. Hope your dogs are doing well. God bless
How is your baby now? What symptoms and how long until you discovered it? I know 1 of my 2 dogs ate some around 9 am and we didn’t discover it until 7 pm. They didn’t offer to pump her stomach or do an enema. (The stomach Part I get. The enema they never mentioned and I just read online was an option). They did get charcoal. And now I’m supposed to give it every 8 yrs and watch for symptoms. I’m freakin gout. Would love to hear some positive outcomes! Thanks. God bless y’all. My pets are 2 havanese. Hannah and Harley-Grace.
How is your dog doing now? This sounds like what our dog is going through! (Still at hospital, day 2 after bromatheline ingestion but is improving). No seizures since last night. Feeling hopeful but worried about after effects!
Was there any side effects to your pet…. as of current
Was there any side effects as of current to your pet from ingesting the bro bromethalin
My 3 yo pit bull at 42lbs ate approx 30 cakes of tom cat, almost a full bag 5 days ago. I didn’t know anything was wrong Nutella 24 hrs after he ate it. He currently is with the vet.. He cannot stand or control his blaster.. He has eaten nothing in 5 days. He has shown no improvement in 5 days. My vet is currently giving him IV fluids. I hope and pray for some good news today . His name is Dapper and I will post more when I have more. A poison with no anitodote is 3 rd world stupid
Wow, that’s a huge dose of bromethalin. Your poor pup, I hope he makes it. I came upon this website, looking to see if there were any long term effects of bromethalin poisoning. Our two older dogs got into some a couple years ago. We didn’t know they had ingested it until one of them pooped it out (Tom Cat brand). They both went to the vet and got the Vitamin K/charcoal treatment. About two months later, they found some more Tom Cat elsewhere and again we went to the vet. One of the dogs was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis about a year and a half ago, and the other dog has now developed really high ALP (liver enzyme) values.
I found this article interesting. It is dated 2014. Our dogs were treated with the Vitamin K/charcoal regimen in the two incidents we had. Vitamin K was used for anti-coagulant type rodenticides so I was surprised the vets also used it as an “antidote” for bromethalin. I’m quite sure neither of them used anything like Lipid Rescue. If your pet ingests bromethalin you might want to mention this treatment to your vet. “Antidote for bromethalin poisoning” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3866846/
I am currently go through this with my 5lb. Chihuahua khloe she is only 11 months old. Didn’t know at the time of ingestion but noticed her not feeling well Tuesday night. We took her to vet Wednesday and it was bromethalin poisoning. She has had no seizures yet but is weak she still has an apitite but her water intake has completely stopped. The vet put her on steroids to help with the brain swelling and tramadol for pain. I’m giving her water through a syringe but when I do she starts screaming I don’t know what to do at this point. I love her deeply and can’t fathom being without her.
Hi. Four days ago my 6 pound yorkie developed a slight wobble. A few hours later he was injesting grass at a heavy rate and eating very quickly. Through the course of the day his tail dropped as well as his ears and he became unable to lift his leg to pee. That night he became unable to stand or move. He was rushed to the vet who thought he may have had a stroke. Luckily I was cleaning under my bed and remembered the ” pet proof” tomcat plastic maze style bait under my bed! I soon discovered that the mouse was tracking powder from the block to the entrance of the bait trap where my yorkie could easily lick it!!! I called my vet!! My Cody spent three days in doggie ICU with no appetite. Right side paresis, and tremors. He is home now but I am strongly considering a law suit against this ” pet proof” poison company. My vet said he sees at least 6 cases of this per year!
I’m suffering with you all! My six-year-old, 13 lb. mutt ingested poison a week ago, but we did not know, and it took three days, and an MRI to realize it was neuro damage after ingestion of TomCat cubes. She is brain damaged, but alive. They have her on steroids… but I want to add any naturopathic remedy that may give her a fighting chance. I saw mention of Vitamin K?! Help!
Our vet and Tomcat poison control said Vitamin K won’t help. That was the treatment for D-con poisoning that helped the blood to clot.
Help!!! My 13 lbs. Yorkie dog ingested a little bit of a tomcat cube containing brothalim… my car broke down and there is no way to reach a vet!!! How do treat her.. I tried making her vomit but she wont!!! She has no symptoms as of yet. I’m hoping I caught her in time. How long does it take for symptoms to show. It’s been 18 hrs. Since she ingested it!
Animal Poison Control | (888) 426-4435 | ASPCA
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) is your best resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If you think your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435. … For additional animal poison control
Our 100 lb. pitbull ate about 3 chunks of Tomcat bait. We gave him about 5 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide and induced vomiting. He vomited about 6 or 7 times and some large chunks of the poison were coming up along with green sandy like vomit. By the time he was finished getting was dry heaving. We took him to the vet who tried the charcoal but he wasn’t having any of that. They sell activated charcoal capsules, I found them online at Walnart. I ran in and picked up 4 bottles with 60 tablets in each bottle. The vet called as I was heading home and told me, based on his weight, he needed 40 to 60 tablets, wait 4 hours then give him another 40 to 60 and then 40 to 60 more the next day. Last night he was constipated and I gave him some milk with coconut oil and that took care of his constipation. All we can do now is watch and wait. We also called Tomcat poison control who told us there is no antidote. They needed the EPA reg # off the bucket and they said he is on the borderline of a lethal dose. EPA reg number for a poison with no antidote. Unbelievable! I don’t know the lethal dose for children but nobody should be allowed to put a poison on the market without an antidote and NO warning on the tub that there is
no antidote.
I will be on pins and needles for the next 2 weeks waiting and watching. I hope everybody’s pets come out OK.
did you dog made it?
Been wondering as well.
My pug was poisoned by my neighbor, but I can’t prove it. I found a bait block on my lawn, but didn’t know what it was. My dog had a strange looking bowel movement to what was her normal. In the night had her first seizure and incontinence. I took her to the vet. She was never sick had just turned 8. She seemed to improve, but was tired didn’t want to walk. Looked dopey when I came home from work, didn’t greet me like she always did. Six weeks later she had 10 seizures through the night and when the vet opened in the morning I took her in. We both had a cry that night, I had never seen a dog cry. I put her down that morning from the vet’s advice. Hardest thing I ever did. I found teal green pebbles in my lawn 2 months later which I sent to a lab to be tested for Bromethalin. It didn’t show but it could have been too small and contaminated. I think this poison should be banned.
I’m so sorry! There have been a lot of dog parks where dogs are getting sick near me and I’m thinking now it could be this poison. Makes me so sad as to how easy it would be to harm animals.
I agree. There needs to be warning on the container of the no antidote.. Also should have the weight of each cube or pebble and how much of the poison is in each.. They need to be sued..
My 5lb chihuahua eat about 3 pieces of rat poison. I believed it was the tomcat but I was not sure. She ate it yesterday and I found out 4 hours later, she did not had any symptoms but I notice a empty bag where the blocks were. I immediately took her to a 24hrs vet. They immediately induce vomiting and 1 piece come out. She has to be hospitalized for 2 or 3 days. The treatment they are doing is electrolytes, active charcoal, active charcoal with sorbital, IV fluids, they are also doing the vitamin K because I not sure if it was the tomcats (Bromethalin) or a LONG-ACTING ANTICOAGULANTS poison and also checking a kidney levels. As of right know she is not showing any symptoms, but the vet said she is still not out of risks. I am just glad I had a 24hrs vet and noticed that she ate the poison within 4 hrs. Now I just have to wait and be hopeful. The vet said things can change at any minute. Like many of you had said it is unbelievable that a poison it is on the public market without an antidote.
Did your dog do okay after those first 2-3 days?
I’m sorry for the late response. Yes, she did okay. She has no long-term damages.
My 90 lb GSD/Black Lab cross dog got into a box of Tomcat. It had 2 or 3 1 oz blocks left in it & she ate it all. Luckily I was not gone from the house for very long and when I came in she was coming from the same area she left the box laying. I grabbed what was left of the box & rushed her to the vet. Vet said her size and my fast action make the outlook good. They induced vomiting & she rewarded them with lots of green stuff. They then gave her a huge dose of activated charcoal and gave me a list of symptoms to watch for. She is home with me now. She has not shown any symptoms as of yet. (has been about 3 hours since I discovered this mess) She isn’t out of the woods but there is hope.
We are 48 hours out and our big girl still shows no symptoms. Looks like we got lucky. Now to hope that there’s no lasting damage.
Is your dog still doing good?
I FOUND OUT MY DOBERMAN MAY HAVE ATE 4 PIECES OF THIS POISON SO FAR HE HASNT GOTTEN ANY SYMPTONS, I BELIEVE HE ATE THEM ABOUT 5 HOURS AGO AND SADLY I AM NOT HOME. ANY RECOMMENDATIONS?
9 week old mini potbelly pig. Not sure how much was ingested, she found D-con in the garage while visiting family far from an available vet (we were not aware the poison was there).
We gave her food to help “push” the poison out of her body then hydrogen peroxide mixed with water to make her throw up. Should have made her throw up first (we didn’t have service to Google what to do at first). We then fed her charcoal crushed up with her food. And mixed crushed charcoal with her water.
Her belly was very bloated for most of the day and she began to walk in circles and wasn’t acting normal. 24 hrs later she could barely get up. Now 36 hours later she’s eating, drinking and acting more herself. Still waiting to make sure she is okay, but it’s looking good. I think hydration is very important. Hope this helps someone out there!
Update:
4 days after ingestion. She is running around and playing, back to her normal self. We have continued giving her lots of water, food and fruits and veggies.
Adding vitamin K.
My husband dropped a block of this poison on our patio accidentally and my 35 pound miniature Labradoodle immediately began eating it. We grabbed her and got it away and I immediately phoned the vet and took her in. They induced vomiting and Charcoal treatment. She is expected to be fine because she wasn’t allowed to eat much of it and we got her to the vet so quickly. My husband was somewhat careless with the poison because of the label. Why on earth would you have prominent depictions of a smiling dog and smiling child and in big letters say “kid and dog” on the front of the package? In smaller letters it says “resistant station”. He believed he was buying something that was safe around kids and animals. He believed he was buying something that was safe around kids and animals. Very deceptive packaging and I am furious
I completely agree with you. The packaging is deceiving!
We have two medium labradoodles who got into a bag of Tomcat mouse Poison. We left a bag outside and left the house. Our daughter came home and let the dogs out not knowing anything about the bag. She called us to say they got into the bag and we rushed home. So stupid of us to leave that out!
We rushed the dogs to the emergency vet, called animal poison control on the way. (The vet instructed us to do that). They charged us $65 and gave us a case number after we provided them with the dogs info and the tomcat packaging info.
When we got to the vet they took them back immediately and induced vomiting. The culprit was 100% one dog. We suspected that but wanted to be for sure.
We got to the vet within 45-60 minutes of him eating 14 chunks, the entire amount left in the bag. One chunk could kill a dog!!
They wanted to keep him overnight but said just for observation. We opted to take him home as all they could do was give charcoal. We gave him 30ml if active charcoal 2 times every 8 hours, and they gave him a dose before we left.
They said to watch for drunk like behavior/walking, etc.
So far he seems fine. That was on May 30 and it’s June 2 now. Will keep watching him closely.
Is your dog okay? Did he make it? I’m so sick right now… My 78 lb dog ate 13 1 oz cubes. I’m a mess… Stupid mistake forgot to move them out of reach.
I would be willing to join a class action suit against the makers of bromethalin AND the EPA. Can you believe it, the EPA has cited several large cities for usong dry ice to kill rodents because it isn’t registered as a poison yet Bromethalin is ok? Despite the lack of not only an antidote but some form of definitive test. UNCONCIONABLE! I’m watching my poor boy suffer after he found some of this “safer” toxin that the previous homeowner left behind and there is nothing I can do for him
I think what I’m most upset about is how it’s packaged. Seems like it should come in a childproof/pet proof type of container. Not wrapped in some cellophane, in a flimsy box. Kids and pets can easily get into something like this
I can’t believe there’s not already a suit against them. How is anything approved without an antidote? I dropped off my boy a few hours ago and they were inducing vomiting and checking him out.I haven’t heard back from my vet and I have such a feeling of dread right now…
Sadly we had to put our seven month old puppy down today after ingesting bromethalin. We realized that she had consumed it several days after when she became symptomatic. We are heartbroken.
My beloved service dog “Renji-sama” ate half of a 4 pound bucker of Tomcat bricks yesterday. When he pooped it out, I looked around and found the bucker overturned, and half missing. He has shown no symptoms yet, and I’ve been administering activated charcoal, diamataceous earth, zeolite, and bentonite clay, along with tincture of chlorella and cilantro. They are all good for detoxifying, so I’m hoping and praying they work. He ate such a huge amount, that it seems likely he’ll get severely sickened by it soon. It’s been almost 24 hours now, and we just got back from the dog park, where he had great fun playing with his pals, but it may be the last time. I’m going to sleep with him tonight, as usual, but if he starts showing symptoms during the night, or tomorrow, then I’ll take him to the emergency hospital. I’ve been researching it, and there seems to be little they can do, but more than I can do myself. They might be able to save him, or at least make sure he doesn’t suffer too much. My last service dog “Jessie” died last year, after a vet improperly prescribed potent antibiotics for the old girl, which was too much for her, so it killed my beloved friend. It was a holistic vet, but I should have known better than to take her advice, knowing the potent anti-biotics might be too strong for the frail old dog, as they were… I distrust veterinarians, and allopathic fascists in general, so I’m leery of taking Renji to the vet, but I may have no choice. Either that, or put him down myself, which would be very difficult emotionally and mentally for me at this point. I’m getting old, and he is the only real friend I have, the only Love in my life. I’ve been praying for help, and hope God will somehow save Renji from a horrible death, but if not, I won’t let him suffer, like Jessie did at the end. When they are going to die, it’s selfish to make them suffer needlessly. After all, death isn’t the end, it’s just a transition, and their soul will be reincarnated again, just as our souls are..
My work Rottweiler ate a full greenstick of tomcat. The moment I found out, I found a way to get him to drink a bunch of Hydrogen peroxide. He puked in about 10 minutes. I followed that with a full half gallon of warm chicken broth after he puked. Two hours later, he pooped out something awful. He seems OK now.
my GSD got some tomcat bait trap not to much I hope it was wet from the washing machine hose do I need to take him to the vet 24 30 hours ago
My 65lb pitbull ate a little under 9 oz. of the Tomcat bait blocks. I was at work when she did this, when I got home she was acting completely normal, but I found the box and empty packages and rushed her to the emergency vet. They said 9 oz. is not a lot for a dog her size, and that 30 oz. would be the minimum that would really hurt her. They induced vomiting which she got a lot up, gave her lots of fluid through an IV and gave her activated charcoal which she also reacted good to, she stayed overnight at the emergency vet. The next morning, still no symptoms just her normal regular goofy self, I took her to my regular vet. they gave her more fluids through an IV and more activated charcoal and treated her all day, she’s back home with me now resting. She hasn’t shown any signs whatsoever, which is a good thing. She’s eating, drinking, and using the bathroom normally. The next 24 hours are still critical though. They said after 48 hours with no symptoms that she should be in the clear. Pit bulls are tough so I’m positive she’ll make it through, but definitely a scary moment for me.
Hi Lauren,
I know it’s been quite some time since this was posted. But I’m wondering how things turned out for your sweet pup? Mine ingested all but two of Tomcat cubes in a pack I had. I’m sick about it as all I’ve read are pretty sad stories…
My pup moose at Tomcst grandules. We saw he had a packet in his mouse. We had him drop it but it was already torn open. Rushed him to his vet and within 30 min he was treated. They had him throw up and placed him on iv for the day. Took him home in the evening and he ate right away. Went out to yard to potty. When he came in the house within seconds his eyes were swollen and he fell over. Rushed him back to vet. Doctor said he didn’t think was related to the poison. Treated him for allergic reaction from unknown origin and unrelated to poison incident. He is on vitamin k. I am furious they would sell a product that does not have antidote. People need to be careful placing that poison around neighborhoods etc. he seems okay but unsure what will be affects in future on our german Sheppard service dog.
My daughter dropped off her three month old golden retriever (15 lb pup). She was working double shift.
We have a dog that size. It found a pellet about 2 inch square. It was under hutch. It had been there over 5 years.
I never new about it. My wife used it and thought she had removed all of them when she got our doge.
4 hours passed before I found out what he ate. I found pieces of it by door. I read about it on this web sight and others. So I’m just passing on info. It was another hour before I decided what to do. It was a Saturday Night and not easy to talk to someone. I decided not too induce vomiting. If I wanted to induce vomiting I would have used Hydrogen peroxide. I bought some active carbon. I found it in the aquatic isle of a pet store. I smashed it up with lunch meat. He eat it well. even all the pellets. At first we gave him several servings. Two teaspoons per slice of lunch meat. Then we gave him some every 8 hours. Until the active carbon was all gone. This took 10 days.
We Never saw any symptoms and he was fine the whole time.
Great. Thank you for the info.
We had two dogs got ahold of some tom cat one is about three months old he started out acting strange like he was having lots of pettit mal seizures and he couldnt stop running acted like it made him feel better constant muscle spasms and he appeared lost also lost his voice and was confussed when he did sit still was onlu for a min at a time his head would jerk back and forth. We used peroise to induce vomiting than activated charcoal nine hours later he ate some lunch meat and drank some water today back to normal acting just extremly tired……The main peoblem now is the other dog a 3 year old blue nose has pupies almost two weekd old started acting strange last evening gave her the same treatment and now is doing better her back legs were not working but they are now my concern now is the pups waitng and watching them so far they havent wanted to eat but may be due to we are now using a bottle not letting the mom nurse. Also wont the mom start hurting if she doesnt nurse ? How can I help her ?
My sisters dog just got into tomcat with bromethalin tuesday night, he had to be put down last night due to seizures and brain damage. Its disgusting and has me pissed off at the world that these products are on shelves. What can be done?!?!?
Its Thanksgiving day and I can’t find a vet. My Great Pyranese ate 2 squares of TomCat Mouse poison – It must have happened in the last hour and he is not having any symptoms yet. I dont know if that is a fatal amount for a large dog. Stores are closed and not vets to be found. Any suggestions??
Hey just wondering what happen to your dog.
I’m wondering too! Tomcat is what my dog got in to, only it was 1 square. They said that wasnt enough to hurt her, and she weighs about 15 lbs.
So is your dog ok? my dog eat 1 square and I am freaking out she is 40 pounds don’t have the money for a vet right now ! So scared can’t lose her, please
Is your dog ok?
My two dogs one a chihuahua the other one a poodle both about 10 lb got into some we found socks lethargic couldn’t move unable to do anything passed away 2 Days Later but the poodle I have been every hour on the hour forcing water down his throat giving vitamin K tablets twice a day he was down for 3 days but last night I woke up and he was standing up he’s trying to get up he’s moving around he’s eating and drinking on his own I am praying that he’s coming through this but he was literally at death’s door
Hey guys, it seems like this issue is getting worse every day and this company is not doing anything about it. Not even a big warning label in the package. What can we do to stop animals from dying from this?
I have a 2.5 month old/16 lb German shepherd dog who happened to get into some Tomcat on 12/4 or 12/5. I rushed her into the hospital because I noticed she acted “drunk” and was hyper salivating. They administered act. Charcoal and induced vomiting. They were also teetering between neuro damage from toxins or congenital liver shunt. We brought her home (12/6) and her results were negative for shunt(great news), but we also don’t know if she’ll recover from what neuro damage she has. She currently can’t control her bowels, has little balance, and hyper salivates. F- Tomcat and not having an antidote.
Val,
Is your German shepherd doing OK?, I am going through the same right now with mine who is the same age as yours.
Thank you
Mark
Our 60 pound golden retriever ate one 2” x1”x1” bait block of TomCat…my mom saw her eat it and tried to pull it out of her mouth…was not successful…I was at her house so she immediately yelled for me…got the dog in the truck and drove to Walgreens to get hydrogen peroxide and milk…drove back home and with a turkey baister gave her three full shots down the throat…mixed it half milk and half hydrogen peroxide…she didn’t throw up with one, had to give her three. She threw up seven times, on the first vomit most of the bait block came out…second and third vomits produced little chunks of green.. all the rest clear. Drove her to vet who called poison control and administered charcoal…we are home now with another dose of charcoal at 8:00. Have to observe her overnight for any signs of brain swelling. My vet thinks she will be ok because we got it out of her within 20 minutes. Let me say this to any dog owner…have hydrogen peroxide on hand with a turkey baister at all times…I could have shaved 15 minutes off if I had been prepared…secondly…this mice bait is just nasty with no antidote…we are forever done with mice poison…if my mom hadn’t seen our dog eat it…she would be dead
My dog didn’t even eat the tomcat poison she ate the mice who died from the poison. Why the hell is there a poison on the market with no antitode that’s supposedly great for people with kids and animals? That is bs… in down for suing this company in a class action suit but I’m guessing one of us needs to start the suit because they are getting away with murdering house pets simply because the epa gave them a stamp of approval. Not ok!
I’m dealing with a dog that is vomiting, sick, heaving, and thankfully taking in lots of fluids after activated charcoal … but I’m absolutely pissed.
Why is this even legal? The amount of suffering these pets have to go through is exorbitant
My 80 lb lab mix got a hold of a plastic tomcat mouse trap. She had a little nibble of the green poison block before I got it away from her. Some people say she would have needed to eat more to effect her and then others say to worry… what should I do???
You need to contact at veterinarian. You should not depend on the internet for direction with what could mean a serious issue for your pet.
How is your dog? Ours are a very small amount of a cube(not ever a quarter) but I’m panicking and our vet will not be open until after corona. The only vets within 2 hours to us will not be open until tomorrow morning.
One thing that might help folks in the future is the 6 simple rules I try to follow for my pets wellbeing… (it’s not treatment advice for others, just some rules I give myself.)
1) Avoid bringing known pet poisons into the home if I don’t have to.
2) if I decide to bring a known poison into the house, I never let it be more in quantity than the toxic dose to my smallest pet that could access it.
3) I make a note and put it in a safe place of where what type of substance was stored/placed, in what quantity and what is the treatment/remedy protocol.
4)I keep activated charcoal, peroxide and any other toxin absorbant, emetic or such aids on hand just in case or they become poisoned elsewhere, such as on a walk.
5) If I’m too unsure or lazy to read and comprehend the label, to do the research for what may not be on the label and/or the math for toxic levels for pets and treatments… then I don’t bring the posion home and/or allow the pet to roam off leash in areas where such poisons could be deployed.
6)When tempted by coupons and spring garden discounts at the local farm supply store, I remind myself I don’t have to buy a whole bucket of any poison to save in bulk when the consequences could be a much larger vet bill or the loss of my pet. I’d rather pay more for smaller quantities up to just under my pet’s weight per toxic dose.
How unhelpful
My little 15 lb dog Zoey got a cube of Tomcat while visiting my parents after they just returned home from Florida for the winter. My dad had put a cube behind some furniture and completely forgot he had done so. I was doing dishes when I turned to see her chewing on something. I ran over, pulled it out of her mouth and yelled out, “what is this??” my dad replied, mouse poison. I grabbed her, rinsed what I could out of her mouth with the kitchen sink sprayer, used a tooth brush to clean it out of her teeth and rushed her to the nearest vet hospital. It was a Sunday and my parents live in the mountains. We were an hour away from the vet. We called ahead so when we arrived, they grabbed my little baby, took her in back….they induced vomiting and showed me how much she had ingested, which was more than we anticipated. (probably in her system for 1 hour and 15 minutes too long) They then gave her anti nausea medicine after waiting 15 minutes and then charcoal. Said they expect a full recovery with no issues. They said she would drink a lot of water. She did drink quite a bit and had urinated in her sleep and continued to need to go out all night. Here it is 3 days later and I’m still worried about an issue popping up. She seems to be doing a little better every day. (She’s just not completely bouncing off the walls as she normally would be) This scared me so badly and I won’t relax for a while yet. Praying that she is totally in the clear. I know accidents happen and my dad didn’t mean for any of this…..why do they even make this stuff?!
How is your Zoey?
[…] Owners beware: Poisoning from this rodenticide is tough to treat […]
My 50 lb German Shorthair Pointer/lab mix ingested 1 block of Tomcat mouse poison on 6/29 after she chewed up the plastic case to get to the poison. I had the case behind a sofa – I still cannot figure out how she got hold of it. I was 2-½ hours from the ER. Had her vomit within 30 mins of discovering she had ingested it. Called poison control,they said it can take up to 6 weeks to kill a dog after ingestion, no antidote is available. I took off for the ER. They treated her with charcoal,said she didn’t ingest enough to kill her. All seemed well until July 24. She started drinking copious quantities of water, showing signs of confusion, splayed hind quarters, and loss of balance. Took her back to the vet, had complete blood work and x-rays done, nothing showed up. Bromethalin (active ingredient in Tomcat) will not show up in blood results. July 31 took her back to the vet with severe anorexia – she’d lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks. Had to euthanize her this yesterday morning. She did not get any other bromethalin after 6/29. I am devastated. She was my companion, and I was responsible for ensuring her safety. I let her down. The Tomcat product should not be on the market. Do not buy it for any reason, or bring it into your house or property!
We are very sorry for your loss.
I am so sorry to hear this, I know you heartbroken. My sweet 78 lb lab/Shepard ingested 13 oz either last night or this morning. He’s been at the vet since this morning. I am sick to my stomach… I just don’t want him to suffer, but don’t want to lose him either.
We have a 28 lb. miniature Australian Shepherd. We were cleaning up a friends garden and noticed our dog chewing on something green. Thought is was a fertilizer stick, so did not do anything. The next day her poop was green…not good news. Later that day we found out she had ingested Tom Cat Bromethalin mice poison. Took her to the vet and she did 2 treatments of activated charcoal. And now we wait…it has been 21/2 days since the incident. Hate the wait, sad we do not know how much she ingested and really sad we did not know what it was!!
Minneapolis, MN USA. My 15lbs Silky Terrier ate 1 square (1oz block) of Tomcat .01% Bromethalin mouse killer. To this date I not sure when he ate the stuff but I found out prior to any symptoms. Went to Vet. and had charcoal treatment. Just waiting now.
My 115 lb dog ate 1 block. I induced vomiting within 30 minutes and gave activated charcoal. I recovered 60 to 70% of the block. Poison control said they wouldn’t have had me induce vomiting and seemed more concerned with the peroxide I gave him to vomit. He has cancer and is 10 years old. He is now farting uncontrollably. I’m afraid this is going to get worse. He’s definitely getting more charcoal now.
My dog was adopted and he didn’t tolerate vets so we couldn’t bring him to hospital for examinations without sedative which was dangerous considering he was 11 years old. He started coughing for 2 months and the vet advised me to start Lasix thinking it might be a heart problem. 2 months later he was still coughing and there was a drop of blood when he coughed. So we started pills thinking it was heart problem, for about a month the cough stopped but he became anorexic and had very serious crises with difficult breathing especially at night, couldn’t sleep, got disoriented. So we stopped all pills and he started to sneeze blood, he couldn’t recognize us, he was in pain so we were forced to euthanize him. Now i wonder maybe it was cancer but could it be anticoagulant rat poisoning? We don’t have bit I suspect the neighbor could do it. My question is, is it possible to be poisoned with anticoagulant rat poison and live for 3 months and the bleeding started 2 months after the coughing started.
My room mates chahuaua ate a mouse that had eaten tomcat bait. She was walking drunk and having seizure after seazure. She was taken to the vet and given charcoal, siezure medication and fluids. She let her go home the next day. We also found out that she was pregnant. Well we lost her and all the puppies today. The puppies were covered in a green slime is that affects of the rat poison?
WHERE IS PETA on this? They (PETA) are in everyone’s face about 17,000 other things about animal cruelty and what about this? My LORD, a poison with no antidote? This poison is cruelest sadistic piece of garbage I have ever seen. The vet says 6 hours to TWO WEEKS to know if your baby is going to die, be paralyzed, or have seizures! My dog got hold of one of these TomCat bait stations 4 days ago and thankfully we induced vomiting and she’s large (120lbs). But my heart breaks for all of the others who did not fair so well, and again I say – WHERE’S PETA ON THIS??
If you think your dog has eaten ANY amount of rat poison, take your dog to the vet ASAP (In under 2 hours if possible for your best chances)! It’s tough and hard to go through even just reading it but it’s very informative and may well save your dogs life.
https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Dog-Health-Dog-Ate-Rat-Poison-What-to-Do
PETA is against all rat poisons and is constantly mocked for trying to stop it.
https://prime.peta.org/2017/03/never-ever-use-rat-poison/
Approx. 5 months ago my two sweet dogs, 14yrs old, 30lbs. and 4 yrs old,16lbs. got into the Tomcat poison while visiting on a ranch. Luckily, I got them to a vet and treated using the hydrogen peroxide within 30 mins. The vet warned me of the effects of this poison, said it should not be on the market.
He felt since they got treated early, we might be ok. He said the problem is, there are latent effects, neurological effects. I thought we were out of the woods, but after 2 weeks, I lost my beloved 14 yr old. My 4 year old has constant muscle tremors, especially when relaxing, sleeping next to me. She also seems very warm. Sometimes she seems ok, plays some; but then, she also sleeps a lot. Are there any further treatments to help her? I’m so worried, please advise if anyone can offer advise, any further treatments to help her.
my dog had contact with a dog that had unknowingly been poisoned with rat bait ,it died a few days later ,is there any risk to my dog ?