DeCon and Mouse Poison

Poison to mice, poison to pets!

Many variations of this type of poison are easily obtained and they taste good to mice and dogs. These poisons are easily fatal to any animal that ingests it. Frequently dogs visit our hospital after ingesting mouse poison right out of the package.Shown here are some packages brought in by owners after finding their dog with it. More often they see the dog nibbling the granules or bars of poison left in cabins, sheds, garages, or outbuildings. Common brands are “D-Con”, “Tom Cat” and “Just One Bite” and come in granules, bars, cubes and blocks (see photos).

Cats more commonly ingest a live mouse after the mouse has eaten poison before being caught by the cat. This is equally poisonous to any animal that eats a poisoned mouse, even if the mouse ate it first! Dogs that are hunters are frequent accidental victims of this type of poison, surprising their owners who didn’t realize they would eat mice. Terriers, spaniels, and retrievers are common victims we see at Alpine Animal Clinic.

It can take up to two days for the symptoms of mouse bait to develop, but once the symptoms begin to show it is critical to take IMMEDIATE action to save your pet!

The most common products cause fatal hemorrhaging (bleeding) within 48 hours of ingestion. For this type of poison, symptoms can include:

• rapid breathing

• coughing

• lethargy

• pale mucous membranes

• weakness

• bruising under the skin (check the belly, ears, mouth, eyes or eyelids)

• bleeding from mouth, nose, urinary system, in to the intestinal tract (seen as red blood in feces or black feces) or bleeding internally such as in to lungs or abdomen where it cannot be seen.

• neurologic problems

A safer method of rodent control might be live traps or, perhaps, sticky traps to prevent accidental poisoning to other animals. Click here to view a video of an easy-to-use live trap.