What to Do if Your Cat Eats a Poisoned Mouse
While some cats like to catch prey and then present it to you as a gift, others will eat what they catch. If your cat occasionally catches rodents and birds and then wolfs them down, then you may not be too surprised if it wanders into the house with a mouse in its mouth that it then starts to eat.
However, if you know that one of your neighbours has recently put down poison bait in their home to get rid of a mouse infestation, then you'll worry that your cat has got hold of a baited mouse. If the mouse ate bait in your neighbour's home and then went outside, then your cat may have picked it up there.
Rodent poisons can harm any animal that ingests the bait. While a mouse that has eaten bait may not contain that much poison, any bait that your cat eats via the mouse can be seriously dangerous to your cat's health. What should you do?
Try to Get the Mouse Off the Cat
If your cat hasn't finished eating the mouse, then try to get the rest of the mouse away from your cat. If the mouse has eaten bait or died as a result of ingestion, then you want to minimise how much of the mouse your cat eats.
If your cat won't play ball immediately, try tempting it with its favourite treats. It may leave the mouse for something tastier.
Try to Identify the Bait
Different rodent baits can have different effects on cats. If your neighbour is at home or contactable by phone, then get in touch and ask if they know the name or brand of bait they used.
While this isn't essential to know, it really can help your vet. It's easier to assess and treat your cat if the vet knows what it has inadvertently eaten through the mouse.
Contact Your Vet
If you think there is a chance, however slim, that your cat has eaten part or all of a baited mouse, then call your veterinary hospital immediately. They can advise you what to do next.
Don't assume that you can wait to see if your cat shows signs of being poisoned before you do this. Rodent baits often use anti-coagulants to kill mice. These affect the blood's ability to clot.
Your cat may not show immediate or obvious symptoms, but it could be brewing up trouble. It's far safer to have your vet check your cat over and give it immediate treatment if it needs it. This may take a course of medications or a hospital stay, depending on how much poison your pet ingested.