Can a dog survive after eating rat poison?

The likelihood of a dog surviving after eating rat poison depends on the degree of toxin absorption. If most of the drug has not been absorbed, vomiting and gastric washing can remove a large amount of poison, and the dog usually can be saved. However, if the toxin has been absorbed and the dog shows related symptoms, the chance of survival decreases significantly.

There are many types of rat poison, and some of them cause neurological symptoms. The toxicity of rat poison is generally high. If the dog eats a small amount of rat poison or vomits and washes its stomach promptly after accidental ingestion, the chances of successful rescue will increase significantly. If the dog eats a large amount of rat poison or shows obvious poisoning symptoms, the chances of survival will decrease significantly.

Rat poison mainly includes antimony, phosphorus zinc, rodenticide, and warfarin sodium.

Antimony is absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and distributed in the lungs, liver, kidneys, and neural tissues. Clinical symptoms include shortness of breath, low body temperature, sometimes accompanied by vomiting. Soon after, due to pulmonary edema and exudative pleurisy, difficulty breathing, bloody foamy nasal discharge, and coughing occur.

Phosphorus zinc poisoning can cause cell degeneration and necrosis of the affected tissue and cause widespread bleeding throughout the body, even leading to shock and coma. Early symptoms of phosphorus zinc poisoning include a significant decrease in appetite, followed by vomiting and abdominal pain. Vomit has a garlic smell, and phosphorescence is seen in dark places.

Rodenticide belongs to the warfarin-class anticoagulant rodenticide, which has a strong anticoagulant effect. Acute poisoning dogs often have no obvious symptoms and die suddenly, especially in cases of severe bleeding in areas such as cerebral blood vessels, which often lead to acute death. In subacute poisoning, clinical manifestations include mucous membrane pallor, difficulty breathing, frequent nosebleeds and rectal bleeding, as well as scleral and intraocular hemorrhage, and large areas of subcutaneous hematomas on the body surface.

Symptoms of warfarin sodium-class rat poison usually appear about three days after ingestion. Affected animals show decreased appetite, depression, rapid breathing, and later persistent bloody stools, hematuria, and petechiae due to bleeding.