Please call our toll free number to discuss ordering. 7:30 am - 10:00 pm CST Mon-Fri 8:00 am - 8:00 pm CST Sat-SunAlthough designed to kill rats and mice, cats often find rodenticides (rat and mouse poison) tempting as well. Most (but not all) rodenticides are composed of anticoagulants, a type of drug that prevents blood from clotting by interfering with vitamin K, a key ingredient in the clotting process. When taken in sufficient quantities by the cat, it results in spontaneous bleeding (internal bleeding, external bleeding, or both). If left untreated, this could prove fatal for your cat. Typically, it takes 2 to 5 days for the following symptoms associated with anticoagulant poisoning to appear: Cats can ingest toxic doses of anticoagulants by eating rodenticide left on the ground or by eating a rodent that has ingested rodenticide. There are many forms of anticoagulant used in rodenticides; some of the more common forms are warfarin, brodifacoum, bromadiolone.
If you should witness your cat eating rodenticide or see pieces of rat poison in her vomitus, anticoagulant poisoning is a near certainty. Otherwise, if your cat should start bleeding without cause, your veterinarian will conduct blood tests to determine if the time it takes for the blood to clot is abnormally long. However, blood tests should not be the only determining factor for diagnosis, as the clotting time for a cat that has only recently ingested anticoagulants is normal, only to gradually worsen until the point where the blood can no longer effectively clot. If there is uncertainty about whether the symptoms are due to an anticoagulant, your veterinarian will do additional tests to make that determination. If the anticoagulant is suspected to have been ingested within the past two hours, and if you have not already done so, your veterinarian will induce vomiting. Activated charcoal is given orally within 12 hours after ingestion of the poison to absorb any of the toxin that may still be in the intestines.
Vitamin K is also given by injection, followed by 1 to 4 weeks of vitamin K tablets given orally at home. The length of the prescription is determined by the type of anticoagulant. If your cat is actively bleeding, he will be hospitalized and monitored until the bleeding stops. If blood loss is severe, your cat may require intravenous fluids or a blood transfusion. There may be a need for special treatments if other problems should arise. For example, if there is bleeding into the chest, that blood will need to be drained so the cat can breathe easier. Human medications that contain anticoagulants, like Coumadin® and other blood thinners, are a potential source of anticoagulant poisoning. Once your cat is stable, she will be sent home with a vitamin K prescription to be given orally. It is best to give it with canned food, as the fat in the food will help it to be absorbed. It is also important for your cat to get the full course of vitamin K prescribed, even if she seems fine.
It often takes a while for certain anticoagulants to be eliminated from a cat's body. Your veterinarian will schedule follow-up tests to monitor your cat’s blood count and clotting time. Please note: The vitamin K your veterinarian prescribes is in a highly concentrated form. The vitamin K you can buy over the counter is only a small fraction of the strength needed and will not be enough to help your cat. It is best not to use rodenticides if you have pets or young children in your home. There are other products that can control rodents without the use of poison. Your cat may even be willing to help with the rodent control. In addition, since you have no control over how your neighbors eliminate rodents, it is best not to let your cat outside unsupervised.This page contains information on Vitamin K-1 Injection for . The information provided typically includes the following: Phytonadione is a vitamin, which is a clear, yellow to amber, viscous, odorless or nearly odorless liquid.
It is insoluble in water, soluble in chloroform and slightly soluble in ethanol. It has a molecular weight of 450.70. Phytonadione is 2-methyl-3-phytyl-1, 4-naphthoquinone. Its empirical formula is C31H46O2. Vitamin K-1 Injection is a yellow, sterile, aqueous colloidal solution of vitamin K1, with a pH of 5.0 to 7.0, available for injection by the intravenous, intramuscular, and subcutaneous routes. Polyoxyethylated fatty acid derivative Water for Injection, q.s. Vitamin K-1 Injection aqueous colloidal solution of vitamin K1 for parenteral injection, possesses the same type and degree of activity as does naturally-occurring vitamin K, which is necessary for the production via the liver of active prothrombin (factor II), proconvertin (factor VII), plasma thromboplastin component (factor IX), and Stuart factor (factor X). The prothrombin test is sensitive to the levels of three of these four factors-II, VII, and X. Vitamin K is an essential cofactor for a microsomal enzyme that catalyzes the posttranslational carboxylation of multiple, specific, peptide-bound glutamic acid residues in inactive hepatic precursors of factors II, VII, IX, and X.
The resulting gamma-carboxyglutamic acid residues convert the precursors into active coagulation factors that are subsequently secreted by liver cells into the blood. Phytonadione is readily absorbed following intramuscular administration. After absorption, phytonadione is initially concentrated in the liver, but the concentration declines rapidly. Very little vitamin K accumulates in tissues. Little is known about the metabolic fate of vitamin K. Almost no free unmetabolized vitamin K appears in bile or urine. In normal animals, phytonadione is virtually devoid of pharmacodynamic activity. However, in animals deficient in vitamin K, the pharmacological action of vitamin K is related to its normal physiological function, that is, to promote the hepatic biosynthesis of vitamin K dependent clotting factors. The action of the aqueous colloidal solution, when administered intravenously, is generally detectable within an hour or two and hemorrhage is usually controlled within 3 to 6 hours.
A normal prothrombin level may often be obtained in 12 to 14 hours. Vitamin K-1 Injection is indicated in coagulation disorders which are due to faulty formation of factors II, VII, IX and X when caused by vitamin K deficiency or interference with vitamin K activity. Vitamin K-1 Injection is indicated in cattle, calves, horses, swine, sheep, goats, dogs, and cats to counter hypoprothrombinemia induced by ingestion of anticoagulant rodenticides. Vitamin K-1 Injection is also indicated to counter hypoprothrombinemia caused by consumption of bishydroxycoumarin found in spoiled and moldy sweet clover. Cattle, Calves, Horses, Swine, Sheep, and Goats: Acute hypoprothrombinemia (with hemorrhage) and Non-acute hypoprothrombinemia - 0.5-2.5 mg/kg subcutaneously OR intramuscularly. Dogs and Cats: Acute hypoprothrombinemia (with hemorrhage) and Non-acute hypoprothrombinemia - 0.25-5 mg/kg subcutaneously or intramuscularly. Use higher end of dose for second generation rodenticides.
Whenever possible, Vitamin K-1 Injection should be given by the subcutaneous or intramuscular route. When intravenous administration is considered unavoidable, the drug should be diluted and injected very slowly, not exceeding 1 mg per minute. Vitamin K-1 Injection may be diluted with 0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection, 5% Dextrose Injection, or 5% Dextrose and Sodium Chloride Injection. Other Diluents Should Not Be Used. When dilutions are indicated, administration should be started immediately after mixture with diluent, and unused portions of the dilution should be discarded. Whole blood or component therapy may be indicated if bleeding is excessive. This therapy, however, does not correct the underlying disorder and Vitamin K-1 Injection should be given concurrently. In the event of shock or excessive blood loss, the use of whole blood or component therapy is indicated. Hypersensitivity to any component of this medication. Temporary resistance to prothrombin-depressing anticoagulants may result, especially when larger doses of phytonadione are used.
If relatively large doses have been employed, it may be necessary when reinstituting anticoagulant therapy to use somewhat larger doses of the prothrombin-depressing anticoagulant, or to use one which acts on a different principle, such as heparin sodium. Laboratory Tests - Prothrombin time should be checked regularly as clinical conditions indicate. Parenteral drug products should be inspected visually for particulate matter and discoloration prior to administration, whenever solution and container permit. Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian. WARNING-INTRAVENOUS USE - Severe reactions, including fatalities, have occurred during and immediately after INTRAVENOUS injection of phytonadione, even when precautions have been taken to dilute the phytonadione and to avoid rapid infusion. Typically these severe reactions have resembled hypersensitivity or anaphylaxis, including shock and cardiac and/or respiratory arrest. Some patients have exhibited these severe reactions on receiving phytonadione for the first time.
Therefore the INTRAVENOUS route should be restricted to those situations where other routes are not feasible and the serious risk involved is considered justified. An immediate coagulant effect should not be expected after administration of phytonadione. It takes a minimum of 1 to 2 hours for measurable improvement in the prothrombin time. Whole blood or component therapy may also be necessary if bleeding is severe. Phytonadione will not counteract the anticoagulant action of heparin. When vitamin K1 is used to correct excessive anticoagulant-induced hypoprothrombinemia, anticoagulant therapy still being indicated, the patient is again faced with the clotting hazards existing prior to starting the anticoagulant therapy. Phytonadione is not a clotting agent, but overzealous therapy with vitamin K1 may restore conditions which originally permitted thromboembolic phenomena. Dosage should be kept as low as possible, and prothrombin time should be checked regularly as clinical conditions indicate.