Why pea-sized equals peril for a 4 kg feline
Modern rodenticides are frighteningly potent — a single 5g bait block can contain enough brodifacoum to kill a cat fifty times over. When scaled down, that means a pea-sized piece (about 0.5g) holds multiple lethal doses for your 4 kg companion. The bait's doughy texture makes it easy to swallow whole, unlike dry food she might chew and potentially drop.
Cats lack certain liver enzymes that help break down these compounds, effectively doubling their sensitivity compared to dogs. Even if she spat some out, the amount absorbed through her gums could be dangerous.
The deceptive delay before symptoms appear
This poison works by stealth — it doesn't cause immediate vomiting or diarrhea that might alert you. Instead, it silently prevents blood from clotting over the next 1-3 days as her body uses up existing vitamin K. By the time she shows weakness from internal bleeding, she may have lost 20% of her blood volume.
Unlike human medications where small amounts often pass harmlessly, rodenticides have no safe threshold for cats. Manufacturers intentionally concentrate them to kill pests with one feeding, making minute quantities hazardous.
Why home remedies fail with anticoagulants
Some owners mistakenly think inducing vomiting hours later or feeding milk will help, but the toxin absorbs rapidly. Vitamin K-rich foods like liver won't work either — the poison blocks recycling of all vitamin K, regardless of dietary intake. Only prescription-strength vitamin K1 injections can bypass this blockade.
Even if you see no bait remnants in her mouth, assume full ingestion. Cats groom thoroughly, and sticky bait residues on paws get swallowed during cleaning.
The critical testing window before crisis
Veterinarians can run a prothrombin time (PT) test as early as 24 hours post-ingestion to detect clotting impairment before symptoms arise. This allows preemptive treatment rather than emergency stabilization later. Treatment typically lasts a month because brodifacoum stores in body fat, releasing slowly.
Ask your vet about keeping her strictly indoors during recovery — a routine scratch from furniture could become life-threatening without proper clotting. Monitor litter boxes for dark, tarry stools indicating gastrointestinal bleeding.
The step-by-step response, from the first minute to the vet visit, is in our Anticoagulant Rodenticide Toxicity in Dogs and Cats emergency guide.