Accidental mouse poisoning

[Spencer Gartz]

I use mouse bait stations with Final Blox from Bell Laboratories in them at each property. We tend to have good luck, and little to no rodent infestation. The product is cheap to use, and requires just a small amount of involvement from me, usually just checking bait stations once a month, after initial quick installation.

I had a tenant contact me yesterday stating that she was at the vet, and her cat has been poisoned, by means of eating a dead mouse from inside her kitchen, and might not make it. They gave it a vitamin k shot, and sent it on its way with scheduled follow up appointments.

During this time I contacted the manufacturers accidental poisoning hotline, they informed me that the chances of relay toxicity as they call it, is very slim, and that cats tend to be very resilient to this particular poison. They also started a case, and suggested I have the tenant and the vet contact the hotline, and they would be more absolutely willing to work through every step to come to a diagnoses of relay toxicity, or condemn the thought that it’s my bait stations at all.

The tenant did not want to call the number, but seems to have come to the conclusion that there is a different problem than poisoning.

In walks my dilemma, even though she acknowledges the fact that this is no longer a poisoning. She now wants all poison removed from the property (3 unit apartment house). During this conversation, she told me that when they moved in, she knew the stations were there, but didn’t realize it was poison. I personally don’t like cats to begin with, I’d much rather have mouse poison on the premises than cats. I don’t want to poison tenants pets, but after talking to the manufacturer, it seems like this isn’t a risk, hardly at all.

I think I’ve decided that I’m going to keep the bait stations. But how do I inform the tenant of this decision, while making a gentle and compelling argument? I surely don’t want to offend someone who lives in this building. Or should I be removing the stations for a different solution?

[JD Martin]

How does she know her cat ate a dead mouse? I've had animals all my life, including cats, and they will virtually never eat a mouse despite Tom and Jerry cartoons. Cats like to play with mice until they've killed them, and then unless they are starving just leave it as is (given the choice a cat would eat a live animal versus a dead one any day). So I doubt the story at all. However, if it is true, and you've allowed pets and the bait stations are toxic to other animals, then you probably have some responsibility to either change bait stations until you've cleared your unit of pets or do away with them altogether. Unless your lease specifies that you use poison control and that any risk to a person's pet is their responsibility, I don't think you can ethically (and possibly legally) create a toxic situation for pets that you've allowed in your units.