A Border veterinarian hold concerns over a recent increase in pets ingesting mouse and rat baits, particularly because the only antidote is in short supply.
An increased mice presence means more baits are being laid out and Hume Animal Hospital vet Dr Suzanne Bijster is worried what might happen should they run out of vitamin K.
"We've had two or three pets this week present with poison ingestion and vitamin K is the only treatment," she said.
"There are no other treatments available and that's why we're getting really, really concerned about the amount of cases of poisoning that are presenting.
"That means that our hands are tied and we may not be able to save them."
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Dr Bijster said the chances of pet surviving bait poisoning are "very low" without vitamin K.
However, pets have a much better chance of surviving if action is taken early, before the chemicals are absorbed into the body.
"The problem with mouse and rat bait is that it's a slow acting onset, it usually takes two to three days before they start showing symptoms," Dr Bijster said.
"If you catch them early we can induce vomiting and try to eliminate as much of the toxin as possible.
"Don't wait for symptoms because you would have an animal that is actively bleeding and they can pass away from internal bleeding.
"At that point in time all we can really do is try to give them a blood transfusion and start them on vitamin K, but then you have a critically ill patient and they don't all make it through that."
Rutherglen Veterinary Clinic's Penny Reeves said they have so far been lucky enough not to experience a shortage in vitamin K.
But she has seen an increase in secondary poisoning.
"The biggest change I have seen this year, apart from the massive increase in numbers, is the number of pets getting poisoned by secondary ingestion," she said.
"I have even had a case with a chicken.
"While roaming their gardens, the chickens were eating the poisoned mice and this chicken was bleeding from her comb and it would not stop."
Dr Bijster said that pet owners must also be aware of animals that have eaten baits before because they tend to develop a liking for it.
"Because it has to be made attractive to mice and rats, there is a smell and flavour to the baits," she said.
"Pets that have eaten these baits in the past are more likely to do it again because they like the taste. "Particularly if you have a breed like a labrador, or any dog that is really food motivated, they're more likely to rip open the package and eat it.
"For some reason it is attractive for them to eat."
Generally mice that have been killed by baits won't cause too many issues for a pet if they eat them, unless eaten in large quantities.
Both Dr Reeves and Dr Bijster were yet to see any cases where pets had ingested mouse-off, which is used in commercial farming operations.
Mouse-off poisoning in pets does not have an antidote and the gas produced by pets that have ingested the chemical can be toxic to humans.
