My understanding based upon some reading I did a few years ago is that most all the poison mouse and rat baits like TomCat or D-con are a chemical that does not poison but is a blood thinner. An animal has to eat a lot of it after which their blood is so thin that they begin to bleed internally. As they lose fluids it makes them so thirsty that they may head for water. As far as a pet eating a dead rodent and then suffering I have read this is very rare since it takes relatively large quantities based on body weight to do any permanent damage. I know that if you use products with bromethalin as the poison it will not hurt pets. I don't think there would ever be enough residual chemical in a dead mouse to kill a large dog. Always a good idea though to keep pets away from this stuff. I use TomCat, D-con, or Fastrac in my garage and barn and they all work really good. I always hide the stuff behind and under things where the dog can't get into it. I have had instances where the dog and chickens have found it and eaten it. Hasn't seemed to hurt them.
