Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Untangling A Cat’S Cradle: Diphacinone, Acetaminophen, Trauma, And Multiple Deaths In A Kentucky Cat Colony, Megan C. Romano, Uneeda K. Bryant, Lynne M. C. Cassone, Jennifer G. Janes, Michelle N. Helm, Kyle A. Francis

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Faculty Publications

This manuscript describes an animal cruelty investigation in which several cats from a feral colony were suspected of having been poisoned. Three of the cats were submitted for complete postmortem examination by a qualified veterinary pathologist, and appropriate toxicologic analyses were selected and interpreted by a qualified veterinary toxicologist. Diagnosis in poisoning cases requires communication and collaboration between the pathologists and the toxicologist. A truly definitive diagnosis is not always possible in poisoning cases, particularly in a forensic investigation – a court of law requires a higher standard to establish a cause of death than do routine diagnostic cases. This …