Untangling a cat’s cradle: Diphacinone, acetaminophen, trauma, and multiple deaths in a Kentucky cat colony

Abstract

• Free-roaming cats are subject to many causes of illness, injury, and death. • Cats are among the most common targets of malicious poisoning. • Diagnosis requires consideration of all findings/evidence. • Analytical results alone are insufficient to diagnose poisoning. 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 case series illustrates the importance of a thorough diagnostic workup in forensic animal death investigations.