Bad Reaction from Frontline Plus

pinkfloyd

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Has anyone's cat had a bad reaction from Frontline Plus?  Roger, my beautiful 20 month old Chinchilla Silver Shaded Persian got really sick about 3 days after the application at the Vet's office.  He slept a lot the first day which I attributed it to maybe he was worn out from all the doctoring lately.  He had conjunctivitis the week before (different vet and that's where I think my indoor cat acquired the flea..ugh).  On about day 3 he started vomiting and even had the dry heaves.  So on day 4 I took him into the Vet (on a Saturday) and I insisted they run full blood tests and chemistry tests on him.  He could not even keep down a drink of water.  His tests came back fine I was told.  The Vet gave him a shot for nausea and sent us on our way with some pills for the nausea for 3 days.  None of that worked it seemed.  He continued to be violently sick if he even tried to eat a treat.  Finally that late night he was able to keep down some food.  Then day 5 the vomiting started all over again.  Finally at 5 pm I called the Vet again.  He advised me that he sure didn't think it could be the Frontline nor could it be the Knockout area spray treatment they sold me for my carpet in my office & under my sofa cushions (otherwise my home is 85% tile).  I might add, I did not allow my pets to be around the treated area until 12 hours had passed even though the required time was only 2 hours and I had windows open the entire 12 hours to make sure to air the area out.  I insisted to the Vet that I felt Roger was being poisoned by one of the two flea things.  So he said to try to bathe him with some Original Blue Dawn dish soap and see if that helped.  If not, I could come in the next morning.  I ran out to the store immediately and got the Simply Dawn.  Within 15 minutes of bathing him - he would not cooperate so I basically only got his back bathed since I was here alone- he was hungry.  He gobbled down wet food and some treats and held everything down fine.  He ate 3 hours later and then again 3 hours after that and it was like night and day - he was 100% better!!  SO...I had been keeping him quarantined from any area I had sprayed since I did not know what had actually made him sick so now I am trying to find that out.  I have called both companies that make Frontline Plus and Knockout Spray to see how to get their products off my cat and out of my home!  The Knockout Spray people were very helpful and took a report and told me that I could use a Rug Doctor on my carpet and as far as the indoor/outdoor carpet I could try to use Dawn and water and scrub that out or bleach.  The product is not water solluable and is supposed to keep fleas away for 7 month..ugh!   The Frontline Plus (this is the product I really suspect got him sick since I was very very cautious with the other product) people just took a report on it and then advised me to ask my vet any questions about the medical.  REALLY???  They make the stuff and do not know how to remove it from your pet's coat or oil glands where it soaks into.  He is better now and its been 3 days since that bath but I am worried that once his skin makes more oil for his coat then the product is gonna poison him again.  I wonder if I should keep shampooing him or not or what I can do?  I called the Vet (mind you all this stuff cost me $400 in a matter of 5 days) and he doesn't know of an antidote nor did he think I should shampoo again unless he has symptoms!  Of course I am livid - IF I were a vet who sold and administered these products I would KNOW of some antidote if there were a reaction to them BEFORE I would be comfortable prescribing them.  So - my question is - has anyone else gone through this?  And if so, what did they do for their cat? 
 

feralvr

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Hi there! I am so sorry about your cat being so sick BUT, I have to be honest with my opinion of the Frontline topical. It would not take three days, I think, for the cat to become that sick. It really would be almost immediate for any reaction. I could be wrong though. Usually, Frontline is very safe and well tolerated but surely there could be cases such as yours. You mention that the cat had conjunctivitis the week before you gave the Frontline. I have a sneaking suspicion that your cat was sick with a virus that was running its course over a ten day period. May have nothing whatsoever to do with the Frontline. The bathing really won't do anything at this point since the Frontline is already dry and into the skin. Within 24 hours it is completely dry and effectively into the cat's system. So three days later would be unusual to become sick from it, I think. Usually people will bathe the cat with a few hours because that is when you will see the bad reaction and then it helps to get the product off.

I don't know about Knock Out environmental flea control so can't comment on that but since you kept the cat away for 12 hours, then all should be fine at that point. Sounds like you are doing all you can and I certainly hope that your cat is feeling better, out of the woods and recovering! :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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pinkfloyd

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Thank you for your response.  It's just weird that almost immediatey after bathing him, he was better.  I sure would love for this to have been a virus because upon research I have found that many many pets have died from Frontline Plus and products like that.  I watch him like a hawk and hope he shows no more signs of illness nor any of the neurological problems like those I have now read about.  I love my cats so much and I certainly can't bare to think I did something that hurt them. 
 

feralvr

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Thank you for your response.  It's just weird that almost immediatey after bathing him, he was better.  I sure would love for this to have been a virus because upon research I have found that many many pets have died from Frontline Plus and products like that.  I watch him like a hawk and hope he shows no more signs of illness nor any of the neurological problems like those I have now read about.  I love my cats so much and I certainly can't bare to think I did something that hurt them. 
:alright: I know that feeling. I am just SO glad to hear that your cat is doing better and surely, I would be as you, and be very wary of using any topical flea product on your cat. Maybe the Revolution would be the better choice if needed. :dk: Generally, though, most cats do fine with the application of Frontline Plus, Advantage and/or Revolution. I hope that your cat continues to recover. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 

charlismom

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I had a bad reaction with Frontline on a beautiful stray rescue I took in, Muffy.  The reaction was shortly after applying, foamy mouth, acting weird, getting sick sick sick.  I immediately scrubbed as much as I could off of her...I swore, never again would I put that stuff on ANY pet EVER.  It was a horrible, scary experience, poor kitty.  Next day she was better, and back to normal day after that.  Never again.
 
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pinkfloyd

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So sorry to hear of your experience with that stuff too.  I was not sure if it was the Knockout spray (stays on your carpet for 7 months) or the Frontline since my baby's reaction was about 3 days after the application.  I want to get the information out there that washing them with DAWN dishwashing soap - the simply regular blue one- will take off the 'oils' in their coat which is where the Frontline is stored.  I want more people to be aware that they should be ASKING the Vet what type of antidote he has if there is a reaction to a product.  Had I done that - I would not have chosen to go that route with flea control. 
 

Dale Birosh

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I had a bad reaction with Frontline on a beautiful stray rescue I took in, Muffy. The reaction was shortly after applying, foamy mouth, acting weird, getting sick sick sick. I immediately scrubbed as much as I could off of her...I swore, never again would I put that stuff on ANY pet EVER. It was a horrible, scary experience, poor kitty. Next day she was better, and back to normal day after that. Never again.
This JUST happened to me with my rescue! She was drooling profusely for about 15 minutes and I am trying to get hee dowm down from her perch to get the remainder off her. What did you use to soak it off?
 

Caspers Human

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If Frontline actually made Roger sick, it would have done so within hours or even minutes of application.
That doesn't rule it out but it is certainly a point against the hypothesis.

You mentioned that you have used a couple of other medicines and products in the recent past, as well.
While I don't think that any ONE of those would cause a problem by itself, the combination of products makes me think.

Frontline didn't make Roger sick ON ITS OWN. Neither did the flea spray or the other meds you might have given Roger.
I wonder whether different things have synergized. One thing might be reacting with another to produce an undesirable effect that wouldn't have been happened from a single one.

I have no illusions that Frontline is without its pitfalls. Nor do I think that the flea spray is harmless, either.
However, let's imagine that one of those two products puts a temporary strain on your cat's system. Most cats would be able to tolerate the effects until they go away, a day or two later. If you put both of them together, the combined strain might be too much to tolerate, causing illness.

Let's also consider another situation. If a human takes an antihistamine like Benadryl because they have a mild allergy, it may or may not make the person drowsy, depending on the person and the dosage. If a person drinks a glass of wine, under ordinary circumstances, they would have little effect from wine, alone. But, if the person were to drink wine on top of Benadryl, the effects would synergize, and become stronger than either one, by itself.

A person who drinks a glass of wine might not feel much effect, at all, but synergized with Benadryl, he would feel very woozy. In severe cases, he might even have to go to the hospital!

I don't know. I could be wrong. It just seems to me that something is amiss.
Judging by your vet's reaction and the reactions of the companies you spoke with, it doesn't SEEM like anything should be wrong.
I have known doctors and pharmacists who just, plain didn't think about medications synergizing together like this.

Several years ago, a family member got a cold and went to the doctor who prescribed pseudoephedrine in prescription strength.
(The same as Sudafed but not the OTC version. The kind you get from the pharmacy.) Neither the doctor nor the pharmacist remembered that my family member also used an Albuterol inhaler to control asthma.

If you don't already know, Sudafed and Albuterol can interact. You're supposed to wait at least one hour after using Albuterol before taking Sudafed and you're supposed to wait two to four hours after taking Sudafed to use Albuterol.

Now, this isn't such a big deal but the problem is that NOBODY warned us. It would have been a simple matter to just say, "Wait an hour or two."

I'm wondering whether something similar is happening with you and your cat.

Maybe, nobody is thinking about whether different products can synergize when they should be.

All it would have taken is for somebody to say, "Wait a while before you give that Frontline to your cat," and this whole problem could have been avoided.
 
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