Has anyone had a bad reaction to Cheristin flea meds?

Oh, I am so, so sorry for your loss. I, personally, would stop using it on the other two cats, if it makes them lethargic. Not worth it.

Surely there are other proven flea meds - revolution seems safe. Also, natural methods, like diatomaceous earth - this can work.

Again, I am really sorry for your loss.

I am also very sorry about your loss.

Cats are much like people and some will react differently to the same treatment. I hate using any medicine/chemicals on my cats but also could not stand buy while the fleas drove them and me crazy.

As far as what you can do now, legally the burden of proof will fall on you and it might be time to seek some legal advice but a fight like this will be expensive.

Please accept my deepest regret for the loss of your kitty, I would also be devastated.

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

I thought of something last night and it is really scaring me.

I took my dear girl to another vet before she died.  He did a thorough exam on her and he told me that she had "no sensation in her spine".  He offered no explanation as to why the problem was however, all speculation.

I noted that is what Cheristin for Cats does to the flea, it breaks the spine on the flea and causes it to become paralyzed an dies. 

This is what happened to my poor cat!

I won't be using any more of this stuff and I'll stick to the old flea comb and water routine which I used for many years before they had these flea killing treatments.

If I didn't use the Cheristin for Cats on my dear one that died, she'd be chewing away at herself when the next dose was due.  It was a severe allergy that she had developed to fleas.  I was more or less forced to use in on the other two cats as well because it was the only thing that was working for her and in order for it to be effective, I had to use in on all three of them.

I will be making some calls believe me.  I won't be getting over this one any time soon, that is for sure.  It has been beyond sad around here, believe me. 

Thanks again for your replies.  I really appreciate it and if anyone else has heard of a cat death related to Cheristin for Cats please let me know. 

We have given our 3 cats Cheristin. Two have seemed to react badly.

Simon has lost his appetite. As of this posting he has not eaten in 2 days. He is a Maine Coon mix.He is not snuggling and will not come on the bed as usual.

My other boy, Max, a tuxedo cat, continues to scratch (this is his second dosage on July 8, 2016). He is beginning to get bald spots---on  the very top of his head, the others are around his neck behind his jaw on both sides of his face. He is also losing fur above his eyes, although our one vet said that had been due to an allergic reaction to fleas.

I have an appointment with the vet for Maxie on Friday. I will discontinue this product upon reading the other threads in this chain. The vet, like others in this thread above, said the fleas are quite bad this year in the SF Bay area, and recommended the change from Revolution (he postulates at the company who makes Revolution may have altered/lessened the dosage) and suggested Cheristin. Our third ca, Jelly seems least affected negatively. Simon is 7 years old, Max and Jelly are 12. 

If need  be, I will take them to a local holistic vet for other treatment. I will not risk their well being with this product any longer.

Am not familiar with diatomaceous earth for flea cat treatment...Thanks for this idea!

Oh my Gosh how sorry I am for your devastating loss. My heartfelt condolences. 

I called up Elanco and told them my cat has died a horrific death and that I believe Cheristin for Cats is the culprit as it is a neurotoxin and her symptoms were neurologically based!  Running around in circles and unable to jump or move -- she was paralyzed, just like the fleas that Cheristin kills.  Throw in a batch of cats and bingo, you have not just dead fleas, but dead cats to go with the fleas!

 I also told them it made all of them lethargic and they denied knowing of this side-effect.  I told them that it says this ON THE BOX  ok?  They said it did not say it on the box!  I said it states in can cause "inactivity" which is a synonym for "lethargic".  Gotcha you liars!

They claimed it is not absorbed systemically.  If it is not absorbed systemically, then why does it last for 30++++ days?  Gotcha again you liars!

I have gotten rid of this crap!  As of now, my other cats do not have any fleas as they are being kept indoors and I continue to comb them daily to be sure they don't have any.

As for my cat that has died, I am still very depressed about this.  I cannot get over what happened to her!  It angers me the way Elanco lies!

Do not trust Elanco!  They had told me I had to use Cheristin on ALL of my cats for it to be effective for the one that died that has the FAD.  I asked about this again when I spoke with them and their story has now changed!  They said they recommend that "another product be used" and that I did not have to use the pricey Cheristin for Cats on all of them.  Having to specifically purchase Cheristin for Cats has been a financial hardship for me as I live on a pittance unfortunately! Do they care?  Hell no, they are in this for one thing and that is the $$$!  Gotcha again you GREEDY LIARS!

That is three lies right there.  How many more lies are there Elanco?

How many cats have died from this toxic poison?

 

Again I am very sorry for your loss. 

There are exceptions and no one knows how some cats will react to the chemicals used to kill fleas.  

It is a chance some of us have to take and there is no shortage of horror stories for the other flea products as well.

I was lucky and got great results on my three red tabbies who still remain without fleas for 2 months now.

I can not blame you for your anger as I would be the same if something happened to one of mine.

Again I am very sorry for your loss.

Oh Jules, I am so very sorry! I would be devastated too! My heart just hurts for you!  

I can honestly say that I've never had a flea problem on my cats but I follow these threads just in case, but I think if they ever do, I'll follow your advice and never use that product!! 

Big hugs!!!   

ANOTHER Cheristin death, this time at a vet clinic.  DO NOT USE THIS STUFF!!!!!!

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/323184/do-not-use-cheristin-for-cats#post_4063221

I work at a veterinary clinic we were told to try cheristin on our office cats. We did and it killed one of them! This medicine is EPA approved not FDA approved!! The Elanco Company first put this product on the shelves under the name Assurity and after numerous animal deaths they took if off the shelves and repackaged it under the name Cheristin.  When I contacted Elanco and told them about the cat's death, they told me nothing like this has ever happened before, but i highly doubt that our clinic cat would of been the first to die from this!! The Elanco Company offered to pay for a autopsy and when i asked the autopsy doctor about the results he said it was CHERISTIN that killed her!! I have been doing as much research as possible and I highly suggest you do too!! There is no expiration date on the box! How is that even possible? There is no way it could last forever and not go bad. The main ingredient is Spinetoram, a pesticide used to kill insects on trees!! I want this to be known so no one will ever use Cheristin and have anymore animals die!! PLEASE only use a product that is FDA approved for all animals!! Elanco told me the incident with my office cat passing away would be reviewed and not much else would be done about it. I can not believe it. We love our office cat and would never want anyone else to go through this heartbreaking ordeal!!! 

I have used it on over 9 different cats and none had any problems.  It is the only thing I know of that kills fleas for me.  The other stuff is useless.

Yes, and I did use it on both office cats one was fine and the other passed away. So it may work for some, but the fact that it killed one cat I feel is very extreme if she started pulling hair out or vomiting I would understand. It is a side effect' she reacted do not use this one again. However it was within a hour she was gone after apply this medicine. The only research I have found and was told by the veterinarian from the company I spoke to, is laboratory research. The field studies have not yet been published. Being told this is a 1 in a million chance, then to read other stories such as this blog page and seen it has killed other animals. I just want it to be known that there are severe side effects and to please be careful when choosing flea medication. I have found that Revolution is FDA approved. Used it on my cat personally and the fleas and all evidence of them were gone in 2 days.

Danielleb14 said:

Yes, and I did use it on both office cats one was fine and the other passed away. So it may work for some, but the fact that it killed one cat I feel is very extreme if she started pulling hair out or vomiting I would understand. It is a side effect' she reacted do not use this one again. However it was within a hour she was gone after apply this medicine. The only research I have found and was told by the veterinarian from the company I spoke to, is laboratory research. The field studies have not yet been published. Being told this is a 1 in a million chance, then to read other stories such as this blog page and seen it has killed other animals. I just want it to be known that there are severe side effects and to please be careful when choosing flea medication. I have found that Revolution is FDA approved. Used it on my cat personally and the fleas and all evidence of them were gone in 2 days.

Click to expand...

Where do you live as Revolution does nothing to our fleas here in Jacksonville. I got two more boxes of the Revolution and quit using it because it was not doing anything. I hate all of these products, I know they can not be good for our pets but I also can not stand to see our cats infested with fleas.

Horrible choices to be made here.

I'm in California. Yes fleas are horrible and I wouldn't want anyone to be infested. So if it works for you that is great! I just wanted to share my experience for it because I am devastated. However fleas can build up tolerances to things so maybe that is what happened. Also dawn dish soap works for flea baths!

Oh my god!  Another one!  I am so incredibly sad to hear this!  You are so right, do NOT USE CHERISTIN FOR CATS on any cat out there.  Fortunately, my other two cats are ok but the one I lost died a horrific death.  I was slowly poisoning her with this crap and had no idea what the reality was!  When I contacted Elanco, well you can read what happened. 

So sad!   

Hello,

I too lost my cat.  Elanco denied that Assurity was = to Cheristin and told me that "completely different ingredients were involved" and that the "two products are not the same".  Well that's just fine I guess, but I found this on the www this a.m. :

>>This page contains information on Assurity for veterinary use.
The information provided typically includes the following:

• Assurity Indications
• Warnings and cautions for Assurity
• Direction and dosage information for Assurity

Assurity

This treatment applies to the following species:

• Cats

Manufacturer: Elanco

spinetoram

and ...

>>

Active Ingredient

Spinetoram [CAS # 187166-40-1 & 187166-15-0]

39.6%

OTHER INGREDIENTS

60.4%

TOTAL

100.0%

More here at this link:

https://www.drugs.com/vet/assurity.html

As you can see, it is indeed the same drug!  They lied! 

I don't know what else to say except stay far away from this product known in tablet form as COMFORTIS.  My poor sweet cat died a horrific death and I believe it was because she was poisoned by this product known as SPINETORAM.

Elanco said it was an entirely different product than Assurity. 

I found this on the www earlier today: https://www.drugs.com/vet/assurity.html

It states that the active ingredient is Spinetoram 39.6% and that this info. if "Archived".

This same substance is found in COMFORTIS as well, another product made by Elanco to kill fleas that is in tablet form.

That is what it did do my cat.  In the end she could barely walk as if she was paralyzed! 

It had been marketed under the name Assurity at one time and has been released again as Cheristin for Cats.

Assurity contained Spinetoram 39.6% as its active ingredient which is the same as Cheristin for Cats has but a third of the amount it seems coming in at 11.3% rather than 39.6%!

Stay far away from any product with this spinetoram in it as advised!

Complaints have been going on for three years concerning this drug.  I believe it is like with the avermectin family, in certain animals, this drug can cross the Blood Braim Barrier, and for those animals, the drug works on them just as it works on the insects it is designed to kill.  It is a genetic abnormality and rare enough that the drugs do not get pulled, but every year some animals are sickened and killed by them.  The best advice for anyone is do NOT use anything on your animal without first researching by at least searching the internet for "complaints about _________."  Many things will have occasional complaints, but if you find a pattern, like this one, beware. 

http://community.qvc.com/t5/Home/BE...XIS-COMFORTIS-ASSURITY-containing/td-p/322205

If enough animals are sensitive to a particular drug, yours may be also.  It is not worth the risk.