Another victem of Hartz flea drops

Yesterday morning at work the animal control officer brought in a beautiful cat that looked to be a siamese cross that he found in the woods. The cat was seizing so the doctor have the cat a few injections and put him on fluids. Luckily the cat had a collar on with a tag so we were able to contact the owner.

A couple hours later(the cat was still seizing on and off) the owner called us back and informed us that she had just put Hartz flea drops on her cat and then let him out. We immeaditly bathed the cat and put him back on fluids.

When I left last night the cat was still having seizures on and off but overall looked a bit better than he had when he first came in.

Seeing this makes me so angry!! How can Hartz get away with selling this product to the public?? I feel bad for the poor girl because she didn't realize there was a difference between Hartz and the stuff you buy at the vets. Fortunatly though she had put it on her other cat but he was not having any kind of reaction to it.

I don't buy the stuff but to anyone who does, does it have a warning on the label about the tons of cats who have gone through this and the number of cats who have died from this product?

I will not buy over the counter flea products for this reason. My friend had a beautiful calico who she treated with this product and the poor kitty died! I also will not use flea collars or flea bands. My cats get dosed with Advantage every month, and it has worked well for me. I wish there were someway to stop these senseless killings, but greed in the motivating factor. It is all about making money.

They need to remove this stuff from the market.

I didn't even buy Hartz dog shampoo, for Ike. If enough people, like us, get the word out and boycott their products maybe, they'll do something.

I too wish there was a way to make them stop selling this stuff! That is awful!!! How many cats have to die before they stop!!!!

I went to Walmart this evening and they have a whole special display of Hartz flea and tick products that they just put out. A lady was talking with a friend about trying some of the products and I had to voice my opinion to her. I told her about the information that I have seen and the effects that it could cause. She decided not to buy it.

Keep your pet safe: News 4 investigates flea treatments
05/06/2002

Reporter: Laurie Waters, News 4


(KMOV) -- Summer is right around the corner and, for many pet owners, that means flea and tick season. Those pests carry diseases, and at the very least, cause you and your pet major discomfort.


But before you buy a product to treat your beloved pet, you may want to do some research. Some say what should be helping your pet could harm it.


“You buy this product, you put it on your cat, and you're essentially killing your own cat," says Judy Van Wyk.


That's her take on over-the-counter flea products. She has launched a one-woman crusade against the pet product giant, Hartz Mountain, and its Advanced Care Flea and Tick Drops.


“Primarily, we want the product off the market. The product is unsafe," she says.


Van Wyk's battle began after she used Hartz flea drops on her three cats. Her lawsuit against the company says in just minutes, all three began behaving violently, screaming and going into seizures.


"At that point, the first thing that struck me when I couldn't find anything like a bee or anything else, I thought, this has got to be the stuff I just put on them," Van Wyk says.


Van Wyk says she soon learned of allegations of dozens of other reactions, including two separate incidents from a cat clinic in Arkansas, which videotaped the pets. They suffered seizures and muscle tremors after being treated with Hartz topical flea products.


The vet bill for Kirby's treatment was over $400 and Hartz paid for it on the condition that Kirby's owner would never sue Hartz for damages.


"In terms of our satisfaction guarantee, we have a policy that consumers who have any disappointment in our products, we will provide a full guarantee and a money back guarantee associated with that," says Dr. Albert Ahn, Hartz Spokesman


Van Wyk wanted more than reimbursement. She wanted Hartz to pull the product. Hartz says there's no reason to.


"We have sold over 132 million doses and when we look at the information that we maintain and that we share with the regulatory agencies, we are led to believe that these products are safe and they're effective,†Ahn says.


One of those regulatory agencies is the EPA, which is now examining the complaints. News 4 obtained an EPA document, which recommends Advanced Care for Cats "be re-evaluated for its safety in cats," citing "significant evidence...that some cats develop neurological signs of toxicity after exposure."


And there is something else you should know. Never use any flea product designed for dogs on cats.


"He was going crazy, and we were all crying and everything because we raised him since we were little. It was pretty bad," says Justine O'Neal.


Tigger survived, but the O'Neal family will never forget what happened when they mistakenly put over-the-counter flea medicine for dogs on the family cat.


"The cat was hissing at me. Normally, it wouldn't do that. It was convulsing, shaking real bad. I just immediately took the cat to the bathroom, gave it a bath and tried to get all the applicant and stuff off of him," says Kevin O'Neal.


"We weren't watching the packages as far as what they said. Now I look whether it says dog or cat on the package to make sure," he says.


Cats don't have the same ability as dogs to break down the ingredient permethrin.


"What the permethrins do is they cause a constant excitement of the nervous system in the animal, thereby paralyzing it,†says Dr. Steve Sandino, veterinarian.


But the package label, although approved by the EPA, may not make that clear. The EPA is now considering whether dog products should be more clearly labeled to warn of the dangers of toxicity in cats, whether those cats are directly treated or exposed to treated dogs.


“At one time, they were the best things we had. It's just that new things are available. I think the toxic levels are much lower in the new products, and much safer,†Sandino says.


Hartz says if its product is properly applied, it will not be absorbed into the cat's blood stream, so of course, use any flea product according to directions and never use dog products on cats.


Should you opt to use the veterinarian recommended products like Frontline or Advantage, you should know they are more expensive, but local vets maintain they are safer and more effective.

You might want to let anyone in the future know about this pending lawsuit


Hartz Lawsuits

I can't believe Hartz would continue selling these type of products!

The cat who was poisoned by Hartz is doing much better! His name is Jamie and Jamie has stopped seizuring but he cannot do much else but lay on his side. I gave him more fluids today and then force fed him a little. It didn't take much to get him to eat on his own but you have to hold him upright so he can eat.

He still has a long way to go but hopefully he can make it.

Just to let people know...PetCo is now selling Frontline and Advantage in the store. Please, anyone that's reading all of these stories, don't buy over the counter flea and tick medications!!

I have never used over-the-counter flea treatments on any animal. While I was in the store today looking for catnip I saw some Hartz flea treatment products and I checked one of the labels for warnings. Jessica, the label I looked at only had a warning about the product being an eye irritant. There was no warnings at all about possible harmful effects.