Convulsions after exposure to Porpoxur in flea collar...

[nateeight]

Hello,

I have an older cat that I put a Zodiac Break Away flea and tic collar on. I stretched out the collar on accident before putting it on him not realising I wasn't supposed to. Within 15 minutes of putting on the collar he started having tics in his face and head. I took the collar off and tried to wash him as best I could.

After that he wakes up from sleep in pain. This went on for a couple months. I figured he'd just get it out of his system and be find. It however, developed into full blown convulsions but ONLY while he sleeps, which I find rather odd.

The vet says he's starting to get kidney failure so he's on a special diet. I also had an MRI done. The MRI shows that he's suffered a stroke. In my opinion I think the seizures caused the stroke, but nobody is really sure. I don't want to medicate him unless I have too because the medication can have side effects and might be hard on his aged system.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening? The collar in question contains 11.25mg of Propoxur, which imho is way too much for a flea/tic collar.

Again the convulsions only occur while he's sleeping, he has between 1 and two a day. They last for appx. 20 seconds and he recovers from them fine after about 5 minutes. They are so severe that he urinates during them and looks to be in a lot of pain.

Please help, before he was exposed to the Zodiac FleaTrol Break Away Flea and Tic collar for cats he was a completly healthy normal cat. He's slowed down since the convulsions and I fear they may kill him.

Take care,

N8

 

[tru]

Sometimes the damage from such products can be permanent and sometimes it isn't.

MIL has a cat that had seizures immediately when she put a flea collar on him. That was some years ago and he seems to have no lasting damage from it.

On the other hand I had a cat that suffered permanent damage from a flea collar back in the 70's. She was nicknamed Crooked cat because of it.

Those products are not allowed around any animals that I care for now. It is so awful to have to learn what those OTC products do first hand.

 

[cearbhaill]

I would contact Zodiac and find out if any other such instances have been reported. You could find out a lot from any existing records of other animals.

Better yet have an attorney contact them. They can't help your poor animal but they can sure help you with the bills.

 

[hissy]

Yes

I have heard of this happening. This is why I wish flea collars would just be eliminated. The toxins they use are strong, they are concentrated into one area rather than traveling. By stretching the collar the toxins are released quicker and they leach in through the skin and enter the bloodstream.

Just keep pushing fluids for him (invest in a pet fountain) to encourage him to drink more. Feed wet food and add water to it as well. The toxins are built up in his system. Sometimes they can kick this poisoning, and sometimes they succumb to it.

Join the CRF website, great people there who will help you keep him going- But know that if might come when enough is enough and he will be tired of fighting. If that day comes, when it does, don't keep him going because you can't bear to lose him. Let him go, and wish him peace.


http://www.felinecrf.com/

Also a good watchdog website for OTC products

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/avictim.htm

 

[zissou'smom]

I'm so sorry this has happened to you and your baby. I too used an OTC flea product and then the vet said I could have killed her and I cried for hours! Luckily my baby girl has suffered no apparent damage.

Flea collars are good for one thing, and that's vaccuum cleaner bags. But I agree that they should be eliminated.

I hope you can find some way to help your baby.

 

[satai]

I am so sorry this happened.

You are both in my prayers.

 

[cande]

My cat had a similar experience but with flea shampoo, he is taking Phenobarbital to control the seizures. You need to take him to the vet, he need to take medication to stop the seizures because with each one he will have permanent brain damage. Having one each day, thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s dangerous.

 

[dizzymslizzy]

Well see it depends. Cats in CRF will have seizures when their #s go out of wack. So it could be a combination of the CRF and the flea collar. Hartz flea collars are nasty products and have been known to be the cause of many problems in cats, and a lot of deaths as well. My cats will ONLY get prescription flee meds from the vet because of this.

With that being said it's too late to do anything about the collar. What's done is done. I will tell you that CRF is a very trying disease for both cats and their human counterparts. I nursed a 17 yr old cat through CRF and we lost him on Thanksgiving of this year.

He suffered a lot, and we finally caved and had him put to sleep when the seizures started. We couldn't bear to see him suffer any more. Good luck with your kitty

 

[zissou'smom]

It is not just Hartz, as a matter of fact they're doing more to fix it than some of the other brands that are just as bad.

 

[dizzymslizzy]

I didn't know that others were bad as well, but I generally stay away from OTC Pet meds.

 

[yosemite]

Originally Posted by Dizzymslizzy

I didn't know that others were bad as well, but I generally stay away from OTC Pet meds.

I wholeheartedly agree. Our babies are too precious to us to even take a chance on OTC meds.

 

[nateeight]

Originally Posted by tru

Sometimes the damage from such products can be permanent and sometimes it isn't.

MIL has a cat that had seizures immediately when she put a flea collar on him. That was some years ago and he seems to have no lasting damage from it.

On the other hand I had a cat that suffered permanent damage from a flea collar back in the 70's. She was nicknamed Crooked cat because of it.

Those products are not allowed around any animals that I care for now. It is so awful to have to learn what those OTC products do first hand.

What was the damage? What substance caused the damage? How old was your pet? I've spoken with others and they've mentioned the same thing. Only problem is nobody seems to remember exactly what substance was in the collar, and how much of it was in the collar.

In my pets case, it was 11.25mg of Propoxur. Way, way too much Propoxur to be put into one flea collar. Some humans get sick from 1.5mg of Propoxur within 15min of being exposed. Now try putting 11.25mg on a 10lb cat. These people are insane, again their #1 priority is putting a collar on the market that says "will kill fleas and tics for 5 months." Yea no kidding cause you put enough poison in the collar to damn near kill the animal that has the fleas/tics.

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

I would contact Zodiac and find out if any other such instances have been reported. You could find out a lot from any existing records of other animals.

Better yet have an attorney contact them. They can't help your poor animal but they can sure help you with the bills.

Correlating all of his health problems to the product will prove to be a challenge until he passes and I can have an autopsy done, which I will be. They will want to blame me for applying it improperly (b.s. imho, they'll lose on that issue) and point the finger at the fact that he's an aged cat. If I come to find out there was damage done to him from the product, I'm going to sue them six ways from sunday, I don't care if I have to sell my car and condo to do it. Their #1 priority is money, not the health and well being of animals.

Originally Posted by Cande

My cat had a similar experience but with flea shampoo, he is taking Phenobarbital to control the seizures. You need to take him to the vet, he need to take medication to stop the seizures because with each one he will have permanent brain damage. Having one each day, thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s dangerous.

I spoke with the Neuro and she said unless his seizures were longer that they wouldn't cause any brain damage or stroke issues. I'm not so sure of her comment though. I'm not sure that she realises how traumatising they are. If anyone has any documentation on cat seizures particularly relating to brain damage/strokes it would be much appreciated.

Originally Posted by Dizzymslizzy

Well see it depends. Cats in CRF will have seizures when their #s go out of wack. So it could be a combination of the CRF and the flea collar. Hartz flea collars are nasty products and have been known to be the cause of many problems in cats, and a lot of deaths as well. My cats will ONLY get prescription flee meds from the vet because of this.

With that being said it's too late to do anything about the collar. What's done is done. I will tell you that CRF is a very trying disease for both cats and their human counterparts. I nursed a 17 yr old cat through CRF and we lost him on Thanksgiving of this year.

He suffered a lot, and we finally caved and had him put to sleep when the seizures started. We couldn't bear to see him suffer any more. Good luck with your kitty

Dizzy do you know why your cat had convuslions with the CRF? Just wondering. Did he/she have them only while sleeping, or while awake also?

Thanks in advance.

Good deal,

I gave him an application of DMSO yesterday at around 3pm. Appx. one drop with q-tip on his right paw where the MRI folks had shaved him for his catheter. DMSO got rid of my 10 years worth of back pain in one application. I'd been through numerous therapy techniques, none of which worked.

It's been 24hrs without a seizure since the DMSO application and his overall energy levels and well being have improved. DMSO is said to be a miracle drug. It's cheap and all natural. Only thing I have to wait for now is to see if it fixed the problem permanantly like my back, or if I need to do maintenance applications to keep the convulsions under control.

Thanks for your time

N8

 

[cande]

About information on brain damage cause by seizures, I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t read it in an article, someone in a vet forum told me. I hope he gets well, good luck.

 

[tru]

What was the damage? What substance caused the damage? How old was your pet? I've spoken with others and they've mentioned the same thing. Only problem is nobody seems to remember exactly what substance was in the collar, and how much of it was in the collar.
N8

Nateeight,
Like the others you have spoken to, I simply don't know. I think the cat was under a year, but we are talking about nearly 30 years ago. Funny thing is, I had some grand mal seizures in the mid 80's and that did effect my memory. Some memories seem to be gone for good. So if that is considered brain damage, then yes, seizures do cause brain damage. I suppose that since one cannot ask a cat about what they remember then they assume there is no permanent damage.

I've never really thought about it much one way or the other, but should probably be worth some consideration by someone dealing with such traumas.

Good luck with your baby