Why NOT to use over the counter flea remedies (Warning: Graphic Image)

[mom of 10 cats]

I don't know, there is so much evidence that they're harmful, if not DEADLY, so why in god's name are they still allowed to sell them? If this was a product for humans, there'd be lawyers falling over themselves to get together a class action suit.

 

[lmj1954]

Way before this I have been to the site and read the horror stories. I work at Kmart and Petco, and bothe sell the cheap dangerous over the counter stuff, and you better beleive, I see someone with this stuff I enlighten them!

 

[louse76]

I now see that this is a repost, so I am sorry about that. But please do not delete. This really should be a sticky thread (or one like it). Zero could have been killed by this stuff!

Here is a webpage all about it!!

WHATEVER YOU DO, do not use this stuff on your animal! I noticed that Zero didn't like it and all, but it seemed to bother him more than it really should. I didn't think much about it until I went to the vet today...

Well the vet told me to stop using it NOW! They said that it has caused already many fatalities! I believe they said that it causes some type of nerve damage. They said they couldn't believe that it was still on the market, and that they have already treated a few cats.

So whatever you do DO NOT EVER USE THIS PRODUCT!!!

I have half a mind to go where I bought it and not only demand a refund, but also demand that they take it off of the shelves!

In a search on the internet, I found some others who know about this problem:

Read about it here.

Hartz Kills Pets - or - Strip Mine Hartz Mountain
I am not usually an activist. I leave that to others. But at the moment I am so angry I am sending this letter out to everyone in all my address books.

You may not have a pet yourself, but I'm sure you know someone who does. Please pass this along to them.

Hartz Mountain manufactures a product known as "Flea & Tick Drops Plus," an anti-flea remedy which is applied to the animal's back, like Frontline or Advantage. The difference is that Frontline and Advantage use a much newer chemical, which DOES NOT HURT the animal. Hartz uses phenothrin which --- according to my vet --- has been around for 50 years, is not nearly as effective, and can be toxic. Cats apparently are much more likely to be sensitive than dogs.

Well last night, late, I put a dose on our smallest cat, Yoda (7 pounds, 14 ounces), and I used the "Cats under 10 pounds" strength. Around noon today, I noticed that she was listless, her balance was off, she was drooling heavily, and when I picked her up, I saw she was twitching. Badly. I called our vet, explained what was happening, and they told me to get her in IMMEDIATELY. As in, right now. As in, if you hurry, you might be able to save her.

I rushed her to the vet - the fact that she went in the carrier willingly told me just how very sick she was. He examined her, and told me that she should be okay. They were going to give her a bath, to get all of the chemicals off her fur, give her some activated charcoal, and then observe her for a few hours. If she improves, I can pick her up this evening. If she doesn't improve, or gets worse, they will keep her over the weekend, and give her an IV to pump fluids through her, and if necessary, anti-seizure medication.

We were lucky - we noticed she was sick fairly early on, and got her medical treatment. And I used the smallest dose for her. The vet said that if I'd used the higher strength (for cats over 10 pounds) she could have died. He said that sometimes, an owner will accidentally put the dog strength on a cat, and that is almost always fatal.

He was also very disgusted, when we talked about it, because he said that Hartz markets their package to look like Frontline or Advantage. Because it is much cheaper (with reason - a chemical that is no longer patented, and old), people will buy it.

He said that Yoda had all the classic symptoms of phenothrin poisoning. Since she wasn't vomiting or having seizures, she should fully recover. In the meantime, we're bathing the other 3 cats to make sure we get all of this poison off them, I'm writing this rant and waiting to call the vet back.

Please pass this along to whomever you want. Feel free to post it to any web page, to any Usenet or other bulletin board group. If we can spare another animal lover from having to go through this, it will be worth the effort.

Thank you for reading this all the way to the end.


Kym

 

[louse76]

And here is an agreement with the EPA.... ridiculous that they didn't do more, like take it off of the market!

Someone's cat who was killed. Poor kitty .

This doctor has seen three die in one week!

Seems their other products kill too!

 

[louse76]

I AM SO FU**ING PISSED!!!

I used this stuff on Zero two times and now he has for the second time a spot (luckily small) that looks like the cat in the first picture!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!!!!!

When I first put it on him, he was writhing in pain. He made horrible noises. I had faith and just figured that it was really annoying him. He made these noises that I wish you could hear...

I AM AT LEAST going to make HARTZ pay for my vet bill because of this. I HOPE every single person that is affiliated with this company dies a horrible death!!! Yes, I MEAN IT!!!

I AM SO SORRY ZERO!! I LOVE YOU!!

 

[louse76]

Also, one more thing... I just went to walmart to buy some litter and food... well I found the tubes of this stuff and I used a pen that I had with me to write on them "this product may kill your cat, no joke"!

I urge you to do the same. In ANY store that carries this stuff, I will be doing the same thing. I don't care if they see me, and I don't care if I am banned from the store.

 

[cla517]

Poor,poor babycat! That is so awful!

As for not allowing cats in Florida, I got a really good laugh out of that one. I better hide my babies then! If the "cat police" come to the door, I'll tell them I'm keeping strange looking raccoons!

 

[louse76]

Originally posted by Sicycat
I'm sorry but it really burns me that someone would surrender their cat just because it had a reaction to flea medication. It's their fault in the first place

NO!! It is DEFINATELY NOT THEIR FAULT!!

The fault is on HARTZ!! These people were trying to care for their cat by giving them something to make sure they don't get fleas! How were they supposed to know that it is like dumping your cat in toxic waste?! And they most likely surrendered him because they could not pay to keep him healthy and didn't want to see him die. Remember that he was MUCH WORSE according to momof10cats when he arrived. Can you even imagine that? Surrendering them was somewhat responsible.

Remember, not everyone is as fortunate as a lot of you are. Some people don't know whether or not they will be able to pay their next mortgage payment or not. You may say that they shouldn't have gotten a cat then... well, they probably weren't always that way...

I paid $100 today at the vet mostly because of this problem!! IS IT MY FAULT?!?!

BTW, not angry at you, angry at hartz.

 

[louse76]

Originally posted by Lilly
I fed him ice cream (breyers mint chocalate chip) and he went to sleep. When he woke up he was better. :icecream:

Yay! You've found the cure

! I wish!