Today I go to Petsmart and get my cat some Hartz Plus Guard flea drops because I ran out of the usual stuff I use. i get home and put it on my two cats and am shocked by the amount of oily substance that gels their hair at the base of their neck. A few hours later, one of my cats starts acting funny rubbing up against me in ways he generally does not do. Its four hours and the oily substance has still not dried. So I take a damp cloth and wipe as much of it as I can away.
I then jump on the internet to see what the heck is going on. Luckily I find this and other pages. I quickly give him a bath (The most traumatic event in his life. ) It kills me to do it but the lathargic looks he was giving me and the unnatural way he was acting forced me to follow through.
After I was done I call the 800 number on the back of the box which gives me an 888 number where a “vet” tells me to do exactly what I had done. he starts referring to the product as a “pesticide”. I didin’t buy a “pesticide” I bought a nationally sold product sold by a national retailer which is supposed to care about animals!!!
My cat is still not acting normal and now it is a little after midnight and I have to be in court in the morning. I am afraid to go to sleep now that I have read all the horrible things that you all have shared. The “vet” told me it should be alright and that I should continue to monitor him and if he worsens to take him to the vet. Now am I supposed to pay for this vet bill? I requested that someone from Hartz return my call tomorrow and I am hoping that my cat will be ok.
This is the last Hartz product I ever use!!!‘
1 Comment Received
June 25th, 2009 @11:05 pm
I am very sorry that this happened to you and hope that your pets are not seriously injured. Many thousands of others have not been this fortunate.
Please do what you can to ensure that this horrible legacy of injuries and deaths does not continue. Please take the time to report this to the proper organization. The manufacturers are counting on people like you to NOT report these problems. The EPA knows that the number of injuries and deaths is under-reported but they are concerned about these pesticide ingredients. How do I report a suspected adverse reaction?
1. Contact the National Pesticide Information Center at 1-800-858-7378. They maintain a database of pesticide-related illnesses for the EPA. The EPA uses this database to determine if dangerous pesticide products need to be removed from the market.
2. Also, please by sure to report the incident to Hartz Mountain, the manufacturer of the product. Their phone number is 1-800-275-1414, it’s on the product packaging. The manufacturers are required by federal law to keep accurate records and submit them to the EPA. Hartz Mountain has been cited and fined by the EPA for failing to do this…keep the pressure on manufacturers like Hartz to report the truth.
3. You can also contact the EPA directly (provide them with the EPA Reg. # of the product, which is printed on the packaging), please write to :
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pesticide Programs (Mail Code 75
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
E-mail: [email protected]
Again, I am very sorry this has happened to you. Unfortunately thousands of pets and families have endured tragedies much worse and it is appalling that manufacturers like Hartz, Sergeant’s, Bio Spot and others continue to get away with it. Please take a moment and report the incident–if enough of us take this step it may have a positive impact. All the best.
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