Since the original writing, my cat Napolean has fully recovered and is doing great at my daughter’s house, away from my son’s pets that come in & out and brought in the fleas my cat had caught 2-3 yrs ago.

His white cat Fluffy, however was also an indoor cat but caught fleas from his dog going in & out. Not wanting to use any drops, powders or shampoos on her, we opted for a flea collar so bought the Hartz Ultra Guard Plus and she wore it a few weeks, seemed ok but shedding a bit more than usual, then acted like hse had a urinary tract infection, so we were going to bring her to the vet, but then when he told me about her I recognized how she was acting not to be urinary tract but symptoms of flea poisoning as she was only laying around hiding and not eating. I told him he needed to take her to theVet in the morning anyway and to tell the Vet she had that collar on 3-4 wks. We removed the collar when she showed for sure she was sick… it was too late. She died that night before we could get her to the Vet… So even the collars kill the cats and when I was bagging her up so he could bury her, saw 100′s of fleas on her underbelly so the dang collar didnt even get rid of the fleas but poisoned her~!

My sympathies for your situation, however that is a manmade problem. Unfortunately, you did that, no one made you disregard the warning on the container.

Perhaps you should think things through a little more thoroughly before endangering your animal.

With your opening comment starting with “WTF”, you declared your own ignorance for nor even reading the entire story. There was NO LABELING on the package that was used for the cat and at the time there was NO WARNING on it either, just a picture of cats and some foreign language printing, with pictures that showed to put the drops on the back of the neck.
It was a pre-assumption hours after the cat had her reaction and was already at the Vet for her emergency care, that I began to doubt and assume that perhaps it was puppy drops instead of the cat flea drops, which was why I initially wrote that I thought it was puppy meds on a cat. Many over the counter meds are actually interchangeable for small pets such as the worming meds which go by animal weights, however the point you missed which injecting your vulgar opinion shows you lack the ability to read through a matter before judging. Shooting from the butt instead of the brain sort of..
The point is that while NOW they do put larger warnings on the junk they sell over the counter which consumers may think is safe, that the stuff is poison, whether it be for cats or dogs, it is created overseas ~ outsourced from the USA and quality control is lacking. Sargents Flea Drops were the actual ones I used and their own representative that was contacted told us that ‘sometimes’ a vat is mixed too strong or too weak and it is hard for them to know until someone brings it to their attention and that in order for them to do anything, they need the vat numbers to then to a check and or recall~!!!
Therefore they push and sell the crap til someone uses it and their animal has the reaction and IF the owner saves the card and receipt the poison comes on, they will then pay the Vet Bill~!! They are literally getting away with killing 1000′s of cats and dogs annually causing agonizing deaths and serious injuries and in some cases permanent damage causing nerve pain in pets that can last them their entire lives~!!!
Current govt regulations are NOT adequate and so we are working towards awareness for other consumers to learn from some of our mistakes~ while some people may use varying doses on various animals [ particularly some who will by a large dog dose and divide it over severals small dogs ] under assumptions that it safe, when it fact nothing with pyrethins is safe for any pet~!!
Add to that the fact that some ‘vats’ may be stronger or weaker, you can have a consumer apply the drops according to directions, exactly and it can still harm or kill their pet~!!
Since the reactions vary and accumulate in a pet’s system, a pet can have a slow long term reaction that may not be even initially noticeable to the owner other than lethargy when in fact the animal is more likely in excruciating pain and trying to sleep it off~ [ happens to cats & dogs like this sometimes!]
We had at that time bought several vials both Hartz & Sargents on sale at a store that had them for cats & dogs. The vial used had been removed from its cardstock backing prior to use. The directions were not in English as happens sometimes with some products, but the pictures indicated where to apply the drops, and so they were applied for the first and last time ever~
Once the cat started the violent reaction, she was immediately brought for vet care and saved.Many other people do not associate the drops with sudden onset of such violent symptoms and dont bring their pets for immediate care. When the reaction is so violent, Vet care is vital to the survival of the pet~ as the toxin enters the sebaceous glands under the pet’s fur and spreads all over its body.Immediate detox by repeated bathing with Dawn detergent helps remove the toxins from the surface skin and it part of the treatment, but in and of itself is not enough as it depends on how much the pet has absorbed already. The m ore they absorb, the greater the damage . My cat needed muscle relaxers and sedatives for several days as well as IV fluids to counteract the vomiting and subsequent dehydration.
It took over 3 months for my cat to recover.She lost alot of fur which simply fell out in random spots on her side and down by her hind area even the drops were only placed behind her neck [ she had NO fur loss behind the neck~]
It was forums like this one, that once I began to research while my cat was in the hospital that I became aware of how serious this matter is and how widespread~
If you had been bothered to read the entire thread, you would have seen the correction that it was actually cat drops used on cats as my son checked what was left and showed me that none of the puppy drops were used as they were in the brown Hartz tubes and the white tube I used was the Sargents for cats~ I had a ‘single dose’ vial and split it among 3 cats, so if anything, it should not have worked as effectively~ Instead even that 1/3 dose was enough to nearly kill my cat~!! The other 2 cats were washed off within an hour of getting the drops and both were okay yet both also lost some fur and one had several bouts of vomiting~
My cat has since made a full recovery and has regained all her lost weight and increased in size. She was 6 lbs at the time of the accident and now is over 10 lbs~ and doing very well.
Perhaps you can use a little education in internet commenting etiquette and manners~

It took months for my cat to recover and she only had 2 drops on her neck for about 2 hours. I thought I must have used the dog drops by mistake but later found I had used the cat drops. Either way the stuff is deadly but manufacturers try to shift the blame back on the consumers who may have both types of pets and either put the wrong tube on the wrong pet

OR the pets lick each other and get poisoned anyway~

POISON IS POISON AND IT SHOULD ALL BE BANNED…

FRONTLINE & ADVANTAGE & ADVANTIX USE SAFER INGREDIENTS THAT COST A LITTLE MORE, BUT AT LEAST THEY DONT KILL YOUR PETS AS READILY AS HARTZ, SARGENTS & BANSECT…

While the others may have some allergic reactions in pets they arent lethal like the cheap, outsourced, ingredients currently being used by Sargents & Hartz . As for Bansect, I used their collars on my cats for 2 years and my cat didnt lose the fur at the point of contact with the collar, but she did have thinner hair, less luster and was a skinny little cat [ about 5lbs] all the while she wore those collars.

I had no idea the collars also have long term accumulative toxic affects on pets too~!!! People are slowly poisoning their pets, maybe not seeing dramatic signs, [ cat may be simply sleep or hyper or moody] and it certainly shortens their lifespan IF not killing them outright.

Neurotoxins cause PAIN so depending on how your pet reacts to pain, you may not even be aware its being poisoned~!!

How insideous is that??

True people look for cheaper everything nowadays, but in the case of flea remedies, the cheap ones by Hartz & Sargents, arent all that cheap but they are toxic and need to be banned and not sold.

I now use boiled lemons in a bit of water in a spray bottle as I found on a natural remedy site. Simple and effective!!
Now it doesnt kill the pets or fleas BUT it has citronella, a natural repellent and we have no fleas in the house this year~ Had we gotten any noticeable amounts in, I would have gone to the vet for the safe remedies.

Even financially speaking if you dont only consider the agony you pet has to go through as their little bodies ingest these poisons, just to get rid of fleas, that it is better to pay a VET $15 for Advantage/Advantix/Frontline products and keep your pet safe~ than to pay $7-8 for Hartz/Sargents & end up paying $485 VET bill to save the pet afterwards~

Now with no longer using flea collars etc., my cat has nearly doubled in size over the passed year~ She’s doing great overall.We both got lucky….

Ave

I used Hartz flea drops for CATS on my CATS. Within minutes, their hair started falling out. I washed them immediately with Dawn dishwashing detergent because I knew it is used on animals that get oil on them and it is what I happen to use on my dishes so, I already had some. The poison was only on my cats for 30 minutes at the most and they were sick for two to three days afterward. It took months for their hair to grow back. Thankfully, they are both fine now. I am sorry for other animal lovers and their pets who suffered or even died from this crap that is still being sold.

Since she has a relatively new flea collar it surprised me that she had any fleas so I checked my son’s cats and saw they had fleas too, even though each wore a flea oollar.

About 2 hours after applying the drops, my cat was in convulsions running into walls, foaming at the mouth ad screaming. My son caught her and put her into a travel cage. Her eyes were bugged out and she screamed in pain. My son thought she had somehow contracted rabies, although she had never been outside before.

While my son called around different Vet offices to see if one was open anywhere [ our Vet was out of town at the time] I began to look up the symptoms to see if it could be rabies but then remembered the drops so I began searching for any pet flea toxicities and remedies.That is when I saw it happens to cats if they have dog drops put on them.

I assumed I must have used the wrong drops so as soon as my son reached a vet’s office that was going to have a tech in at 10pm~ we rushed the cat to their office and waited for the tech to come so we could admit my cat for Emergency Treatment.I brought the tube to the vet, in case they could tell something from the codes or lot numbers and make some sort of antidote~The Tech took the tube but it was later discarded.The treatment included a Dawn Dishwashing Liquid, bathing her to get residue of the drops off her.

When my son checked the other tubes in the drawer, he infomed me that all of the Hearts tubes were for the dogs and that they were all still full, but the white tube for the cat was missing [ because it was the only other tube in the drawer and I opened it and had squeezed 2 drops on each of our 3 cats.

Alot of controversy masked much of this thread, first with the error I made saying I had used puppy drops on the cats. They were cat drops. My son’s 2 cats go outdoors and were stronger and bigger than my cat, who was only 6 lbs.

As soom as I read to use Dawn I did use a dishrag with it to scrubb off the other 2 cats but we left for the vet office. The vet tech saved my cat’s life~!!

I then wrote regarding the Vet costs, to show other owners how these products are lethal and expensive to treat animals who have them applied. Since the price quoted to me was about 1/4th of what I was actually charged, I addressed that here as well, only to have some vet techs get offended for which I apologized as I never meant to offend them as they do an awesome job when working with our pets.

The point of my continuing thread was to serve as a warning for other pet owners who would make the same mistakes I did and go by the same assumptions I did concerning the products, thinking they were safe but perhaps not effective rather than knowing how lethal they are and that they should be banned from stores since Hartz , Sargents & others outsource the manufacture of these products and sometimes the concentration is off making these products even more deadly.

Learning the first aid for flea drop poisoning, I also shared that with some readers who were in the critical time of discovering their pets having similar reactions to mine, so the information on immediately bathing with Dawn detergent actually helped save more pets as owners found this site and learned what they needed to do to save their pets. Other pet owners were too late and their pets died and they also shared on this thread.

Still there are those who enjoy pointing fingers and blame back onto pet owners, so we heard from them as well. Why not? We as pet owners whose pets were injured of killed by the drops we bought, assuming to be safe, did put these products on our pets. And yes, some if not many do not read the microscopic fine prints found on the cartons these products are sold on and in my case since the carton was in Spanish or French, I had discarded the carton, keeping and using the drops on my cat & my son’s 2 cats.

Finding symptoms on the internet and getting immediate Veterinary care saved my cat’s life.

Contacting Sargents but not having the carton or tube met with their sincere apologies but they would not refund the vet bills since I didnt have the cartons, so IF you do use these products be sure to save the cartons in case your pet has a bad reaction and or dies.You can then with the receipts, carton & empty tube, possibly get your Vet bills refunded.

I contacted my Congressman & State Representative’s offices but nothing was done, although the complaint was filed. If every pet owner who goes through their pet suffering from these products, files complaints, eventually they will be heard.

It is about a year now. My cat has fully recovered and now has gained her weight back and more. She was 6 lbs at the time of the poisoning and now over 10 lbs~ She is still loyally by my side in any room I walk through.She no longer tremors and is pain free. It took several months for her to recover from her poisoning, but I am happy to announce she is doing great and so far, this season is flea free without any collars, drops or powders~!

With the dogs coming in and out frequently, we are bound to get some fleas again this yeat but know I know what products not to use and will never use them again~!

I read that boiled lemons mixed with water and placed in a spray bottle helps rid fleas, so that is how I plan on trying to treat her if needed.

While the drops that the Vet office sells are safer than over the counter meds, it is far cheaper to spend the extra money on the flea drops a Vet sells than to have to pay for a reaction on using an inferior product like Hartz or Sargents~

I also bought a non-toxic gel lice remover from Sally’s Beauty Supply that comes with a fine comb and easily rinces off. If my cat shows any flea infestation I will use only non-toxic free remedies from now on.

I hope that any and all who come here for help for their pets, that they get the information in time to save their pets & that those who are made aware, get their pets to the Vet ASAP, if they suspect tocixity in their pets.

You cant let your pet ride it out as its very painful and can debilitate them or kill them ~!!

Ave

Since I am disabled my son went down for me, with $220 on him as he was going to the store for me after the Vets, but when he went to pay the quoted $120 was told it was instead $485~

He called me on his cell and I told him to give them the $220 and that I would get the rest within a month to them.
They took the $220 and said that they would not release the car until I paid in full. This wasn’t my current Vet but one I used a few years ago 2x and paid in full both times, but since I moved I used a new Vet in town, but who was on vacation, so we had to go to the old vet.

Anyway, this vet’s office, would not release my cat and said they would charge $9 a day more each day for board until I paid so my son came home without the cat. We then went to the bank to take out the rest of my money [which was supposed to pay my rent] and went back to the Vets, after calling them and saying we were on our way. They said someone should be there til 6pm but to ring the bell.

We got back there at 5:10 and had the cash to give them to get the cat back, as I only get 1 check a month, but have occasional art card sales online that might help pay earlier, but IF I had to leave the cat til my next check that would have cost me an additional $270 + the balance of the emergency care. I felt I was being strong armed at the moment but knew I would be in the same position the following month, so I used my rent money to pay the Vet bill.

No one answered the bell. We rang and stayed there til 5:30 hoping someone would answer the door so we could pay and bring the cat home. We had to leave and return in the morning, paying the balance + the $9 overnite board~She was discharged with 1/2 pill of Robaxin ~ [human pill cut in half~ as I could recognize it since I take Robaxin too~!]

Now this is a country doctor’s office, so perhaps they do things differently than where you are from~

Also I know when it is complicated, that Vet intervention and additional meds can be expensive but usually after a hospitalization there is a followup visit.

They didnt even give my cat a followup visit. Also when they put the Frontline on my cat, they said I was going to get the tube, however they instead put it on my cat before she came home.Although I had inquired over the phone about a safer flea drop solution, I didnt actually ask them to put it on her and didnt think putting any on while she was that weak after such a horrible reaction, that they shouldnt have put it on her~ Also it was more expense added to the bill.

So my cat while she did get the bath and the one bag of fluid and a couple of pills, didnt get the kind of care you talk about. Had she received actual doctor care and shots etc., I could better understand a higher bill.

She was also allergic to the Frontline that the tech put on her. When I called them earlier about it I was only asking questions, not asking them to put that on her, but of course it was added to the bill, thus my perception of something that shouldnt have been done and the idea of holding my cat hostage after she was ready to go home and I had already paid nearly 1/2 the bill and had previous history with them as always paying my bills on time, that they could have let her come home with me the first day, which was at the 19 hr mark when they said she could come home.Maybe you do things differently….

It was insult to injury but I do understand that Vets might get ripped off by people but I never ripped off any vet~Still the problem wasnt the vets- as my later threads mentioned. I have no problem with the vet as they did save my cat’s life.

Honestly, if they told me ahead of time that it could get significantly higher than the $120- such as the $485 that they charged me~ I probably would have had to have had my cat euthanized~ which would have been a shame, but I simply could not afford that amount. My landlord was furious with having to wait a month for me to totally catch up as I gave him what I had left after paying the Vet & the rest with the next month’s rent, making my landlord wait instead.I could have been evicted for not paying my full rent on time.

I was broke and grounded all summer as I couldnt re-register my car either til August because of the high vet bill. Now even so~ I brought the flea drops tube to the Vet when my cat first convulsed.

I didnt know that Sargents would actually be responsible for the bill. I only found out a couple of days later when I got online about this.

I never used flea drops before this time.I assumed they were safe.

I usually relied on flea collars but this time even with new flea collars they still got fleas.

We got the drops on sale and were saving them for August when the collars were supposed to expire, but didnt. I was going to get new collars in the morning but to give relief to the cats, I divided one tube among 3 cats~ only 2 drops each.

I did do them right on the backs of their necks, but I only used 2 drops instead of the whole tube, so I cant begin to imagine what a whole tube would have done to her~

My son found out that Sargents would reimburse vet bills relating to their product but I had already discarded the package and didnt know where the receipt was. Sargents told him that all we needed was the empty tube so they can check the vat# to see which source produced it for them and told him that they outsource it and perhaps dilution was wrong and it was more potent than it should have been so they needed the tube for testing. Unfortunately, the Vet tech discarded the tube. Sargents called us back and said to submit the Vet bill anyway, acting like they were going to help anyway since I was able to provide them with the name of the store I purchased them at but later Sargents turned down my claim.

Back to the Frontline that the Vet tech put on my cat before her discharge from their office, her hair began falling out~ She was still losing weight.

I called and told them about it but they said it would take 6 weeks to wear off. They said it was only a side effect and not dangerous, that no followup was needed according to them.

I was worried about my cat all summer as she lost more fur, laid about sleepy all the time and was so skinny. After about 8 wks she did start growing her fur back and has now regained her weight.

You sound like a decent vet~ but if you read the entire thread you would have seen that I wasnt blaming the vet, so when you say “how dare I” and take offense on the behalf of a vet you do not know as though I were accusing you of ripping me off~ I say that when you answer a matter without knowing the entire story, that you have assumed wrong.

I understand being ripped off, my car has over 200,000 miles and needs alot of repairs that I can not afford. I do alot of volunteer work and while I try to sell some art online to offset my bills and I work to help other artists to show and sell their art, I dont get paid for 99% of what I do! It doesnt stop me from helping people. I certainly dont force people to pay me up front just because others stiffed me on a bill.

It is not my fault that other people rip off Vets~
I never have~ I always pay my bills, despite being broke in between or as a result.

While that $265 difference that I had to pay immediately to get my cat released, may not be alot to most people, it was enough to force me to stay indoors home all summer, because I had to then wait to re-register & inspect my car & buy used brakes for it~

I strongly doubt waiting 30 days to receive that $265 would have crippled that vet~ especially since I had been to him a few times in the past and always paid immediately on previous visits.

I paid my Landlord the balance of what I owed him the following month and then got my car legal again the next month.

I had to do without alot over the summer because of the way the Vet’s office handled it and perhaps had I the opportunity to talk to the Vet directly, he may have let me pay the following month. I dont know, but realize his techs act on his behalf. You cant lump all people together as potential nonpayers!

My landlord said he would have let me select one of the 30+ cats up in his barn! He thought it ludicrous to pay so much for a ferrel cat~ [ My cat was a kitten found wandering outside the barn at 3wks old when I took her in, bottle fed her and raised her tame. I am glad she is alive, but, when I was given an estimate of $120- I expected it to costs that and after 19 hours of 'treatment' which was written out on the bill as a bath , an IV bag and some pills~ [which I know the price of Robaxin as I also take it & it isnt that much money for a couple of human split pills~] The cat had 1 shot of Valium too~ but they said she responded well after the bath. Had I found instructions, I could have done the same and am prepared to do so if anything like this were to hypothetically happen again.

That Vets office also didnt report the poisoning and told me it was up to me to do so~

So perhaps you do the right thing, but dont go assuming everyone is like you. I dont.

I actually think that for a 36 hour visit, the bill presented to you was quite reasonable if your kitty had IVF and multiple injections of robaxin (it is a very expensive injectable drug!). Please remember that you are paying for repeated exams, cage space, supplies, doctor and licensed technician time, medications, and equipment. I don’t see anywhere where something could have been ‘padded’ in that total! If YOU had been in the hospital for 36 hours and received these same treatments, I can promise you this bill would be in the thousands. We use the same equipment and medications and go to a 4 year medical school just like human doctors. Why should they trust you to come back and pay your bill just because they’ve seen you one other time? This past spring I treated the dog of a friend of my husband. Someone my husband had known for FIFTEEN YEARS. You would think this would be someone I could trust right? Wrong. He paid by credit card and then reversed the charges and disappeared. As a result, guess who’s pay check it came out of? Traditionally people don’t screw over their regular vet because they do have a relationship, E-clinics get ripped off much more frequently and as a result we NEVER bill. If we don’t get payment we can’t pay OUR bills, can’t buy the supplies we need to stay open, and can’t pay our staff, and can’t be there to help other patients in the future. And if you think we’re all rich from ‘padding our bills’, think again. I drive a 10 year old truck with 150,000 miles that needs a break job that I can’t afford, am 34 years old and live in a house I rent from my parents. And the comment “that the American Vet associations should lobby to ban these products from public sales.. but then again you would have less business too…” from your response to K.G. HOW DARE YOU imply that we would want animals to suffer so that we could profit!!! What kind of person are you?! For your information EVERY SINGLE CASE of flea product toxicity I see I report to OSU and the EPA!! The goal being to shut Hartz/sargeants,etc down! Before you start throwing stones try taking care of the pets you have first. You’ve already stated on this board that at least one of your cats is not spayed. Before adding to your huge pet family, I suggest that you find a way to properly care (spay/neuter, vaccinate and start a fund for future medical emergencies) for those that you already have. Pets are not a right, they are a responsibility.

Thank you for bringing this forward–as painful as it must be. Hartz has one of the worst safety records in the industry. Their products containing the pesticide neurotoxin phenothrin have accounted for a significant number of the adverse incidents reported to the EPA over the years. Their appalling safety record goes back to the ’80’s and ’90’s with their product, Blockade, which was pulled from the market because of an unacceptable number of animal injuries and deaths. Hartz later attempted to re-introduce Blockade and once again they were forced to withdraw it because of a terribly high number of adverse incidents. They have been forced by the EPA to make numerous labeling revisions and they have been cited and fined for not promptly and accurately reporting adverse incidents to the EPA. Their cat and kitten products were terminated in 2006 when the EPA issued a Cancellation Order (2005) against Hartz because of their deplorable safety record. Please, take one important step to help yourself and other pets and pet owners. Please take the time to report your incident to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC). This organization works with the EPA to compile the database of incidents and statistics that will be analyzed and used as a basis for corrective action. The NPIC can be reached at 1-800-858-7378. They are very professional, courteous and efficient. This is a critical step in the public forcing the EPA–one of the most lax oversight agencies in the federal government–to do the right thing and get these neuro-toxin pesticide ingredients out of the marketplace. Also, please call Hartz Mountain once again and report this incident to them. They WILL NOT be happy to hear from you, but they–-like all the manufacturers–-have an obligation under federal law to forward your report to the EPA. As I mentioned, Hartz Mountain has been cited and fined for not properly and promptly reporting these incidents in the past. Their telephone number is 1-800-275-1414. Put the pressure on Hartz by giving them the details and forcing them to report to the EPA. Also, they should be asked to reimburse your medical expenses…don’t hesitate to ask for this. Also, most veterinarians are willing to work with you regarding your financial situation. They have seen first hand the devastation that these products are causing–-they understand the pain and suffering. If you need financial assistance to treat or euthanize an animal most veterinarians will attempt to work with you–-don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you again; so very sorry for what has happened. It’s reprehensible that Hartz, BioSpot, Sergeant’s and others continue to injure and kill thousands of pets–-it’s absolutely unacceptable. We should all do whatever we can to prevent this from happening to others. Communications to the proper regulatory agencies, manufacturers, NPIC, the media and politicians are critical steps. All the best.

I mean my cat got fleas. I bought her a flea collar. Then she still gets more fleas while wearing the flea collar. It isnt like my world revolves around my cat 100% of my time.

I have other concerns in life and other responsibilities and things to do. BUT then I see her scratching, all bothered and looking to me for help.

I wanted to help her. Yes, forgive me for being so ignorant concerning flea infestations!! I never took a course in flea control, nor went to school for it.

I never used flea drops before either, but since the collar wasnt doing the trick 3 weeks after it was applied, I assumed it may have been a ‘dud’ as it obviously didnt have what was needed to keep my cat free of the fleas that were driving her crazy with scratching~ That caught my attention and so I went into the drawer in the kitchen were we keep our pet products.We buy them when they are on sale and save them in a drawer. The one with the wrapper was written either in french or spanish, but not english. It was in the Dollar Tree store.it still looked simple enough having had a picture of a cat on it, but since I bought flea collars decided to try the drops at a later date. Now my cat needed another collar since hers wasnt working and I wasnt going to the store til the next day, so I decided to try the drops and took the one that was already opened & removed from its carton and used it. I thought they were all basically the same since it is the same fleas that infest both dogs and cats and we have both. It wasnt til she had the reaction that I thought I must have used the puppy drops.I wrote my first post while my cat was still in the hospital. It was later my son corrected me that I hadnt used the dog drops as they were all in their cartons still.

It was a single use tube, but I didnt want to put the whole amount on her as I thought I only needed to get a new flea collar in the morning, when I was going to go out the next day.

Since she is an inside cat and my sons 2 cats go outside, it was obvious to my ignorant mind that the other cats brought the fleas into my house infesting my cat who played with the the other 2 all the time.

So in my stupidity on the matter, I assumed that to place just a little of this single dose tube might give them each relief overnite, but thought that it just wouldnt have lasted as long as if I put the whole dose on my one cat.

Thank God I only put 2 drops on each one.. The white one ended up losing little fur and had no ill effects.The larger grey did have spouts of vomiting for about a week afterwards. Had I put the whole tube on my cat, she would have died before the Vet could see her that night.

Yes, I was so stupid in this matter, so uninformed as to its dangers since I never heard of any problems with these products before and wasnt even sure that was the cause when I sought out veterinary help.

Maybe I over reacted in not waiting til morning and getting a vet that same night, after hours, that I was willing to pay an additional $120 over the bill, to get help for my car as soon as he first symptoms appeared.. I am so dumb, I rushed her to get help and all because I put the drops on her as I assumed this product to be safe!

I assumed since it was sold over the counter that it was safe. I never heard of all the reactions other pet owners have already gone through, assuming the same way I did that to put it on my pets that my only initial concern was “HOW LONG WILL IT LAST IN KEEPING THE FLEAS OFF MY CAT?” That was my only concern at the moment, til the cat later went into convulsions..

Had I not been so dumb IN THE FIRST PLACE TO EVER BUY THOSE PRODUCTS, I never would have PUT the dang drops on my cat AND afterwards reading all the horror stories of what has been happening to other pet owners cats and dogs, I see I am not the only dumb one~

Many people make the same mistake, not of just not reading or comprehending the labelling or directions, but in simply applying this crap on their pets in the first place~!

Flea drops kill pets and accumulatively poison pets who seem to tolerate them, but still makes them sick.Cats sleep more when they are sick and so some go through mild reactions without the pet owners even being aware of it.

Flea Drop Manufacturers do know that their ingredients are dangerous however, but they sell them anyway ~like Hartz, Bansect, Sargents and others can use safer ingredients but since Congress also is stupid in believing the Manufacturers biased testing results have placed all pets in jeopardy since people buy alot of these produts , not aware of how dangerous the stuff actually is…

I kick myself for ever buying the stuff and assuming it was safe when in fact it isnt safe at all. I am lucky my cat has recovered now and that the other 2 cats had milder reactions than she did.
Thankyou for remarks. I can understand your frustration at pet owners but wouldnt it be more productive to place your frustration against the manufacturers? Obviously professionals such as your self and the doctor you work for, could join together with other vets and be heard more readily by Congress by giving professional and experiential reports on how many people you have to help save their pets each year.

If all you vet techs and doctors know people like me use these products maybe once and our pets go through this, that the American Vet associations should lobby to ban these products from public sales.. but then again you would have less business too…

My fault was my own ignorance with these products. What is the Manufacturer’s fault or professional Vet Techs & Vets responsibility? As a consumer and pet owner, it isnt enough to be scolded after the fact!Everyone knows hindsite is 20/20~

You fail to realize that I am writing to warn other pet owners who face similar situations so it will HELP them to save their pets from what mine has gone through. There are many pet owners who dont even know that its the drops they may be using that may be the cause of sudden deaths their pets go through because many simply do not know or associate the onset of symptons with the dang poison the manufacturers use in these products. It isnt just the drops but all their products that have this poison.

A man place a video up here a couple of months ago, having normally bathed his large dog with flea shampoo. A normal thing a caring pet owner does, not to harm their pet, but to help rid the pet of fleas. Then his dog gets ill the next day and degenerates rapidly , not knowing the cause- Goes to the vet but treatment was too late and a few days later his dog died!!!

Its not the wrapper but what is written on it that is one problem, so whether I used it fresh from the wrapper or not didnt change the reaction it gave my cat!

Sorry to say your comments are idiotic, superficially judgemental, not helpfulto anyone and perhaps you are the one who shouldnt own an animal since you apparently lack empathy in your narcissistic approach to this subject.

I will continue to write warning pet owners and have already received word on several occasions that my writings have helped other pet owners to find the symptoms on line fast enough to be able to save their own pets, so people like you with your opinions, simply dont matter~! You make me wonder if you could even work for the manufacturers of those poisons~ since you miss the point of why we are here complaining about what happened to our pets and what had to be done to save the ones that survived. My cat was lucky, but many victims here have lost their pets and they too speak up now as this has to get known to the general population and Congress who regulates those who approve the usage of these ingredients in pet care products

However in this particular case, whereas it’s very unfortunate that this happened to your cat, it’s basically your fault. It clearly said, “do not use on cats”. It wasn’t a ploy. It was a warning. Your complaint is that it didn’t mention that it was deadly. Why should it? Clearly, if it’s specifically stating not to use it on cats, it obviously would have some sort of hazardous effects on your cat’s health, right? Death or not, it said cats can’t have it, and you gave it anyway.

Yes…dogs and cats are both common household pets, but they are NOT the same animal. Their genetics are completely different, as are their tolerances for certain medications. You cannot always give the same thing to a dog that you would give to a cat, and vice versa. You can’t count on their weight being the only obstacle to overcome in the decision to give a medication, either. What you would give a tiny puppy could STILL kill a cat, if it wasn’t formulated specifically FOR cats.

About half of the toxicity cases I see are because the owner did what you did…gave a dog-dose to a cat. It’s entirely preventable in that respect, and is the second-best thing you can do for your pet…the best thing being not giving them that cruddy off-brand flea medication in the first place.

I may sound like I’m being tough, but I’m just being honest. When I’m at work, I’m forced to coddle owners who make these mistakes and I don’t think they ever truly get it into their heads. So here, I can show a little tough love. This situation happens too often and it causes pet owners a lot of heartache and money…not to mention, think of the poor pets! My first and foremost concern is those animals, and they suffer when their humans “assume” things. They can’t tell you not to give them bad things! They rely on you to take care of them…so educate yourselves, each one of you that reads this, before giving ANYTHING you’re not 100% sure about. If you have questions, you can ALWAYS call your regular veterinarian OR an after-hours emergency hospital.

Better safe than sorry.

I wish you the best, keep in touch with this site as more people come forward maybe we can start something as a group, against the pet flea control manufacturers and distributors~
Ave
http//AveHurleyIllustrations.ning.com

Manufacturers are businessmen and while they may stay within the current parameters of the curren law regulations, they have found a way to use the cheapest method of neutralizing fleas so that they will have maximum profit. On a business level that might seem okay, but the actual testing done was not sufficent to demonstrate the overall safety of the product.

There are literally thousands of animals dying annually from the base ingredients used in these products, but they compare that to the millions they sell and profit from.It is cheaper for them to pay off grieving pet owners than to rectify the problem by using safer ingredients .

I had used the same single dose tube sharing it on 3 cats that day. If anything it should have been ‘weak’. After the violent reaction my cat had, I assumed I must have used the dog’s tube by mistake and brought the tube to the Vet in case it had to use it to look up antedotes. I was unfamiliar with flea drops as this was the first year we ever bought them. They had been removed from the card when purchased and placed in a drawer that we keep pet stuff in.We have 7 dogs and 3 cats. We live on a farm. There was another package of tubes of flea drops in the drawer that contained 3 of Hartz and the single dose tube which was for cats was from Sargent.
When I saw that fleas were on my cat despite her having a relatively new flea collar [ I only used flea collars in the past and my son occasionally used Sargents flea baths for his cats a few years ago, which by the way has those pyrethins ingredients too!]
It was the day before my pension check came and I thought that since the flea collar wasnt working, that I would try the one tube of drops on my cat and the other 2 cats. The point is even with only 1/3 the dose, she had that violent reaction necessitating the emergency vet treatment and almost died from it!
The larger cat did lose a little fur near her tail and also vomited intermittently over the course of the next few week. The white cat we have didnt lose any fur noticeably as she is angora and has alot of fur ~ she seemed least affected.

You should read up more on these products before assuming they are safe~ Some cats and dogs have reactions that are not noticeable to owners. The stuff is a neurotoxin to the fleas and definitely has some affect on the animal and many animals especially cats dont show when they are in pain but will lay around and sleep it off. So you may have an animal that is sleeping act otherwise acting normal by your observations, but may in fact be in pain because you are using those drops!! All you will see is that the fleas are gone, but at what cost to your pets overall health?????

These products need to be investigated, regulated better and the ingredients that can cause pain and fatalities should be banned! There are safer ingredients used and better buffering agents that other flea products contain that are safer for the animals and Hartz and Sargents, while perhaps the best known retailers do not use the safer ingredients. They use the cheaper more lethal one.

They already know this and currently pay off pet owners vet bills who send in the vet bill along with the vat numbers, tubes and cartons.They already know they are wrong. They look at it statistically though and claim only 1 in a 1000 react, so it is cost effective for them to continue in the way they are going , unless government regulations are improved which would force them to use safer ingredients.

So maybe you pets arent the 1:1000 sufferers but there is no guarantee that the next time you use their products that your pets wont have the same violent reactions. It is gambling with their lives over the convenience of ridding them of fleas.

I sympathize that your cat has all the fleas right now but that is exactly where I was at 2 months ago when I decided to put just 2 of the dang drops on my cat..

Some animals dont show signs of the poisoning right away, but you wont know til you actually poison your cat and then IF it survives you will be faced with $450-700 in vet fee which would make you want to turn back time and go by the Vet safer one which is Frontline, although that too has some poison but is manufactured safer so it is supposed to not be potentially lethal..

I blame myself for using the drops on my cat. I never used drops before. But I also blame Sargents for selling an unsafe product. I trusted them~
Ave