Wendy AdamsMy name is Wendy Hale-Adams and I am sharing the story of our family pet Mr. Mc Nalley.
Our 7yr. Old cat was a wonderful part of our family and he was taken from us tragically by flea medicine. I thought I was doing something good for him and instead I unconsciously poisoned a family member. My guilt is unbearable, but what would be more unbearable would be if I stayed silent so more animals suffered a tragic horrendous death that is preventable. It is only preventable if people know!!!
Our cat was given flea medicine and within an hour he was foaming at the mouth and having tremors. I rushed him to the emergency vet clinic and they quickly asked about flea medicine. At that point they rushed him to the back and began their work to save his life. The vet came and said to me and my 11 yr. old son that our cat had Pyrethrin Toxicity. They started IV fluids and gave him a bath, of course they had to sedate him in order to do this. My son and I sat in the room listening to our cat yowl in pain. They sent us home with instructions to come back in the morning and move him to his regular vet to be monitored for the day. This is what we did, and the outcome looked good. At this point he was responsive, and even wanted to be loved. I had him monitored at my vet and at the end of the day they said I could bring him home, although he was having small seizures, which I understood would eventually go away. I had his seizure meds and brought him home to be more comfortable. I put him in a small area with food/water and cat box as to monitor him. I watched him all night having small seizure every hour. I talked and soothed him through this. When it was time for his meds I gave them to him. Our Mc Nalley was eating/drinking and using the cat box. The next morning I thought he was getting better as he sat and cleaned himself, but then he started seizing again and acting crazy, almost fighting with himself. I rushed him to the vet even though they weren’t open yet, confident that someone would be there. 5 minutes later I am pounding on the window of the vet sobbing, they all run out and our cat is seizing so badly you can’t even hold the cat carrier. Our Mc Nalley never made it back from that seizure, he was comatosed. We tried everything but his fever had gone so high, then he needed water pulled from his brain, his glucose level dropped, then he needed plasma. By the next day he was in renal failure.
3 days is how long I let it go on. My son kept saying “he’s so strong, he has never been sick, please mom just one more day”. You see I had explain to my son about a choice to let him go if I thought he was in pain and agony! I should of let him go after the last horrible seizure, but I still thought there might be hope! I was wrong! I sat with our family cat while the vet administered the final dose of medicine. I told him how sorry I was and that I gave him that flea medicine, I told him I would do everything I could to share our story, I told him we loved him and to be at peace. He looked at me with the one eye that would open, his body immobile, praying he could hear me.
We grieve, it has been 4 days and my son has bad dreams, our 14 yr. old German Shepherd is sad without her baby. She adopted him when he was a kitten, so cute. And I write this letter in hopes that I can get the word out to not use over the counter flea meds on your beloved family pets. I watch the news, I read the paper, in my 40+ yrs. I never heard anything about this poisoning. In fact this toxic drug is not even listed on the packaging for ingredients. How can this be? The EPA has said there is an increase in reports about this toxic drug. Our economy is down so people are penny pinching. When it comes to your pets, the cost is much higher in the end!
Please help get the word out!
You can reach me through [email protected]
7 Comments Received
October 14th, 2009 @8:12 pm
I JUST WANT TO SAY I AM SO SORRY FOR YOUR FAMILIES LOSS.
I HAVE 13 FURRY FRIENDS OF MY OWN. I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM
I WILL HELP ANY WAY I CAN TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS PRODUCT(S)……..
AGAIN I AM SO SORRY,,,,,,,,,,,
October 15th, 2009 @5:53 am
I am a widow on a fixed income. I have 2 dogs, both of which I used the Sargents Flea and Tick applications on. With in an hour of using it on my Jack Russell (3yro), she started running and tried to rub the med off. I gave her a bath with no sign of relief. I took her into the vet the next morning and they gave her a bath with a special shampoo. When I brought her home she was still aggitated. With in 3 days she had a siezure. I called the vet and they said it was because of the medication I had put on her. They checked her out. Three weeks later she had another siezure. She has had a total of 5 siezures to date. I have paid for blood work, medications, and other procedures. They want to do procedures that check her heart and brain to see what damage has been done. I don’t have $3,500+ to be able to do them.
The only affect the treatment had on my other dog was hot spots that he chewed at. I had to take him to the vet to get him treated. He is a Chow mix male.
Both dogs have been fixed. They are all I have and they are great watch dogs, as I live alone.
October 16th, 2009 @12:22 pm
hi my name is Josie and i’m 13 years old. this is the story of my dog that i still and forever love. i had a mutt named Molly. we got her before i was born. i had her all my life. she was a shelter dog and was so gentle and sweet. she was an outdoor dog and she had her own dog house in the back yard. she was about 16 years old when we gave her the hartz flea & tick stuff (i think it was the drops). that night she wouldn’t move from behind her doghouse i tried to move her but i couldn’t. a hour or so later i went to check on her and she was in her doghouse asleep. the next morning i went to see her and she couldn’t/wouldn’t move from her house. she wouldn’t eat either. we had to pull her out of her house to take her to the vet. when we got there they had to carry her in because she couldn’t even walk. they said she couldn’t feel the most of her body at all. we had to put her to sleep. the vet,me and my mom all cried because she was so sad looking and helpless. if i had even known at all there was a small risk with this stuff i never would have given it to her. i know she was old but she was fine the day before and even that morning.
hartz killed my best friend.
i don’t know how the owners and the people who run this poison stuff live with themselves knowing they are killing people’s pets who they love.
i loved my Molly and i know she is out of pain and in Heaven.
October 18th, 2009 @7:47 am
Thank you for the responses to our story on McNalley. I still am having a tough time with his loss. In my research I have found that the poison in flea med frequently hurts small dogs, elderly dogs, and felines the most. Please make sure to tell everyone about these disgusting effect. I want to say to Bess, just try to love your little jack and hope he gets better. Send your bill to the company. And to Josie, I am so sorry about your loved Molly. It’s so hard on you younger people, but know you are the best one to help get the word out about your horrible ordeal. You can tell a whole new generation of people your age and stop this poisoning before it happens. My son is still having sad times so I am so sorry Josie, that you had to go through this with your pet.
It is the most awful thing anyone person or pet should have to go through.
Sincerely, Wendy
October 18th, 2009 @7:58 am
To Wendy, Josie and all of you that have experienced such a terrible tragedy–I am very sorry this has happened to you and your pets. More tragic stories in a long line of pet injuries and deaths that bring deep loss and devastation to animals and pet owners. I’m very sorry.
Thank you for bringing your stories forward. Hartz, Sergeant’s BioSpot (and others) have terrible safety records, and have for many years. Since this site is primarily about Hartz, let’s look at their reprehensible safety record. Their products containing the pesticide neurotoxins 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.
You have the opportunity to do something that Hartz, Sergeant’s, BioSpot and the others DO NOT want you to do: 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 or the other appropriate manufacturer 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. Hartz’s telephone number is 1-800-275-1414. Put the pressure on Hartz, Sergeant’s, BioSpot and others by giving them the details and FORCING them to report to the EPA. Also, they should be asked to reimburse your medical expenses. 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.
December 2nd, 2009 @11:53 am
Update: Hartz said they were not responsible for anything medical that happened to Mr. McNalley because the vet said it was Pyrenthrin Poisoning that was the cause of death. According to Hartz thier flea product for cats doesn’t contain harmful chemicals. I will have to have the med. tested in a private lab. The EPA has said there is a rise in poisoning cases with the cat flea meds. If anyone has any ideas of how to do anything else please let me know!
December 6th, 2009 @5:20 pm
I have a radio show, at the end we will talk about an animal adoption group or product failure, etc. Please contact me [email protected] I want to get the word out about Hartz flea and tick products.
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