Sentry Purrscriptions Hazardous and Lethall

We first bought Sentry on July 14, 2010 instead of using our regular anti flea product Advantage. We were trying save a few dollars since currently money is a little tight right now. We have three wonderful cats that we love dearly, one of whom was poisoned and treated for toxicity after applying the Sentry Purrscriptions Flea treatment. The product was placed at approximately 9pm in the evening. The first application was applied to the first cat Daggett. He acted a little funny after. We thought perhaps this was from the product being a little cold as it is a liquid. We continued applying the product to the other two cats (Norbert and Booger) in our household. When all three cats had been treated, our first cat began to have an adverse reaction. He began to race around the house trying to shake the product off. He also ran to his cat box and had a bout of incontinence. The second cat was given the flea treatment and also ran around the house trying to get the product off of him. He began to squint his eyes and experience lacrimation. The third cat luckily had no immediate reaction to this product. The smell from this product also began stink up our apartment and smelled like bug spray.

The product was not on our animals for any longer than 5-10 minutes. I immediately called the 800 Emergency line listed on the back of the product to ask what I could use to wash this off of our pets. I spoke with a representative and gave him the box information. He explained some animals do have a reaction to the product. You can use Dawn dish soap since our product is oil based and this should help remove the product from your cat’s fur. Since skin irritation may occur so you can also apply some Vitamin E. The cats may be experiencing a tingling sensation and this sometimes can bother some animals. Our product is NON-TOXIC so your animals should be okay. I also told him of the lacrimation. He asked if the cats had licked the product. None of our cats licked the product as we were monitoring them. I told the representative that was wearing medical grade gloves to handle my cats and their product had not only seeped through the protective barrier but was also burning my hands. I reiterated to him this is not a tingling sensation, this is CHEMICAL BURNING happening; he again stated their product is non-toxic. He explained I should wash with the Dawn soap and apply Vitamin E as well. I was assigned a case number to report any additional adverse reactions. If a product is non-toxic, how does an adverse reaction occur?

We washed our cats and did our best to get this product off of them. This was no easy task as it is oil based, not to mention having to bath cats. Our cats seemed a little better after we bathed them, however two of our cats were now shaken after the experience, crouching on the floor and hiding.

After this incident I went online and did some researching only to be horrified at all of the other experiences pet owners have had. These experiences not only include cats and dogs but incidents caused by other Sentry products as well.

The next day on July 15, I began to notice clumps of fur around my apartment and immediately re-inspected my pets. All three were experiencing fur loss. I called and spoke to Sentry again and informed the representative that I wanted my case number updated to reflect an update to the already reported adverse effects. It was explained to me to gently brush the cats to stimulate fur growth and keep applying the vitamin E. Sentry Purrscription was had now caused my cats to lose their fur in the spot their product was applied. One cat (Norbert) was affected worse than the others. His fur was significantly shorter and he had loss the most fur out of the other two cats. He was also not acting appropriately. He was breathing fast; panting, hot to the touch; his gums and inner eyelids were pale and he was crouched on the floor in a corner. I looked up his symptoms online and included the Poisoning in my search. I found multiple online resources reflecting information on toxicity and this situation being a medical emergency. (Keep in mind their product is “NON-TOXIC”). I called my vet and they told me to bring Norbert in. The vet assessed him and asked if he had ingested the product. I explained we had monitored the cats and none of them ingested the product. I also relayed the additional behavior the cats displayed after use of this product. Norbert was treated with lactaided ringers and Atropine for absorption toxicity from Pyriproxyfen. This chemical is used as pesticide.

Pesticide exposure to humans is hazardous and can be fatal. The same applies to animals. I can’t believe that this product is considered safe to use on our beloved friends and is so readily available. This is marketing deception at its absolute best. Sentry is allowing us to unknowingly harm our pets with the full knowledge of how dangerous their own product is. I consider myself one of the lucky pet owners whose animals so far are going to be all right; however I do not know the long-term effects of this exposure to my three cats. This is unfair to not only our pets but to those of us who are being led to believe we are taking care of them. I can only imagine the anger and grief experienced by other pet parents who have not been so lucky.

I’m amazed that some of the first few web sites that come up while doing research on Sentry pet products happen to be the Consumer Affairs web site. This is just verifying that something is not right. Multiple people have and are documenting the same experiences. Obviously it isn’t the pet owners making the mistakes. Those of us who have been placed in these situations have suffered damages as a result of Sentry’s lack of action and concern for our pets. Why is Sentry allowed to get away with this? Why is nothing being done? Consumer Affairs, I thought you were on the public’s side regarding this type of victimization. Allowing Sergeants/Sentry to pick up our vet bills is just allowing them to continue their harmful practices.

Please warn other pet owners. Call your pet shops and let them know of your experience. Shame on you Sentry.