Several months ago, it became apparent that my cat was having a serious flea problem. She was not acting normal and seemed to have lost weight. I had always assumed fleas were just something you had to live with as a pet owner, and were nothing to worry about… until i did some research and saw how damaging a large flea infestation could be to a cat, especially a small one like mine. I panicked and rushed to the grocery store and picked up some Hartz flea drops and shampoo for cats off the shelf. I had read the labels and they didn’t seem too alarming (although in retrospect they really should have had huge red warning labels saying “DONT USE THIS PRODUCT IT WILL KILL YOUR CAT!”)
I went home and gave kitty a flea bath with the shampoo and then applied only a half of one drop of the Hartz drops, as fortunately, i was feeling a bit cautious. Within minutes i noticed my cat was acting abnormal; she jumped up onto the windowsill and watched the outside as she usually does, only, she was shivering intermittently. I knew that was not good, I immediately dismissed it as her simply being cold from the bath and went online to do some more research, when I came across this site. I saw the stories and immediately was reeling in horror when I realized what i had just done to my cat.
I packed her into her carry cage and rushed immediately to the vet where I demanded they fully wash off the crap I just put on her and get her checked out. They gave her a capstar to kill the fleas on her and 3 months supply of Frontline, saying whe would be OK but to use the Frontline instead, as it is safer. I am lucky to still have my cat and looking back I wish I hadn’t tried to be cheap and took kitty to the vet instead of going to the grocery store. I try to tell everyone i know that has a pet about this site and am so glad I found it. Thank you so much!
3 Comments Received
October 8th, 2010 @9:25 am
Sorry to hear about your cat. It appears you might have overdosed her. Unfortunately, you put too much of the medication on her. You shampooed the cat and then applied the flea drops. If you ask your vet, they will tell you to only use one kind of flea and tick product at one time. This happens all too often. Hope she gets better.
October 8th, 2010 @5:43 pm
I am glad that this site helped you.. It is nice to have a happy ending from time to time… so much suffering for our pets due to Hartz products.
I am currently doing the same thing and telling everyone I know.. that saving a few pennies at Walmart at your pet’s expense really isn’t saving anyone anything.. THank you for sharing your story. Maybe your story will also help save a pets life.
Best wishes to you and your pet.
October 9th, 2010 @1:19 pm
I too, was lucky that I did not lose my two cats. I put that greasy crud on them, and then a few hours later, I decided to google the stuff and found this site. I immediately threw them into the sink and washed them off with Dawn. I took them to the vet to be checked the next day, and they were A-OK. A couple weeks after that, I was at the vet’s again to get one of my cats microchipped, and I saw my vet comforting a woman who was crying. While I was standing in line, I heard her say that she shouldn’t have put that stuff on her cat. I also saw that my vet had tears in her eyes, so I could immediately guess the outcome. My heart ached so much for that poor woman. I gave my two babies a great big hug when we got home and I still thank my lucky stars that they did not suffer any adverse effects from that toxin. I still think about that lady and everyone else who’s lost a pet and it breaks my heart. I am so glad that you did not lose your baby and that she is okay. However, try not to feel guilty about it. The blame belongs to Hartz – not you.
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