I made the horrible mistake of putting the Hartz flea drops on two of my cats. Cali had the reaction to the drops first. I woke up one morning to her shaking. She wouldn’t drink anything or eat, some of the time she wouldn’t even sit down. She would just stand in one spot and shake. I thought that if I washed her the drops would be rinsed off of her. The next day I awoke to her having what I imagine to be a seizure. It only last for 10 seconds, but I was scared. When the seizure was over she wasn’t moving. I thought she may be dead. I walked over to her and she was still breathing. She got up like nothing had happened and she walked and started to drink some water for the first time in a few days. Right after Cali had a seizure I noticed that my other cat, Patchy, was starting to shake as well. Later the same evening the had his first seizure. His reaction to the drops were a lot worse. He wouldn’t move at all and I could hear him breathing from the next room. He had two seizures when we rushed him to the vet. In the car he had at least two more seizures. When we finally got him to the vet he had a fever of 106.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The vet said he would have to stay over night. They also said that Dawn dish soap will cut through the flea drops. He had to stay overnight and had an IV, but he came home the next day. It is two days later and both of my cats are doing fine.They are both back to normal. The vet saved my cats life. I would never have thought that Dawn dish soap is what they use to help get the flea drops off of the cats. I just want to say sorry for everyone that has lost a pet to Hartz flea drops.
5 Comments Received
August 12th, 2011 @3:10 pm
In an effort to save a few dollars
Last year sometime I was in between jobs, husband unemployed, 4 children, cats & dogs. Broke, needing to save where we could, I bought Hartz flea medicine on sale – I used 2 tubes of the cat medicine, leaving one tube left. Once settled in my job, I could afford the medicine that I usually buy and it works! Last night I was dosing the animals for fleas when I found a tube of the Hartz. We have a young kitten now, so I thought I would use that last tube, thinking it is weaker and safer for the kitten, and dosed a small amount on the kitten and the remaining on the other cat. Today I took the kitten to the veterinarian due to tremors, lethargy, and near unresponsiveness. The kitten placed on IV and kept at the hospital with an estimated cost of $217 to $277 for fees. Within a few more hours, we had to take the other cat as she was also shaking and drooling uncontrollably. When I initially contacted the vet this morning explaining the kitten’s behavior and that he had just received flea medicine the night before, the first question asked was “what brand of flea medicine was it?” After my response that it was Hartz, the informed me to wash the kitten in Dawn dish soap and to bring him straight in. According to this veterinarian, about 1 out of 10 cats & kittens have this toxic reaction leading to increased temperature and possible death. This veterinarian also stated that they as a whole have been fighting to have this product removed from shelves for years yet the Hartz corporation, aware of the adverse effects on animals, have failed to protect our family companions. My attempt to save money a year ago, has cost me close to a thousand, but more important, put at risk a kitten and cat that my entire family have grown to love and become part of our lives. Check out this website I found today as I was researching why this would happen: http://www.hartzvictims.org/. Here is the company’s website: http://www.hartzultraguardpro.com/contact.html.
August 15th, 2011 @6:25 am
ya my cat is goin threw this right now n my vet said they cant help him at all we would have to take him for an hour drive to get him help well thats great dont ever go to liverpool nova scotia vet cuz they are terrible
August 27th, 2011 @1:06 pm
The exact thing happened to my cat with the seizures, listless, shaking, convulsions. The vet did the dawn thing, flushed her kidneys gave her an IV and we sedated her for 3 days as she continued to shake uncontrollably.
For two months she has been fine until yesterday……her back legs are starting to give out on her. She can barely stand. She can’t jump up. She can only take 3 or 4 steps and it seems as though she is dragging her back legs. Her right eye is drooping as well.
This is killing me to see her like this…but didn’t know if it was related to the flea stuff or not…I mean it’s been 2 months and she has been completely fine.
I can’t afford to take her back to the vet again. I don’t know what to do for her.
August 28th, 2011 @3:44 pm
I just bought the Hartz Ultra flea & tick spray. After reading all the things on this & other websites the bottle is being returned to the store!!!!! After peeling label…it says “poisionous if ingested etc…” Cats clean & lic themselves all the time… it does not imply WHO it ‘s harmfull too. I will not buy another Hartz’s product again after reading other’s responses!
September 4th, 2012 @5:42 am
lastnight i have put hartzs on my kitten and now she is shaking real bad cant barly walk…the vet over the phone told me to wash her off with dawn and i did. she has not changed still shaking cant barly walk.. she is now sleeping last night she didnt get any sleep whatsoever..i want to take her to the vet but i dont have the money too.. i need help i dont wanna loose her..
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