8 weeks ago We had a cat we took in as a stray when we moved to our new house 3 years ago he looked to be a few years old he was in excellent health . He was an indoor / outdoor cat never had a problem with fleas but when he did we used a product from Wal- mart …..A few weeks before he died he had a massive problem with fleas and all that was sold at our local grocer was Hartz flea and tick spray for cats. We couldn’t get to Wal-mart so we bought the Hartz. Within 2 weeks he lost so much weight, wouldn’t eat just layed around and we thought ” he was just old ” or caught a cold , until I saw this site on Facebook I never imagined a well known flea product could possibly kill our cat. My husband is now blaming himself and saying he killed our cat. We had a container of flea and tick powder we used on our new kitten a few weeks ago and now I am wondering if she will be ok , this too was from Hartz I threw it away I want nothing to do with Hartz products ever again and will never recommend it to anyone I know. Our cat went from a healthy ” fat cat” to a bag of bones on the day he died. All within 2 weeks.
6 Comments Received
July 31st, 2012 @7:48 am
That’s exactly what happened to our Pennyhe was a big fat healthy cat. It was so sad and we didn’t realize for a couple of weeks that it was the products. When we called the vet they said it could have been flea anemia. Please send an email to Hartz and the EPA the squeaky wheel gets greased.
July 31st, 2012 @11:34 am
I am so sorry to hear about your kitty. Please do not blame yourself, you had his best interests at heart, and all of the initial information points to these being good products. By sharing your story, you will help get the word out on this poison. I will keep you and your family in my prayers, and I hope that your kitten does okay. Even though it has been a while since the flea powder was put on, I would give the kitten a few baths in Dawn dish soap. Doing that honestly saved my cats life.
July 31st, 2012 @11:51 am
For everyone who is looking for a safe, natural solution for flea and tick prevention, check out http://petprotectoraustralia.com You get 2 years protection with no chemicals and it will cost you a fraction of the price of traditional chemical treatments
August 2nd, 2012 @2:47 pm
iv used this for ever and iv never had a problem with it and alot of the pets i no that have gotten sick from it its been because the spot it was put on they reached and licked it.could it be that some pets have licked it and been killed from that it says it will if its put in a spot they can reach. and as for the skin could it be some pets just have allergys to it?
August 2nd, 2012 @5:25 pm
The only flea & tick products we EVER use on our cats when they get a flea are products such as Frontline or Advantage, which can only be bought at a vet’s office or a pet products store.
August 8th, 2012 @1:04 pm
“Within 2 weeks he lost so much weight, wouldn’t eat just layed around and we thought ” he was just old ” or caught a cold.”
Indeed, this is most likely what happened. Nothing in your description suggests that he had insecticide toxicosis. It’s a neurotoxin that causes seizures and convulsions, not wasting away.
Very likely, the cat contracted a flea/tick-borne illness from his last infection. Tell your husband that nothing he did contributed to the death of the cat.
Leave A Reply