HartzVictims.org

NEVER USE HARTZ FLEA COLLARS

Candice_Collins1985 — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:39:38 +0000

I was babysitting a 6 month old kitten named Scamper and he had a 3 in 1 hartz flea collar on. It was put on him the day he came to my house. The next day he couldn’t walk, and had a severe lack of brain function. He also refused to eat and drink for 4 days after the collar was removed. I washed the kittens neck and my 6 month kitten Bynx tried to lick the other kittens neck. Today Bynx won’t eat or drink. Bynx has trouble walking and has a loss of brain function. I’m so scared. I hope he makes it. The kitten i’m babysitting is eating now but is still having alot of trouble walking and the motor skills are still at very low level.

Concerned and surprised

lilbuddie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:39:21 +0000

I’m going to keep my eye on my cat. Oh gosh.
But I’m glad this site is here with so many people willing to share their stories.
My cat showed signs of fleas all of a sudden, but my local pet store was out of frontline for cats. I figured I’d get a quick fix and get a Hartz flea collar at the big grocery store near-by.
She was not happy about a collar, which is to be expected. But, she licked at her neck a few times, got a spacey look, then went into the closet. Very weird behavior for my cat, rambunctious as she is! I googled “flea collar lick” and this was one of the top sites listed. Well, after reading some of these stories, i immediately took off the collar and threw it out. Bernice got out of the closet, but she still seems a little off. Hopefully it wasn’t on her long enough to do damage, but at least i know the warning signs of poisoning. She ate and played with one of her toys, but now i just feel so worried. I hate to think of others who, like me, trust what’s put on shelves to be safe.

Two cats die in less than one month

ddway — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:48:08 +0000

Both of my cats, Tasha & Beaux were healthy. They had gotten fleas, Tasha’s was worse than Beaux’s. My son gave her a flea bath and within 24 hrs. she was gone. This was on January 3rd, 2012. I didn’t know why. About two and a half weeks later Beaux’s fleas were seriously intense. My daughter-in-law has two other cats that live with us and said I use Hartz One Spot Flea drops on my cats I will put some on them all. My Beaux died in less than 24 hrs. at the vets office. He had seizures and went into respiratory failure on January 26th, 2012. I did not make the connection until after he had passed. My son used Hartz flea shampoo on Tasha. We need to get this stuff off of the market before another animal dies. I am broken hearted and angry at the same time. This is a horrible travesty.

Hartz killed my Cat!!!

ehalvey — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:16:47 +0000

Just had to put my cat to sleep yesterday, because she had kidney failure due to the Hartz flea drops. She was only 5 years old. She was an indoor cat so she hadn’t gotten into anything else. I only used it once and shehad a seizure.I thought I would have Elly at least 15 or more years as great of care I took of her. She was my little girl. We were so close.

Poor Peaches

Peaches — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:16:26 +0000

My Wife applied Hartz Ultra Guard Plus last night according to the instructions to Peaches, Our 4 year old rescued cat for a flea problem. This morning Peaches is convulsing and can barely walk. She just left for the Vet. I’m waiting now for the Verdict.

Hartz Ultra Guard Plus Flea&Tick Drops PROBLEMS!!!

maperry9 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:49:47 +0000

My dog Lola, (a 3 year old mutt) had fleas, so I bought the Hartz Ultra Guard Plus Flea and Tick Drops. I read the entire label to make sure that I was taking every precaution needed and then I put it on her just as directed. She almost immediately started whining and panting and I wrongly assumed that it was because the smell was making her uncomfortable. I left for class and about an hour later I came home to find her yelping, panting, whining, shaking, and rolling around on the floor trying to rub her back on the carpet (where the drops were placed). I have never seen her in so much pain; it seemed almost like her skin was burning. At first I thought maybe the medicine was killing the fleas and so they were all biting her and putting her in pain but it just wasn’t going away. After realizing that this had gone too far I decided to give her a bath to wash off the medicine. The first half of the bath she was whining and shivering and panting all at the same time and then after scrubbing her down a few times she began to calm down and act like her normal self. Right now she is laying down relaxed, 100 percent different from when she had the medicine on her. I researched this product to find out what went wrong and found this site and started crying after thinking that if I had been gone all day at work then I would have risked my dogs life because of this awful product. I am so lucky to have been home so quickly and realize what was going on before it got that bad. Something has to be done about this product, this is NOT right!!!

Hartz Ultraguard Rid Worm Liquid.

Chrisgritz — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:49:30 +0000

I have a 4month old Husky/Pit. He was a extremely active dog, sweet. I found out he had worms after looking at his poop. I went to Walmart to purchase this Dewormer, used it when i got home, the next day my dog was extremely ill. He was throwing up constantly, not eating/drinking, lethargy. Had to goto the vet to get some meds because he was dehydrated, purchasing this crap 4 dollar dewormer from Hartz has now caused me to spend 300 dollars on a vet bill, if these meds don’t work i will have to proceed to x rays and blood work following a hospitalization coming out to a total of $1,200. Hartz products is definitely not the way to go.

My mistake

Natalie — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:48:11 +0000

I never knew that there was actual medicine that would do something to a harmless, playful animal, just like mine. I read the directions and precautions on EVERY part of the box of “Sergeant’s Silver” flea killer, and none of it said that it would cause as much of a shock as it did to me tonight. I gave my cat, Holly, the medicine around 9:30 pm. And maybe a hour passed and she began throwing up, it was a horrible sight. She left big chunks of throw up all over the bed. And when she was finished, she ran to the living room because of the shock she was in. That’s when I realized it had to have been the medicine. Then I seen Holly begin to drip drool out from her mouth and twitching. I was so terrified. My husband pointed a light towards her face and we seen foam forming around her mouth. We took her a very cleansing bath, we scrubbed very hard. Right now it’s 1:25 am. and she ate a little bit of chicken and drank a bit of water, and she is laying on the couch in front of me, fine as she was before I gave her the medicine. I trust that she will be better than ok when she wakes up. DO NOT BUY “SERGEANT’S SILVER FLEA KILLER!!” Take it off store selves EVERYWHERE..

HARTZ waterless shampoo

kassielin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:01:49 +0000

I just used the HARTZ waterless shampoo for cats on my 1 year old male cat about five hours ago. Now he is having seizures and cannot walk straight. He has never shown these signs before and this has been going on for about four hours. I have washed him to try and get the shampoo off him and I am praying he makes it since I live in a small town and there are no emergency vet offices in a 50 mile radius and its now one in the morning. I found this site trying to figure out what could be wrong with him and now I have found it.

Hartz 3 in 1

marshall1 — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:01:33 +0000

I put a hartz 3 in 1 flea collar on my 8 1/2 month old cat and within an hour he threw up, then went and curled up in a ball on my bed for 2 hours. Usually Marshall is really active and he’s never thrown up before so I knew something must be wrong and removed the flea collar. That was 3 days ago and he has barely eaten since! I’ve tried buying him some wet food with no luck and have tried hand feeding him dry food but he only eats a few bites and then goes and lays in his kitty tunnel. I feel so bad I can’t believe they are selling a product that’s so dangerous to cats!

Thought flea collars were safe :(

arshem — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:02:44 +0000

I thought flea collars were safe, until last night when my cat Sam wanted me to hold him. I turned him over on his back to rub his belly, and seen that around his collar had NO hair! If I had done my research before buying flea meds I would have stayed away from Hartz. Luckily the vet says that we took it off of him quickly enough, and we gave him a bath with Dawn dish soap. She said that he will be OK as long as he doesn’t start with the Diarrhea and Vomiting.

Unsafe Dog Treats

kkapcha — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:01:16 +0000

We recently purchased Hartz “Oinkies Pig Skin Twists” for Dogs. We gave our dog one of these treats and she had a seizure! She has never had one before and has not had one since. I read your packaging and see that these treats are MADE IN CHINA. I don’t know what toxins are in them, but we will never buy, use or recommend Hartz products again! I am aware that there are absolutely no controls on the absolute crap that comes from China! I can’t believe that Hartz would sell this poison from China! All I we can hope is that the word gets around and they will eventually be out of business!

5 months of hell due to hartz.

ltsite7 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:26:38 +0000

earlier in the summer of 2011, my husband and I treated our gorgeous 6 month old black tri working Australian Shepherd with one dose of hartz flea dip. within a week her chewing and scratching was off the charts, she had huge fleas, and her fur was falling out by the handfuls. just touching her to pet her would make her fur snap and break off, and her first bath after that had my husband and I in tears over that fact her beautiful 4-5 inch long gorgeous fur was just gone from her rear, her legs and her back… This proceeded to turn into hundreds of dollars worth of frontline, vet visits, various styles of E-collars, nutritional supplements to target the skin problems, and a drastic change in lifestyle and activities not doing as much outside and avoiding giving her baths unless needed as her skin was so bad. we’ve been fighting her to get her fur back ever since, and only with daily doses of fresh salmon oil, protein mix, vitamins, And Taste of the wild dog food had she started to slowly recover… and then. she got fleas. again. my husband brought them home from work. she immediately started attacking her skin again and by morning time had destroyed any and all fur that had tried to come back. I contacted my vet again since i could not use any further flea dip products on her due to her skin being inflamed. (She had never ever had any problems before hartz, never chewed, and had no allergies.) my vet gave me comfortis flea pills to try. WITHING 30 MINUTES her scratching and unbearable chewing had stopped and withing 6 hours there were no signs of fleas on her at all. I have never seen anything like it and in the past two weeks her fur has started to come back, her skin is clear, and she is not chewing or scratching. I am in love with this product and I HIGHLY recommend it to any fellow sufferers who still are fighting fleas with their dogs not recovering from the hartz. Its a long road but i believe we’re finally on the way to recovery. I sympathize with those owners of beloved pets who were killed by this product and I hope those still recovering will start to see a road of hope like I have.

Never had problems

hmarks — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:26:11 +0000

We have 2 cats and 1 dog and we have used hartz products before on all of our animals without ever having any problems. I stumbled across this website today after buying another flea collar for one of my cats because I had heard about one of the flea products harming animals and I wanted to double check to make sure it wasn’t the one I purchased today. I have read many post from different people and read some horrible and painful stories. I am such an animal person and love all types of animals my heart was breaking for all the victims of these hartz products. After reading some posts I immediately took off the collar and threw it in the trash along with shampoos we had in our house. We personally have never had any issues with these products but because of everyone elses horrific stories I will not be purchasing any more hartz products in the future and I believe this company needs to be shut down and all of their products need to be removed off of all shelves!

Over 6 Months of Fleas

LysMyMiss — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:41:25 +0000

I stumbled upon this site by accident and thought I’d go ahead and submit my story. It’s been awhile, so I dont have the amount of money it cost to fix the problem, but it did take over SIX MONTHS for everything to get back to normal. I lived at a college apartment complex…. I’ve had pets all my life and never had a problem with fleas. It wasn’t until college that I bought my own dogs and became responsible for applying flea protection. I used Hartz. I figured it was all the same. I should have done my research… there’s a reason brands, like Frontline, cost more and are more well known. My dogs both caught fleas and I discovered them hopping all over my bedding, the floors, my furniture. I even found some in my own hair! And yes, they were fleas, not lice…. they were jumping everywhere! I had to go to the vet and he gave my dogs pills to kill the bugs for the next 24-48 hrs and I used that time to try to kill the stubborn eggs and larvae. I shampooed carpets, applied flea powders, bathed my dogs in extremely concentrated flea shampoos, even smothered their skin in vaseline… which did kill the live fleas but not the babies… I didn’t know that at the time and thought after all I did to kill the eggs and larvae, I rushed them off to my parents house and worked on treating my apartment. Even without the dogs around, the fleas still hatched and took over the place. I had to put EVERYTHING in plastic bags and rush the laundromat but it still wasn’t enough. I fummigated the apartment as well. I’d still find fleas in the carpet and on furniture. I finally just gave up and moved in with my boyfriend. Thinking everything was ok…. shortly later, my parents called me because their dogs had gotten fleas… then my boyfriend’s roommate’s dog’s got fleas! It took months before we finally got it under control. Vet’s had no answer for how to get rid of them other than to just keep doing what I was doing every day for a LONG time. After half a year, we were ALL finally flea free. Only one of my dogs got excessively sick, but I never had thought it could be linked to the Hartz before, until reading other posts. She vomitted constantly, was extremely dehydrated and her anus was leaking blood. She had many medications, xrays, tests, etc until she was finally ok. I’m not sure if it was because of the Hartz or not… the vet’s said she never ate anything weird. I never got an exact answer as to what the cause was; I was just happy when she was better. I have NEVER used Hartz again… not even shampoos…. I stick with reputable brands now. Your pets are your family…. your kids. Give them only the best!

Hartz UltraGuard killed my dog

RIPDuncan — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 04:58:44 +0000

The weekend before Thanksgiving I noticed a flea on my 15 year old miniature poodle Duncan. I went to Wal-Mart and being November in Wisconsin, the pickings were a bit slim, and the only thing available for his weight range was Hartz Ultra Guard. I gave him the dose along his back as instructed.

Until this point, he had been in good health for a 15 year old…he was a little stiff sometimes but he was still very active and outgoing. He would jump up on my lap with ease, still played with his squeaky toys, and I felt he had years left on his life. Unfortunately, I made the horrible mistake of choosing Hartz that day.

The day I gave him that poison was the last day he played with his toys or was ‘in good health’. It started with massive diarrhea and vomiting, and on the third day he had a seizure. That’s when I googled Hartz Ultra guard and found this site. I immediately bathed him, but by then the Hartz poison had been on his skin for three days and the damage was done. He never recovered. Over the next few weeks the diarrhea continued off and on, he refused to eat or drink and became very lethargic. I kept hoping he would get better but he just kept declining.

This last week we had to force fed/water him, he could barely hold himself and collapsed after a few steps if he tried to walk. He was suffering. It was time to let him go, and today our Vet put him to sleep in my arms, three days before Christmas. NOBODY should have to go through that just because they were trying to keep fleas off their dog. I thought I was HELPING him by giving him Hartz Ultra Guard. Instead it killed him.

I can’t imagine how the people at Hartz can sleep at night, knowing there is case after case of their products killing innocent pets. I had Duncan since he was a puppy, over 15 years of my life, and I have no doubt he would be alive and snuggled next to me right now if it hadn’t been for Hartz Ultra Guard POISON.

Hartz Destroys Hearts

MissingYou — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:13:32 +0000

Recently i found a kitten about 2 months by the look of her and i took her in as my own.It was late and my car was broken so I walked to the nearest place i could.When i arrived i looked at the cheapest flea medicine and i saw Hartz so i took it.A few nights after i applied it little Sophie began acting weird .She seemed sluggish and would not eat in fact when i put her by her food she sat in it and laid down in ita few minutes later.So i took her to the vet.When we where done checking her up she had fallen asleep again and the vet told me that she had her skin poisoned by the medicine i gave her.He took her into overnight care and the next day i came to get her she was slower then before .He told me she would most likely be fine so i took her home.That night she slept in my bed and she began mewing loudly sounding like she was in pain.That night she died in my arms i felt the life drain out of her.It pained me to feel that and now little Sophie is buried in my backyard under a headstone which reads “Little Sophie rest in paradise Hartz Destroyed yours and my heart that night i put it on you….i am sorry” Warning to anyone who uses these products it with destroy your pets and leave you in grief .If i had fond this website sooner i would never have been without my Little Sophie.

Thanks you for your post

cass008 — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:07:19 +0000

I noticed a few fleas on my 12 week old kitten and I went to wal mart and saw the hartz flea collars for cats and kittens so I picked one up for convienance. It had been on him for about 2 days and he began acting very sluggish and stopped eating. It was a saturday and there are no vets open on the weekend where I live so I started looking up stuff on the internet. I stumbled across this website by accident, I never thought it could be a flea collar that is so readily available. I immediately took it off him and threw it away, as well as some hartz flea shampoo that I had for my dog. It’s been about 12 hours since I took it off of him and there’s already been dramatic improvement. He’s eating and running around and playing with everything in sight. We’re still going to see the vet monday morning but thanks to this website he’s acting like my sweet playful baby again.

Hartz Smokey Bones

Gr8Grapes — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:07:05 +0000

DO NOT buy or feed Hartz Smokey Bones to any pet! We bought a 3 pack and gave 1 ea to our 3 dogs. All 3 had to have emergency gastro surgery to remove the fragments, had we not done so I am very sure 2 of the 3 would have died.

2 months in hell

magicmanor — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:06:52 +0000

On Sept. 6th, we used Sentry Purrscription Flea & Tick on our 6 cats. The next morning, Arthur, our two year old male cat started having seizures and had to be rushed to an emergency vets. After $180.00 he was treated and sent home. Later that afternoon, my husband, Dave was admitted to the emergency room because his tongue and throat started to swell. Over the next 4 weeks, he was in the emergency room 4 more times for facial and neck swelling and that was even after we bathed all the cats twice in Dawn. Finally, the Doctor insisted that he move out for three weeks while I cleaned the house, top to bottom including all the the duct work. Thankfully, everyone is now home and safe. When we called the product hot line, they didn’t seem to interested. But I tell anyone who has pets to NEVER use any of the OTC flea medications, that they are killing and maiming pets. The FDA and the EPA need to start regulating OTC pet products. Meanwhile, we need to continue to spread the word and hit them where it hurts, in their bank accounts

1kitten died 2 still fighting

swf40inneed — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:06:33 +0000

I used flea medicine on my kittens on Monday the 12th. Within hour I was rushing them to them vets. On the 13th I had to sign papers to let our Boots go he would never pull out. Today the other 2 may come home they are little fighters. I never knew any of this about it killing our lil family members this has to stop!! This has devastated our family at a time when we should be happy. My daughter has token it extremely bad as Boots was her baby I called him her shadow. I hope this stops before more families go thru the hell we have. May God bless all your lil family members. Also beware for your dogs as well as my Mazy had a small reaction as well. I will never use over the counter meds again of any kind an If am in the stores I will warn all people I see buying them.For use to save a little bit of money an buy the store brand my bill will be the lost of 1 kitten so far an 1200.00 vet bill.

I am thankful I stumbled upon this site…

PrettyinScarlet — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:06:06 +0000

I had purchased Hartz Ultra guard pro at a local grocery for dogs 4-15 pounds. After grooming and bathing my 2yr old, 9 pound Malti-poo last night I had applied the product according to the box directions. I have this ocd habit of rechecking my work. My dog also loves to lay at the foot of my bed. Imediately After applying this product I noticed it was very smelly in an astringent way and very greasy looking. I wanted to see how long it would take to set so we could go to sleep, so I googled it… This site was third down. I clicked it and read the top story about poor Spooky the cat. My deepest sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost a dear friend to a lethal Hartz or another brand of product. My first thought was, I gotta get this stuff off! I am soooo sorry Pepper! I bathed him a few times with dawn soap to get that garbage off of him. Luckily I only had Hartz on him for 10 mins or less. Poor little guy, he was probably wondering what he did to deserve three baths! I called the 24 hour vet hospital and they told me to keep an eye out for vomiting, loose bowels, fatigue, muscle fatigue, seisures, foaming at the mouth, appetite loss, decreased fluid intake and anything out of the norm. That there tells me something the public doesn’t know about these products that we should know. It just makes me sick to read these horror stories about this (as I am recently enlightened) horrible company. Years ago, I remember Hartz being recommended in vet offices, and my buying decision was based solely on that. I am watching him through the morning hours, and so far he seems alright. Thank you everyone for these posts, It has saved a precious life!

What Now?!?

osbornha — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:05:47 +0000

I am horrified now that I learned that I just put something extremely toxic and LETHAL on this cat. Last night I found a stray cat at my barn and took him home. I have always owned cats before but am away at college so I didn’t have anything set up. Also I have never dealt with medical concerns with the animals (except horses). I forgot to pick up flea and tick medication for him when I was shopping for necessities and only realized it at 3:00 am after I had gotten done bathing him and saw that he had a huge amount of ticks all over his body. I ran out to CVS the only place open and bought the only product they had which unfortunately was Hartz. Not knowing anything about the dangers I followed the directions and applied it. Thank GOD the cat isn’t showing any symptoms and has a good appetite BUT I wanted to check and be sure that I can use other products now that I have used that on him (obviously not until next month). My mom said something about not being able to mix products…is that true? Thank you so much for any help! I’m calling CVS in the morning and telling them that they will lose my business if they do not remove Hartz from their shelves. All of you should do the same!

My cat, Spooky, died last night

joodywoody1955 — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:09:08 +0000

I wrote on Friday that Spooky had been poisoned by the Hartz Ultra Guard One Spot flea killer ointment that I had put on the back of his neck. I took him to the vet, and I just heard from the vet that HE DIED LAST NIGHT from this POISON. I am soooo very angry and upset. I will do anything- and I mean anything- to get this company and other companies to stop manufacturing this poison. I wet in to CVS on Saturday, and saw that they carry this stuff in their pet department. I am going to speak to the managers of every store that I find these products in, and tell them what this product does- it KILLS OUR PETS!!!!!
I live in Virginia. Does anyone know of a lawyer who is handling class action lawsuits in Virginia against Hartz??? I will call them immediately when I get this information. We have to do something.

HELPPPPPPPPP

magsteraldog — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 17:09:28 +0000

HELP I gave my cat the first drops then I heard it was really bad what should i do? she has’nt had any syptoms yet but i am really scared after reading these stories please help me what should I do?

My 1 year old cat, Spooky is dying..

joodywoody1955 — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:47:50 +0000

I used Hartz One Spot on my beautiful sleek black cat named Spooky on Wednesday, Dec. 7, in the afternoon. By evening, the cat was listless. I bathed him to remove the flea treatment oil from his fur and it didn’t all come out. On Thursday, he slept all day. He did not eat, or drink, even though I offered it to him every half hour. By Thursday night, I picked him up and tried to put him down on the floor to stand up- he collapsed. I brought him to the vet on Friday, telling him what I had done. He admitted him to his hospital, and put him on I.V. drip because he was so very dehydrated, and also put him on an anti-toxin medicine. They have bathed him since he got there also. I called the vet this morning, and he said Spooky is not better, but not worse. He also said the neuro-toxin from Hatrz One Spot will permanently affect Spooky IF HE RECOVERS. Has anyone experienced any lasting side-effects/ damage with their babies/pets? I am a very financially poor person- I cannot work since June and have applied for disability- haven’t received it yet, so I am asking- does anyone know where I can get financial help for my baby/pet? I live in Southwest Virginia- in Christiansburg. Please advise, as I am at a loss…

Pet Pharmaceutical Industry Under Fire in Multiple New Jersey Class Actions –OVER 75,000 COMPLAINTS REPORTED TO EPA ASPCA CONNECTION

Josh — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:42:22 +0000

James from BioSpotVictims.org sent this press release over to me this morning (thanks, as always, James). While unedited, the original release can be read here.

NEWARK, N.J., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Yet another class action was filed this week in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, in the District of New Jersey, against a manufacturer of “Spot-On” Flea and Tick products, neurotoxin pesticides placed directly on the skin of millions of household dogs and cats across the United States.

There is a growing sense of moral outrage and alarming statistics from consumers and pet advocates alike after over 75,000 complaints about the products have been reported to the EPA and nothing has been done to change the advertising, marketing or labeling of the products to alert pet owners of the possible serious side-effects. What’s chilling is that those numbers only reflect what has been reported, the actual number of incidents may be much, much higher.

“Spot-On” products generally do not say in their advertising or marketing or even EPA mandated labeling that the products may cause death or other serious side-effects, including paralysis, seizures and ulcerated skin lesions. Consumers are largely unaware of these possibilities when applying the products to their dogs and cats.

Michael Green of Green & Associates, LLC, one of the attorneys that filed the New Jersey class actions, stated, “I’ve received a number of phone calls from pet owners in the middle of the night, where they are traumatized after their dog or cat has just died in their arms after they placed these pesticides on them. These are innocent pets who were trusting their owner to do the right thing for them. The owners are horrified to think that they gave their pet something that killed them, often in an excruciatingly painful way. Most tragic are those stories where the owner had one pet die only to put it on another pet after being assured there was no connection to the product and have that pet die also. I’ve gotten a few of those calls too. Unfortunately, the law treats our dogs and cats as just chattel, but if you ask any of these pet owners whose pet died, their dog or cat was a member of their family.”

Sold By Major Retailers and Veterinarians
The “Spot-On” tick and flea business is estimated to be an $8 billion a year industry with the products primarily sold by veterinarians and pet store retailers such as PetCo and PetSmart.

This week, PetArmor, a new “Spot-On” flea and tick product for dogs and cats, is being served with the complaint filed against it. PetArmor was launched on April 20, 2011 in a press conference with the ASPCA. The product has been featured in television ads and is sold in major retailer WalMart. It is described by the manufacturer, FidoPharm, as containing the same active ingredients as Frontline, a well-known veterinarian recommended product.

Other “Spot-On” products sued in the class actions in New Jersey, beginning in January 2010, include Frontline, manufactured by Merial Limited, and those manufactured and sold by the other major animal pharmaceutical corporations Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Inc., Hartz Mountain Corporation, Bayer Healthcare, LLC, Farnum Companies, Wellmark International, Inc. and Summit VetPharm, LLC.

“Spot-On” Flea and Tick products are now recommended for virtually all dogs and cats, no matter the locale or specific risk. The Spot-On industry and vets who profit in the billions of dollars have not been called to account as to whether the risk vs. benefits really necessitate that common household pets across this country, and the children and other humans in these households, need to be exposed to these pesticides and neurotoxins 24/7. Studies have shown that the pesticides are detectible on the hands after petting.

EPA Complaints
Over 75,000 complaints to the EPA have been made since 2008 regarding these products including complaints of death and other serious side-effects even without a centralized poison reporting center, something the Humane Society is now calling for. In April of 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an advisory and reported that there was a noticeable increase in the number of adverse pet reactions involving the “Spot-On” pesticides which act as neurotoxins.

Nexus Between ASPCA and “Spot-On” Industry
FidoPharm enlisted the aid of the ASPCA in launching an awareness of their “Spot-On” product PetArmor. However, the class action complaint alleges a nexus of relationships between executives of the “Spot-On” product manufacturers and the ASPCA, heretofore known to the public as a non-profit entity established to prevent cruelty to animals.

The ASPCA has selected FidoPharm as its official tick and flea sponsor in its adoption centers and clinics. FidoPharm in turn has donated product and $100,000 to the ASPCA. John Preston, the current chairman of FidoPharm’s parent, was the founding executive of Merial, the maker of Frontline.

Dr. Steven R. Hanson, the Senior Vice President and head of the ASPCA’s Poison Control Center, where adverse reports of “Spot-On” products may be made, is a former director of Wellmark. Hartz is a corporate donor to the ASPCA and named Dr. Hanson “Veterinarian of the Year.” The complaint alleges that calls into the Poison Control Center regarding Hartz “Spot-On” products are redirected to Hartz, allowing Hartz to directly manage any of these adverse events.

In addition, the ASPCA has a for-profit arm, APCC Consulting Services, that provides professional services to animal pharmaceutical corporations, including consultation on product liability. Hartz has been a client of the APCC.

Finally, the ASPCA in a press release, in response to the 2009 EPA advisory regarding “Spot-On” products, quoted Dr. Hanson as stating the products should continue to be used.

The plaintiffs of the class actions allege that the pesticides in the “Spot-On” products cause death, paralysis, seizures and skin lesions to their pets and that these adverse affects are not stated in the advertising or marketing to pet owners.

More information regarding the class action lawsuits filed against FidoPharm and others may be obtained at www.spotoncomplaints.com

Contact: Michael S. Green, Esq., Green & Associates, LLCTel: 732-390-0480, Email: green@msgreenlaw.com

Hartz Flea Collar almost killed my cat

eblume — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:51:04 +0000

Milo is at the vet as I type. I found him at 1 am this morning lethargic and vomiting. When he tried to get up and walk his back legs wouldn’t hold him up. I took him to the vet as soon as they opened and the vet tech who met me at the door immediately snipped off his collar and started asking questions. His body temp was extremely low and his gums were pale. All of these were signs of poisoning. When the vet called me at 9:51am this morning she had him on an IV catheter and was going to pull bloodwork for CBC/Chem Panel. She called me back at 10:40am and said that she thought I had brought him in just in time. His kidneys and liver were in beginning stages of failure and he was unable to urinate. He now has a urinary catheter in as well as an IV and will have to stay there atleast until Sat…and that’s only as long as he can urinate tomorrow after the catheter comes out. I had only put on the Hartz Plus Flea Collar a little over a week ago and had no idea that I was slowly killing my kitty. I’ve never had an issue w/any flea collars, topicals, sprays, powders, etc before.

EDPET

EDPET — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:21:24 +0000

My Wife and I had two cats and un fortuneatly we used hartz mountain

flea medicine Both cats got sick .Took them to the Vet ,one died the other

one is deathly sick .Don’t know what to do.

Please Help

please help

Hartz nearly killed my cat

Withoutwarning82 — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:42:34 +0000

This is my cat Jackson. My husband and I noticed a flea or two over a span of a few days. One day we were at Walmart and he grabbed some Hartz Ultraguard for cats- the flea and tick drops. We put the stuff on both of our cats. The next night, we didn’t notice any reaction BUT the stuff was so greasy and disgusting on them, that we decided to give them baths. We washed it all off. That is the day I began noticing that all Jackson was doing was sleeping. I didn’t think much of it because cats sleep most of the day as it is. But it did seem to be a lot. I never saw her anymore. One day a few weeks later, she ventured out into the living room and jumped up onto the couch next to me. When I touched her to pet her, I was shocked. She was skin and bones. I mean you could feel every bone in her body petting her. It was truly horrifying. The picture on the left is from that day. This is what Hartz did to her. At the time, I still couldn’t think of what could have caused her to suddenly stop eating. Until we took her to the vet and told her around the time that it happened and she said it could be that she licked the Hartz off of herself or the other cat, it probably made her feel sick and lose her appetite. A once extremely energetic, cuddly, tiny bit chubby, and probably the most playful cat I’ve ever seen to a severely anorexic, lethargic, dying cat in just a few weeks. It cost a lot of money (afforded only because I had thousands in savings) and almost cost us her life just to get the brand of flea and tick drops that is a little less expensive. It’s been many months since this happened and overnight vet stays, shots, pills, force feedings of anorexia food several times a day, and so on, and she is happy and healthy again- the right picture is the after shot. But after this, I will never use a Hartz product again, I will make sure to let everyone that I know with pets knows about this, and I will also never use a product on my cats without researching it online. If I had ever heard of what it can do, read about it, or seen this site even, I wouldn’t ever have risked my babies lives. Some people might not understand, not everyone gets so attached to their pets. But some people think of their animals as family members and it hurts deeply to lose one. Share what you know so that we can all help prevent this disgusting product from killing another innocent pet.