Pet Flea, Tick Medication Called Into Question

[azurnoir]

Aundria Arlandson said Sergeant's Flea and Tick Powder killed her cat.

<snip>

Now, she's one of dozens of people across the country taking some well-known pet companies -- Seargeant's Pet Care, Hartz Mountain Corporation and Summit Vetpharm -- to court.

Dr. Lisa Powell is a veterinarian at the University of Minnesota. For years, she's told her patients not to buy these over-the-counter products after seeing some serious side effects.

"It can cause starvation, lethargy, vomiting, and in the worst case scenarios, you can see seizures and even death," Powell said.

Pyrethrins are the active ingredients in most of these products. They're derived from Chrysanthemums and research shows they can be toxic to cats.

http://wcco.com/pets/pet.pesticides.kill.2.1922788.html

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this happened to my beloved cat "Polarbear" during the summer of 2009 after using one of the products mentioned

[dipsydoodle]

1. Whilst you have my sympathy

the fact remains that in many cases its probably misuse of the product.

I only use Frontline and even that cautiously. As far as I'm aware that doesn't contain Pyrethrin.

[pipoman]

2. I use Frontline

I buy the one for the biggest dog then use a syringe without the needle to administer .5 cc to each cat. I can get 8 cat treatments out of one large dog dose for the same price as one cat dose.

[TuxedoKat]

4. Wow

Thanks for that tip. Much appreciated as a owner of five cats.

[DCKit]

5. Excellent Tip. That stuff's expensive. n/t

[WolverineDG]

8. great tip! thanks! nt

[Warpy]

3. They're safe for most cats, IMO

and I used them for years when I was rehabbing strays, cats who would show up bedraggled and sick from all the blood being sucked out of them by external parasites. Once I was able to slap a collar on them, they took about a week to start to perk up. They were also damned grateful, which made it easier to tame them down.

However, it was one collar per cat and the collar was never altered in any way except to trim it to fit around the cat's neck with nothing left over.

Obviously, if you see a change in an animal's behavior after you put a flea collar on it, take that sucker off. However, collars that are sized to the animal and trimmed to fit shouldn't cause any problem.

(My guess is that most problems are coming from things like big dog collars on kittens)

[Enthusiast]

6. We alternate Frontline and Revolution.

Three months of Revolution then one of Frontline.

[Enthusiast]

7. Like many other once respectable

American corporations Sergeants is now only concerned with their bottom line at the expense of your pet's health.

[WolverineDG]

9. Actually, I've heard for a long time that OTC treatments like that are not good for your pets

Frontline + Capstar = happy kitties with no fleas

Frontline + Capstar + Preventic = happy doggies with no fleas or ticks.

dg

[Vinca]

10. I recently used a pyrethrine-based product to treat my cat for ear mites.

I used half the dosage suggested and treated her for only a couple of days and that seemed to work well. When it comes to cats I try not to use anything on them unless absolutely necessary since they tend to very sensitive to products. In this case, the poor girl had scratched one ear bloody so I used the stuff sparingly and briefly.

[azurnoir]

11. actually it was the collar

we switched to capstar and program

[Vinca]

12. I'm so sorry about Polarbear.