Dangers of Hartz flea & tick products

[pyermoli]

Have any of you ever heard of the horrible things that can happen from using this product? I was on my way to work and heard on the radio several people telling of their experiences of using Hartz flea & tick (all products from the collar to the shampoo to the drops). Some of these people lost their pets after using it saying that the product caused their animal to go into seizures. One lady said that she explained the problem to the vet and the vet said she was surprised the product was still on the market. Anyway, I thought I would write in only b/c I don't know if any of you have had experiences like this, and if not, at least to give a head's up. There is even a website for the victims of this product it's www.hartzvictims.org I think most of the victims are cats but there have been cases of it happening to dogs. Thanks for listening, If I am completely wrong about this I apologize, but it kinda freaked me out to hear it.

 

[crazy_daisy]

what you heard is true

We had similar experience last summer with the inlaws cat. Poor thing went into seizures and was finally euthanized. Not a cat lover but she was a darling siamese.

 

[BeckyNC]

Very interesting. The dog my family had in the 80s, when I was a teenager, wore Hartz flea collars without issue.

Biospot is also known to cause seizures and other neurological problems. This is just one reason to go with more expensive products, like Frontline, etc. I have no doubt the more expensive products can cause neurological events as well, but the incidence is probably lower.

 

[EMWAZ]

Well luckily we have NO problems with fleas, etc. so my dogs and cats don't need any of these items. I do remember our animals wearing flea collars when I was growing up too without problems. we treat our yard and house from time to time but we truly try to avoid use of any of these products and I'm glad we have. Thanks for the info..

 

[beausmommy]

It's not just hartz products that can cause problems. My mother had prescription flea and tick prevention from the vet that she had to apply between the shoulders every month for both the dog and the cat. One month, she mistakenly put the dog's flea medicine on the cat. She started acting strangely and fell down the stairs. My mom rushed her to the vet. He said that he's seen numerous cases like hers over the years and she was the ONLY cat that had ever survived (she was an enormous cat). He said that if the dose is too high, it is possible to kill an animal. Just be careful that you don't give too much (there are different doses for different weights even if it's an over the counter product). We don't want anyone's baby getting sick by mistake!

 

[lafsalot]

Just for the record, my epileptic dog had problems with all topical and oral flea preparations (ie Program, Frontline, etc). I ultimately used an herbal flea and tick collar with great success. ~ Cathy

 

[Iaboy]

Cant you feed some garlic? Doesn't it act like a natural prevention, I don't know just curious. Any ideas.

 

[momstaxi]

We had a cat once that almost became comatose after using a flea type spray on her. She was "out of it" and very lethargic for a whole night. Then the next day she acted like she was drunk, kind of stumbling around. She did recover but I don't think 100 %. She always was a little strange after that, she would meow for food, you'd feed her then she she would stand by the bowl and still meow. It took her a few seconds to figure out the food was in there.first i thought it was a vision thing but she could follow a toy, etc.
She also would forget to poop in the litter box sometimes, but would go on the concrete floor in the basement instead. Some other weird effects too. But she was a weet kitty and we still have her, but I really think she is a little"Brain damaged"

 

[Teressa]

OMG! Now you have raised my suspesions again. My previous Boxer Butch, at the Rainbow bridge since 2000, I swear died from Frontline. All the vets tell me he probably had brain cancer, but I don't believe it. I started him on Frontline, thought I was doing the dog a favor and my husband did work for Frontline. He started getting sick in 2000 the first month (April) I used it on him. Took him to the Emergency Vet nothing showed any problems. Every month on the first I would give him his dose and he would get sick. I figured out the pattern and stopped using the product. By June he was having seizures quite frequently. I took him to a specialist in town and they thought he had Cardiomyopathy. Did holter and nothing showed up that way. By August I knew he would not be with us within the year, little did I know he would die that month. I wrote a very lengthy letter to Frontline and like all Vets they said the problem porbably existed before he started Frontline. I don't think so. My present Boxer does not use Frontline. Thank you so much for your post. I will always know in my heart that it was the Frontline.

 

[LeedsDevil]

I have never personaly had this happen to any of my animals, but a friend of my daughter lost her 4 month old kitten after using 1 of the over the counter flea treatments. I am not 100% sure but I think it was the Hartz flea control for kittens, and the dose was still so high it killed the cat!

I have not nor ever will use ANY Hartz Mountain products on my animals, the quality of all of thier products is well below anything I will use. It's just not worh saving a few cents if it would cause my babies a bit of discomfort, safety or heaven forbid thier life!

I and my entire family have had bouts of flea problems over the years. We all have used the Advantage flea products with no adverse reactions, even on my then 3 month old kittens!

Jennifer & Cookie Monster