A warning for pets owners

[Hylian]

DO NOT BUY sergeant silvers flea and tick products! My cat had been scratching lately and I couldn't find any fleas but to be safe I decided to pick up a bottle of flea spray. I purchased a bottle of sergeant silvers flea and tick spray and applied it exactly as the directions stated. About an hour and a half later my cat has foamy vomit hanging from his mouth.

I instantly realized that was not right and started watching him closely. About 10 minutes later he has the foamy vomit drooling from his mouth again. I instantly went and grabbed the spray to read over it to make sure I used it correctly. While I am reading the spray my cat starts throwing up again. I quickly went online to look up some info and much to my surprise I found many articles online stating similar incidents. Some even stated there pets having seizures and having to be taken to the vets for emergency treatment.

Most people said the best thing is to give the pet a bath as quickly as possible so I quickly got off the computer and went and gave my cat a quick bath. Now I am now watching him very carefully and he seems to be doing better but still no company should sell a product like this. I am definitely calling the company up first thing in the morning to chew them out but in the meantime I figured I would come and give a heads up to all the pet owners here not to buy sergeant silvers flea and tick products. :mad2:

 

[Tress]

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty.

Thanks for the warning. I hope everything turns out okay.

 

[figmentPez]

I am definitely calling the company up first thing in the morning to chew them out

Skimming through a site that came up in a google came up with this suggestion:

"Please take one important step to help other pets and pet owners. Please take the time to report your incident to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC). This organization works with the EPA to compile the database of incidents and statistics that will be analyzed and used as a basis for corrective action. The NPIC can be reached at 1-800-858-7378. They are very professional, courteous and efficient. This is a critical step in the public forcing the EPA to do the right thing and get these neuro-toxin pesticide ingredients out of the marketplace."

I checked the EPA's website, and the NPIC and it's number are correct. I think it's disgusting that these products are still on the market. Apparently Hartz makes similar products that have been making pets sick as well.

EDIT: If you do have to take your kitty to the vet, insist that the company pay for the medical expenses. I'd suggest telling your story to The Consumerist if they give you any trouble.

 

[Dave]

Once your pets get fleas they are harder to get rid of than homeless old friends or broke in-laws. We have an inside/outside cat and we've come to the conclusion that either the cat has to go or we've got to get used to the idea of living in a majorly infested house.

Fucking cats.

 

[sixpackshaker]

Pop the $15 a month and get Advantage or Revolution to put on your cat. Just be sure to place it high on the cat's neck. I put it between her shoulder blades thinking she could not reach it. She ended up licking her fur off and scratching her skin with her tongue so badly she had a scab.

 

[Hylian]

Well my cat seems to be doing better this morning. And thanks for the info figmentPez I contacted the NPIC this morning and reported the incident. Luckily after the bath my cat seemed to be doing better so I didn't have to take him in to the vet but I did stay up late keeping an eye on him. I also called Sergeant this morning and they gave me the run around and tried telling me that I had an isolated incident. I told them about all the cases online and they told me that people only bother to report the negative incidents. I finally just got off with them after telling them that I planned on telling everyone not to use their products.

 

[Covar]

I'm glad I have an indoor cat.

 

[Hylian]

My cat is an indoor cat

 

[Covar]

well, I'm glad to hear he's doing better. (should have put this in my first post).

 

[PatrThom]

Let me add a little to the discussion.

MAKE SURE that when you get any flea product for cats that it states right on the packaging that it is safe for cats.

There are many flea products on the market, but products which are safe for dogs are NOT always safe for cats. In fact, some of the most commonly used flea products (even ones which are only applied topically) are outright toxic to cats and applying one to your kitty (even when following the directions exactly!) will almost always result in a seriously ill if not outright dead cat (not to mention a lot of guilt). This is unfortunately a pretty common mistake* due to inexperience on the part of the owner, the high turnover in today's pet supermarket stores, etc. Kati lost one of her cats to this after treating her brother/sister pair. One died, one recovered but suffered some liver damage (and managed to live to about 16yrs, though the last one was borrowed)

A quick Google search brought me this page, which goes into some detail.

--Patrick
*relatively speaking. Don't give your cat Tylenol or Aspirin, either. Bad idea.

 

[Hylian]

The stuff I used stated right on the package that it was for cats

 

[Steve]

Pop the $15 a month and get Advantage or Revolution to put on your cat. Just be sure to place it high on the cat's neck. I put it between her shoulder blades thinking she could not reach it. She ended up licking her fur off and scratching her skin with her tongue so badly she had a scab.

This. I use Advantage for my dog and it's fantastic. Not one flea or tick since we started.

 

[makare]

Well my cat seems to be doing better this morning. And thanks for the info figmentPez I contacted the NPIC this morning and reported the incident. Luckily after the bath my cat seemed to be doing better so I didn't have to take him in to the vet but I did stay up late keeping an eye on him. I also called Sergeant this morning and they gave me the run around and tried telling me that I had an isolated incident. I told them about all the cases online and they told me that people only bother to report the negative incidents. I finally just got off with them after telling them that I planned on telling everyone not to use their products.

What the hell? People only "report" negative instances because if a product does what it SHOULD nothing need be said about it. That is some serious bullshit there.

Gah that enrages me.

 

[Sparhawk]

We go through our vet and use the (for us) 3 times a year Comfortis pill, keeps all the fleas off our Pug with no problem. He's allergic to their bites, I mean gnaw the fur off and skin bleeding type of allergic, and just a couple of hours after he got his first pill we saw fleas actually dieing on him. He's been flea free for over 2 years now, and hasn't had any problems at all.

 

[KCWM]

We had a flea infestation once. I used some biospot spray in a can...smelled horrible, but did the trick.

 

[FnordBear]

Agree on the thing about making sure the product is specifically listed for feline use. Cats (despite what some folk would like to believe) have pretty delicate constitutions compared to dogs. That's why cats get the reputation as being finicky eaters, they generally won't eat anything that will make them ill or feel off (but like people there are individual cats that will eat near anything).

The best thing I would recommend is call your vet and find out what topical treatment they recommend. From there do some research and see if a generic version of the treatment exists since pet meds can be hideously expensive. Sadly its been a few years since I have had a cat so I can not recommend anything specific, only general advice.