Here is the post I made back in Feb:
Flea Treatment Problems - A WARNING
« on: February 23, 2007, 02:22:59 PM »
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I know most people on here would only use vet approved flea treatments but have just received an email concerning an over the counter one. There are a number of issues relating to this email, like vet treatment and whether a cat should be left in this state etc etc, so please dont shoot the messenger!
We all know that reactions can happen from any of jabs but this one is new to me and definately a warning. Obviously a very bad reaction has happened.
This is the story of what has happened to one cat:
Our poor little cat Millie is very sick after been given a product that is supposed to be good for her! A few days ago we put some Bob Martin Spot On flea treatment on her which is to prevent her getting any fleas.
The product is widely available in pet stores and also even some supermarkets. Since then our cat has been in the vets for 2 days and has been on a drip and had sedatives and steroids. The product has badly effected her nervous system and although she is out of the vets now, she is still very ill and has so far been lucky not have died
She has had a number of 'fits' were she has no control over her body and is writhing around, jumping and twitching and is obviously in pain as her muscles spasm out of control. During some of these fits she has been completely out of it and has run into the walls and doors, causing herself more injury. Also in general she is not acting like her normal self. She is usually a very mild mannered an friendly cat, very relaxed and a lovely family pet. She is, at times, now so 'freaked out' she does not know where she is or what she is doing. Her eyes are often very wide open and bulging and she is very 'wired' and agitated. It is very upsetting and distressing to see an animal suffering like this.
The worrying thing about this is that the vets have seen this sort of reaction before with this product! This is not an isolated incident!
I have done a little bit of research on the internet and also found other mentions of this reaction on cats. The product is NOT sold at veterinary clinics, but is available over the counter (at pet stores, supermarkets etc...) because the chemicals used are different to the ones in other products that are applied in the same way (drops to the back of the neck). These chemicals should not be used on animals as they have not been as stringently tested as the ones available at the vets and there have been a number of cases reported where this reaction has taken place. Some cats have died from this.
There are no warnings at all on the packet that indicate anything like this. It does say the cat may salivate if the animal manages to lick any of the product, as it has a bitter taste. Well, our cat has been salivating quite a lot, not because she has licked any of the product, as this was washed off as soon as we noticed it was giving her a problem.
She has been salivating because the product has caused herserious harm and damage, caused her to have fits every few hours where she has no control of herself and salivates heavily as well as wets herself. Its not very pleasant to see the family pet in such a distressing state. We do not know yet if the damage will be permanent.
The product is meant to protect the cat from fleas for 1 month, so we are guessing it will be in her system for that long and obviously if she is having fits for a month it may well effect her in the longer term.
If you could please pass this on to other pet owners then maybe some other animals we be saved some suffering.
The product is Bob Martin Spot On flea treatment, and I would recommend that no one uses it, ever. Get another product from your vets, such as Frontline, which is thoroughly tested and safe to use. I have also set up an e-mail address so if anyone else has had this>happen to them, if you could send an e-mail with the details to: BobMartinProblems@hotmail.co.uk
There have been cases of this reaction when people have incorrectly used the dog treatment on cats. This is not the case here. We have the packaging and the batch number of the product, and according to all the packaging it is the correct one for cats, although this going to be sent away and tested.)
DO NOT BUY BOB MARTIN SPOT ON FLEA TREATMENT
PLEASE PASS THIS E_MAIL ON TO ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO HAS A CAT AND ASK THEM TO PASS IT ON TO ANYONE THEY KNOW
