A Sad Tail: What You Should Know About Flea Collars

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A Sad Tail: What You Should Know About Flea Collars

January 11, 2010

I recently discovered your wonderful web site and only wish that I had found it sooner. Over the holidays we lost our precious 12 year old American Shorthair (his name was Didder but we affectionately nicknamed him Weetie because he was so sweet, but being a large male cat we toughened his nickname up a little bit). In honour of his memory, I wanted to share his sad tail so that your readers may learn from it.

We recently moved from another town that was 4 hours away and the holistic food that we had been feeding him for years was not available in our new town. The local PetSmart recommended another food, however Weetie developed a food allergy. This is when I found your web site and started to make him raw food. Being that he was an older cat, I blended his food slightly and after a few tries found the right consistency.

His skin and coat started to clear up, the plaque build up on his teeth, and even the dandruff that he'd had since kittenhood started to clear up as well. Things were looking very well indeed. Then it happened, we live in a duplex and the neighbor also has pets. Due to the shared duct work we had concerns regarding cigarette fumes that would fill our home and I began to wonder what else was invisibly entering our home. We soon found, fleas!

Weetie has only been afflicted with fleas one other time in his life and a bath and an over the counter flea collar seemed to cure the issue. This time however, the bathing did not seem to make a difference. He was starting to shed his fur in large patches due to the scratching, and like a moron, I went to the local PetSmart and purchased Harts Flea and Tick Collar. After a bath and a mere 2 hours of wearing the collar, my precious boy began vomit. I removed the collar, thinking that he'd be more comfortable wihtout it and that the bath had perhaps upset his stomach. (In old age, he had become less tolerant of bath time). That seemed to help and we snuggled in bed for the night.

The next morning he did not seem very active at all and he was drooling heavily. I immediately phoned the local Cat Hospital and they referred me to the area Veterinary Emergency Hospital with instructions to bring the collar and packaging as soon as possible. I bundled m boy into his new cat carrier and covered it with a blanket from the freezing temperatures that we were expecting at the time. The Veterinarian confirmed my suspicious that it was a reaction to the collar, he was immediately put on oxygen and IV fluids. I went to visit him daily and kept in touch with the staff regarding his condition and progress.

Throughout this terrifying time, I began to conduct some research, as the Veterinarian did not seem surprised that this collar had produced such an immediate and toxic reaction. I discovered that the active ingredient in the collar is the same ingredient in household pest sprays, something that was banned from our home many years ago! Furthermore, I discovered that this is a well known issue and although the companies have been advised and several agencies are conducting investigations, the products are still readily available on the shelves.

Weetie came home on Christmas Day and we spent this time snuggling and keeping things peaceful and quiet. We were even blessed to hear him purring while he was resting in my arms. I will treasure this memory always as it holds a very special place in my heart.

Weetie soon stopped eating and began to have loose stools, he was hiding in odd places and we were becoming concerned. That night I held my little boy in my arms and he slept curled up and purred intermittently. When we woke in the morning, there was a wet spot in the bed, our little boy had had a seizure. Our movements woke him up and he groggily headed toward the litter box, along the way he had become disoriented and started to vomit, I got to him just in time as he went all rigid and then went limp and collapsed. I could feel that he was feverish and gnetly wrapped him in a blanket and held him quitely while my husband phoned the Veterinary Emergency Hospita to tell them we were on our way and obtain instructions.

As we suspected, the neighbor had fleas as well and used a household spray treatment, which infultrated our unit through the shared duct work causing the relapse. With his poor little system already bombarded and exhausted, this second and uncontrolled exosure was too much. It broke our heart to see him suffer in pain, discomfort and lacking control of his basic functions. On December 30th, 2009, we made the heart wrenching decision to let him go where he could rest peacefully and beyond the reach of those terrible chemicals.

If only we had discovered your site sooner then perhaps his system would have been stronger and better able to handle the unintended exposure.

Thank you for taking the time to read Weetie's tail and hopefully providing the opportunity to spread the word.

More information:

EPA Delays Report on Flea and Tick Products That May Harm Pets
Poison on Pets II
My Toxic Dog

Mrs. Nash

St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada