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March 2005
On March 13th 2005 I used the Zodiac Flea Control on my 43 cats. 4 ended-up at the Emergency Vet suffering form Grand-mal seizures. From 10:30pm till 1:30am my husband was running the cats to the vet. as each was dropping from the toxins. I spent 3 hours bathing the others, not easy when they are not used to water. Needless to say my arms look as if I was attacked by a feral cat. It was touch-and-go during the night. Ended up costing $1069.50 for 3 of the cats, the costs for the fourth cat were paid from a fund that the clinic has from donations.
My Vet said that since Zodiac has come onto the market she is seeing more and more of these cases. She said it would take 2-3 days for it to work thru their systems. My cats are exhibiting symptoms for the following: Restlesness, Scratching, Chewing, Fighting, facial twitching and not eating.
The long term effects we do not know.
Kathleen 3/15/05
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We had been using Frontline on our cat and like so many of you, we seen Bio Spot on Dr.FosterSmith.com and it was highly recommended to them. As I am typing this, it is the Doctor's Choice Flea Control right now. We applied it to our cat last Wednesday. By Thursday morning he was vomiting all over the house. He then seemed to be ok. That evening he was very lethargic. We took him to the animal hospital where they put him on IV's and gave him injections to stop the vomiting. They also shaved the back of his neck where we applied the medicine and scrubbed him with Dawn dish liquid. We are still having problems with him. He is drinking water and urinating, but he has not eaten since last Wednesday (it is now Tuesday night). I finally fed him baby food mixed with half and half creamer and put it in a syringe to feed him. Earlier today, he had diarrhea - we don't know if this is a new side effect???? If he is not better by tomorrow morning, we are going to take him to the hospital for the third time. Does anyone out there have any advice on how to get their cat to eat? I have tried canned food (he normally eats dry food), baby food, creamer, milk (he cannot tolerate chicken products). Please help!
Shilee 3/15/05
Hi James! I called the animal hospital yesterday and they put Jasper on another medication to help him eat. He didn't like that at all! He started foaming at the mouth and jumping all around. They told me that was a normal reaction because they had to give him fruit flavored medicine instead of chicken because he is allergic to chicken! He was so dehydrated that I had to feed him water thru a syringe, but by last night he was starting to act like himself and we were able to get him to eat some tuna. Today he is acting like the Jasper we know for the most part. I can't believe that BioSpot is allowed to sell a product like that! The veterinarian is going to write a letter for me to send to Bio Spot who responded to me to send them the vet bills, the remainder of the product or receipt and written notes from the vet and they say they will reimburse me - I'm not counting on it! I didn't want to do that at first because it is not about the money. But the more I thought about it, I want them to pay and if they have to pay all these vet bills, maybe they will go bankrupt and quit putting this product on the shelves! My veterinarian said that usually Dr.'s Foster & Smith are the ones to respond and BioSpot puts their head in the sand, but it was completely opposite for me. After I write to you, I am going to email Dr.'s Foster and Smith and tell them I will no longer be buying any of their products due to the response of the person I talked to a few days ago - she never asked me my name or looked up my account, all she said was "Sorry to hear about your cat, good luck!" We buy our cat and dog stuff from them all the time, but I will no longer do that if they sell products like Bio Spot. I noticed a lot of people talked on your website re: a class action lawsuit. How does that work? If there is one, I would be interested in participating. Let me know. Thank you for your website - it was an eye opener to see how many animals have been affected by this product.
Shilee 3/17/05
I wanted to update you. Our veterinarian sent that letter to Farnam (without the remainder of the product and without our receipt) and I received a check yesterday for all of our hospital bills for Jasper. On the back of the check it said "This is for full and final settlement of the alleged reaction to BioSpot on the cat owned by (they had our names listed out)". I suppose that is so we don't sue them at a later date. I found that rather interesting, though. They must send checks out all the time because of their product.
Hopefully one day this may force them to recall their product completely. Thanks for all of your help. Jasper is definitely feeling better. He is back 100% - although now we have him addicted to tuna fish being that is what got him to eat after not eating anything for eight days!!!! That's ok! He can have a little tuna every day if he wants!! As long as he is feeling good!
Thanks again!
Shilee 4/13/05
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I am a responsible, caring breeder. My dogs have not been affected by BioSpot because I warn every puppy buyer NOT to use it - I recommend Frontline, as I believe it to be the only safe alternative. However I have had personal experience with cats and BioSpot. It's all about MONEY. Have you been reading the posts? Most of these animals have gone to the emergency clinic when seizures start - most start within 24 hours after applying the product - particularly regarding cats - my vet, who is a very well educated man and holds my utmost respect, cannot believe the product is still on the market. My emergency clinic sees two or three deaths A WEEK they attribute to topical flea products. For one thing, you have a dog - and although it can affect dogs, it's most severe effects are on cats. It's money and politics - until we the consumers get enough backing, as long as they make a profit companies will continue to sell the product and it will continue to be manufactured. They don't care that pets are dying as long as money is lining their pockets. I am a good breeder - and when an animal dies of unknown causes, I pay to have a necropsy done, even if it's an animal I no longer own - and I beg and urge everyone to NOT buy any topical flea product except Frontline. One person may be able to use the product with no reactions, not every pet is affected - but you CANNOT ignore all of those who's beloved pets have died as a result of using this product. If you don't believe this product is deadly, pull out your phone book and call every clinic in the yellow pages, and ask the opinion of the vets on staff. I have done this myself, and have yet to find one professional who will disagree with the statements within this website. One clinic - two or three deaths A WEEK - don't you think that is proof enough?
Kim 3/16/05
I am so upset about this whole topical flea product business! My niece's cats died from BioSpot. I have been writing companies, pleading with them to take it off their shelves - and I tell them if I can find one - just one - company to refuse to carry the product, I would spread the word as best I could for people to buy only from that company. I've pleaded with Foster & Smith to take it off their Doctor Recommended list. So far, no one will take it off the shelves - but maybe, maybe - if we could get hundreds of emails, letters, and phone calls instead of one or two trickling in - someone will find it worthwhile to listen to our pleas.
Would anyone like to join me?
Kim 3/16/05
KSLarrabee@insightbb.com
www.kdrgreatdanes.com
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My husband and I used Sergeant's PreTect on our little Maltese "Princess". Right after we put it on her she begin to act differently. But we didn't put the two together until later. She kept acting funny so we took her to an emergency vet as our vet was closed that day. He examined her and asked us if we had used anything on her and we told him that we had used this product. He checked her again and told us that this product had poisoned her system, and that to take her home and wash her 2 or 3 times straight, so we did. She continued to act funny, so we called him back and he said it would have to wear out of her system and that some dogs never recover from it. The next day we took her to our vet and she examined her and gave the same diagnosis as the emergency vet. Princess, too, begin to have seizures, but hers did not stop, they continued up to the day she died. Some were like she had just passed out and some were the foaming and shaking type. She wandered constantly, until she just wore herself out. She shook, and walked into things, fell against things, sometimes she had to be hand fed. She couldn't even safely drink out of her water bowl, she would fall into it. March 10th, my little Princess died in my arms while having a seizure. She never recovered. My heart aches at the thought of not having her near. She was so precious. She had some unusual things she did, including talking on the telephone. The day before we treated her with the Sergeant's Pretect, she was an energetic, happy little dog. The next day she didn't even play. We didn't know that this product would do this! We do now, and like you we are telling people about it. We contacted Sergeant's and ask for their help with a neurological consultation, they told us to send them some information and we did, as did our vet, we never heard from them again. To me they are heartless and they let my Babygirl Princess die. Please anyone reading this, don't buy any product off the discount store shelf, go to your vet. I talked to the store where I purchased the PreTect about what happened, they aren't removing it. They said they would have to have so many instances where it had caused harm or death and right now mine is the only one. I have talked to several vets in my area and they said that they see several a year where the pet gets sick or dies. It's not just dogs, its cats also. When I read that your dog recovered, I was so happy. Please pray for me, I can't stop crying, she was truly my baby girl, I have no children, so as with many couples who don't have children, their pets become their babies. My arms and heart feel so empty right now. I want another little Maltese, but she will never ever replace my little Princess in my heart.
Thank You For Listening,
Princesses' Mommy & Daddy 3/16/05
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Thanks very much for your website. I'd like to relate an incident, which regrettably, I had a part in. I'm a physician from the Philippines, and my beloved 6-year old Shih Tzu-terrier breed named Fruitcake (no, she's not gay) had been having an infestation of ticks, and I decided to apply Zodiac Fleatrol ointment for dogs (which I was to learn later, contained permethrin) and I followed dutifully the instructions on the package.
Around three to four hours after, Fruitcake started to vomit and have diarrhea and did not eat very well for around 2 days. We visited a local vet who attributed the symptoms to an adverse reaction with the tick ointment. Later, my husband and I did some Web searching and ran across your site.
Permethrin is a dangerous insecticide, a representative of a chemical family generally known as organophosphate; I have personally treated suicidal patients who ingested large doses of permethrin (around 1/2 to 1 bottle of bug spray), and they also exhibit the same symptoms described as those in your website (vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, ataxia). Pesticide poisoning is a very serious problem around here. Two weeks ago, pesticides probably related to permethrin found their way into cooked sweet potatoes served to schoolchildren in Bohol, a province of the Philippines. Around seventy children died.
Fruitcake is now eating well and has no diarrhea; Although she's none the worse for her experience, I also feel guilty for putting her through it. As per the advice given in your site, we scrubbed her down with detergent soap, which incidentally, we also do in humans poisoned with pesticide. Her tests revealed some acute liver damage, but hopefully, it won't be too long before it resolves.
I am appalled that such a product for pets is still continuing to be marketed; were this a drug for humans, it would have been INSTANTLY taken off the market. We laud your continuing efforts for trying to bring this issue to pet owners' attention and prevent needless suffering for pets and owners alike.
Jane Frances Estrella, MD 3/19/05
Laguna, Philippines
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My cocker spaniel had ear ticks and I ordered some earmitide from a company that puts out a catalogue of products for dog care. I followed the directions and 3 days afterward my dog had a seizure but survived. I have contacted the seller and will call the Nat pesticide info center. I am glad your web site exists.
Kathleen 3/22/05
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Thank you for your very thoughtful website. I was just trying to figure out what to do about flea and tick prevention for the summer so I was reading up about the available products. Bio spot sounded pretty good until I read your story. I had and American Eskimo that I had given Frontline to for 2 summers. The third summer is when I guess she just couldn't handle it it any more. Within maybe 7 hours of applying it she started to act anxious and jumpy. As the days went by, the only way I can explain it is like she was a dog on speed in a thunderstorm. She paced, she jumped, she ran into walls, she fell down the stairs, she would hang her head in exhaustion, but couldn't fall asleep...she'd immediately jump up and run into something. She tried to hide her head behind the toilet and other strange places. The next day I called poison control because it was a Sunday and my vet wasn't available. They said to wash her 2x a day until the chemicals washed out of her skin. She was like this for 2 weeks. Her brother also had an allergic reaction to the Frontline the summer before. They thought he had a brain tumor. I guessed it was the Frontline.
She later did contract Lyme Disease and came up lame until I got her the antibiotic treatment. We live amongst the Deer Ticks here in Rockport, MA.
So I'd like to go the natural route with this new dog of ours—a rescue from the south, but I just wonder if garlic, vitamin B, and Brewer's yeast will do the trick. (Oh yea, lemon washes and apple cider vinegar too)
I'm looking for serious solutions that won't hurt my dog. Again thanks for posting your story. I'll be keeping away from Bio Spot and Frontline now!
Jean 3/22/05
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I haven't even looked over your site or posts yet because I wanted to say things unbiased. I would have to look up the exact dates, but my dog got a nasty skin rash from me spraying biospot on him last summer I think. I am pretty sure I contacted Farnam about it at the time. A day or so following applying the spray my dog - an Akita-Husky mix 85 lb. male started itching badly. He developed a bullseye like rash that would bleed. I thought he might have something like Lyme disease, but test cleared him of tick diseases. One morning I woke up and looked down at him and there was about a golf ball size blood spot on top of his white furred head! I should have been more cautious when the product said if humans get on them to wash immediately. How could that be safe for dogs then?
Todd 3/29/05
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I bought some Frontline Plus from my vet and put it on my Boston Terrier. Within two days she broke out in big sores. Others who have used the plain Frontline on their BTs have not had any problems.We control the fleas in our yard with just plain household lime. It is safe, and also good for the grass. We sprinkle it on the grass and in the flower beds, and then spray it with water. The only reason I put the Frontline Plus on my dog was because we were headed for Tenn. for a visit.
Mary 3/30/05
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DISCLAIMER: Below are messages that I have received from others whose dogs and cats experienced adverse reactions after using flea control products. I have no way of knowing if the information in these messages is factual, or if the products they used were the actual cause of the adverse reactions.
