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March 2006
My Chloe had similar episodes, of which I was sure it was caused by the flea & tick meds, the vet had changed to another one - Revolution - and she had a bad result, of which I'm sure it was caused by the Revolution - we live in Florida, so what should we do. She is not an outside dog, she's little 11 lbs, what else can we use in place of Advantix, or can we simply cut down and apply every other month or only in the hot summer months. We experienced the same as you did, to the vet all ok with the blood work, etc. I am very against all the meds put out for this problem and am at a loss of what to do to ensure my dog's safety. Any suggestions! I thought your article was excellent and very to the truth of which I experienced with my Chloe.
Marion 3/4/06
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I read Dr. Fox article in News-press. One of our dog has a seizures a couple of times a month. I never suspected biospot is causing these.
Yoshimi 3/8/06
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I returned to Ohio in 1993 with my now 20 year old tabby. Three years married, added a 12 year old cat. Never had fleas till we found a dog. Last 2 years have been hell. I've used most of the products mentioned. I was researching Frontline when I came across your very educational site. I now have 2 cats locked in the laundry room x 2 months, for using the dining room as a litter box. My 20 year old cat, who actually saved my life, woke me from a deep sleep from a slow propane leak in a motor home. She still has occasional seizures, now I know that I caused them, right after I'm done here I'm taking the flea collar off. I want her to be healthy for the next 20 years. I've researched natural pest control and decided to try "diatomaceous earth" next.
http://www.hydromall.com/happy_grower16.html This place even has applications and dosages. I can't figure out why we would want to eat something with "earth" in the title. But being a newlywed, I've probably eaten worse. Just don't tell my wife if it's low fat, or carb-free.
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/ProductDetails.asp?
ProductCode=999012&Show=ExtInfo This place seems perfect for small amounts specifically packaged for animals. I would need more for carpets or yards.
http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/productcart/pc/
viewPrd.asp?idcategory=11&idproduct=39 This site advertises food grade quality, 5lb for $10, I'll check Wal-Mart tomorrow and re-post if I find anything different.
1. Don't breathe, if it's bad for me I'd have to put a pillowcase over the critters heads or my head or something, probably not in the eyes either. Looks like the blind sprinkling the blind. Should be interesting.
2. From my days as a roadie for the band Lazer at the Youngstown Agora I remember throwing dry ice in a machine with warm water and blowing fog, but don't remember much else (free beer). Does anyone know if fleas react to cold and extreme moisture. It might be dangerous, what if the Stones come on the radio, I could just imagine 1000 little flea lighters and a visit from the fire dept.
3. Everyday my wife and I compete in a flea olympics. Dogs: brush against the fur and dab everything that moves with a little vaseline. this freezes the fleas, pick off and make happy face patterns on toliet paper, then taunt the fleas and give them a ride on the porcelain bus. Cats fur is too thick and teeth too sharp for this "natural method."
Happy Hunting,
Jeff 3/8/06
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Hello. I saw an article in our local Springfield MO newspaper vet (Dr Michael Fox) column. Regarding the risks of using pet insecticides on your dogs and cats. A month ago our neutered male cat just stopped eating. He spent a week at our vets and they tested him for everything. Liver, kidney, f.leukemia, feline sore mouth etc. They (3 Vets) were just stumped as to what was wrong. They finally concluded that he had idiopathic anorexia. When I saw this column today it dawned on me that I applied the Flea and Tick stuff from Frontline to the back of his neck as instructed by the directions on the pkg. Could this be the cause of him not eating? One thing I find really strange is that his pupils are huge. Only about 1.16th of an inch of iris showing and if he goes outside in the light he can't keep his eyes open. He seems depressed, although he likes our company wants us to pet him and he purrs. Doesn't groom much if at all.
Sandy 3/9/06
Well we finally got a diagnosis on our cat. He saw a neurologist. They went to the university and they found a brain tumor. Of course that couldn't happen in 1 day.(after the Frontline). They (the vets) said that it was a fast growing but could have been there awhile and then just grew enough to block those nerves that tell you that you are hungry and it's also in the area that controls the eyes dilating. With lights shining in his eyes they never reacted and there was no retinal damage anywhere. His liver kidney tests were redone and they all said that his body is healthy. Just a note and you might already know this, but I found a website for feline anorexia and one lady had luck with heating the food slightly and feeding her cat from a spoon. I think they react to the smell and eat because of habit of you smell then you eat reflex. So far it has worked. He's not pigging out but he went from 1 tablespoon a day to 3. We will make him comfortable and so far he is happy and wanting to be around us for his much loved petting. Again I thank you for your time.
Sandy 3/10/06
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We just discovered your web site from the Naples Daily News in Florida. We would like to tell you our experience with REVOLUTION.
We live in Canada and have 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels ages 8 & 10. They were given REVOLUTION for 6 months each year until we began coming to Florida when our Vet recommended giving it to them all year long. Last May 2005 after their first full year on REVOLUTION our youngest dog, then 7yrs began having seizures. He was previously very heathly and blood tests showed no problems. The Vet put him on Phenobarbital and has increased the dosage 4 times, after seizures re-occured. He now has problems with his skin along his back and is losing hair.
After reading the accounts from other pet owners on your website we are now convinced that REVOLUTION has caused these problems.
Our older dog has developed lumps on her breast bone over the last few months and her head sometimes shakes similar to Parkinsons.
Our dogs are fed only natural food with no preservatives. (California Natural)
Our previous dog, a golden retreiver, died of skin cancer at age 7, he had been on HEARTGUARD. Now we wonder if that was the cause.
Thank you for starting the web site, as all of this information seems to support something our daughter has been telling us for a long time, that she uses only natural food and medicines in the upkeep of her black Lab, and she seems to avoid all of the maladies that plague the pet world.
Cindy 3/9/06
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Hi James: Here's what I learned from last few days of internet research. Pls post on your website; hope it helps.
I'd like to say a huge THANKS to all who have suffered with these poisonous products. I've used most of the products mentioned over the past 24 years on dogs and cats, but NO LONGER WILL! My animals have never had seizures (thankfully), but one otherwise healthy-as-a-horse birddog with no other symptoms of "disease" died @ age 9 from huge recurring funky-looking "tumors" all over his body/had them removed several times but kept coming back ...vet said it was "prostate cancer" on him. BULL!! (Thanks to Frontline Plus and Heartgard Plus for more than likely killing him.) Also have a 14 year-old Tabby cat (has been 3-legged for past 9 years when wild dogs cornered her and ripped off one of her front legs) ..... OTHERWISE, since then has lived her life as fearlesslly as "hell on wheels!" Otherwise, QUITE healthy, she is now in stages of diagnosed kidney failure; my daughter gives her subcutaneous fluids twice a week to keep her hydrated. She had been on the liquid form of "Program" applied to food her whole life. She had also been on Rx for arthritis but vet recently replaced that with one quarter baby aspirin every 2 days and she's much more alert (cheaper too!).
My internet research over past few days has produced the fol results. I plan to NEVER POISON MY PETS AGAIN!!!!!!! but will use the fol healthier products for flea/tick/worm/parasite control: Flea powder from 100% Pyrethrum flowers (from chrysthanthemums); Diatomaceous Earth (not "earth" but microscopic shells from one-cell plants called diatoms that puncture the insect's exoskeleton & kill it!); Herbal Oil applied to a cotton Flea Collar; 3 varities of Herbal formula powder and capsules (contains brewer's yeast, garlic, diat. earth, etc.....) opened and added to their food; High quality multi-vitamin; and Natural Flea & Tick Drops, more herbal oils for collar probably. May sound like alot but it's no more than what the other products cost over a year...I'm just getting my supplies to get started ahead of time for the flea season! Don't know how often I'll have to apply this stuff but I don't intend on having emergency vet bills and horrific stories! Plan: I will apply as dry to their coats the dry flea powder and diat. earth; plus wear the cotton collar with herbal oils to continue to repel; make pet as healthy as possible with the vitamins and herbs etc added to their food (to further repel insect attack). Also, diat. earth is safely and effectively used on plants, veg, lawn and pet bedding as well! Since diat. earth is supposed to repel all worms and parasites, I will no longer use (poisonous) heartworm Rx, but will have the annual test done to check for the miniscule chance that my healthy pet gets bitten by a mosquito carrying this worm and doesn't fight it off.
Here are the internet sites I ordered this stuff from: naturalanimal.com; gardenharvestsupply.com (has "food grade" diat. earth vs "filter" grade that contains impurities); holisticvetpetcare.net (a fantastic site!!); jefferspet.com (best prices); petmedstore.com; and totaldiscountvitamins.com.
The only way to HOPEFULLY make sure you're getting the ingredients listed in herbals and vitamins, is to use a reputable company. The last site I listed also carries vitamins for people that are high quality and that I use. I'm NOT a medical person and have no connection to any of these sites, but I am also NOT AN IDIOT, and I refuse to blindly believe stuff from pharmaceutical or chemical companies that makes NO LOGICAL SENSE! Hope this info helps; there is a HUGE amount of helpful info on these sites! One last tidbit: per info from Adamspetsupplies.com, Frontline Plus kills fleas for 3 (THREE!) months and ticks for 1 (ONE) ... draw your own conclusions! Also, a clerk at vet told me the MAX effective time for Heartgard Plus is 60 (SIXTY) days...not 30.....again, draw own conclusions! INFO IS POWER!!!!!!
Jan 3/9/06
It's best to research all flea and tick products - whether they are "all natural" or synthetic - before using them. Some may be okay for a dog, but toxic for cats. For example, I have read that cats should avoid essential oils because they have difficulty metabolizing them. I have also read that diatomaceous earthcan be irritating to the lungs (you should also avoid contact with the eyes) and it should NOT be used directly on pets. Diatomaceous earth may be effective against some internal parasites, but I don't believe it can prevent or kill heartworms (since they are in the bloodstream). Also, do NOT use the type of diatomaceous earth sold for swimming pool filters. It is ground very fine and the tiny particles can be breathed into the lungs and cause chronic inflamation.
Once again, it's best to research ALL flea and tick products - whether they are "all natural" or synthetic - before using them!!!
James TerBush
Hi James: Pls post this updated info to your website to be used with my earlier msg. Thanks also, for clarifying my info on essential oils and cats since my info was about dogs only and it could have been misinterpreted. My further research has led me to the all raw meat and veggie diet for cats and dogs, which may be the best and simplest approach after all.
The site is www.pet-grub.com; the author's info is based on many sources plus her own pets' positive reactions and health improvements with this diet. This one sentence speaks volumes about the pet and pet owner's fight against fleas: "a flea's natural purpose is to suck blood out of an animal's dead body/carcass"..... The more "toxic" a pet is (aka "dead"), the more likely it will attract fleas! Whether it's in a bag or a can, commercial dog food is mainly cereal, which is NOT a natural diet for carnivores (meat-eating cats and dogs)!
Another point from this site that should be noted is that BREWER'S YEAST, GARLIC and ESSENTIAL OILS that are SO widely touted in so many products and by so many companies to help ward off fleas, have their own problems: B.YEAST is not well digested by carnivores; GARLIC's appeal to repel fleas is because of its high SULFUR content but can be poisonous in "large doses"; certain of the Essentail Oils on the dog collars are poisonous even for dogs (ie., pennyroyal)........!!
It just AMAZES me that companies can produce, tout and sell these products as healthy alternatives. Where is the research dep't?!!! It is definitely a "buyer beware" market, regardless of the product! The raw diet's appeal that replaces the touted b.yeast and garlic is that sulfur can be incorporated into pet's diet by feeding certain veggies (site's author gives great info on this!) and the raw meat replaces the B vitamins offered by b. yeast. If you're thinking "I don't even like some of these veggies, and I know my pet never will either!", they may surprise you! Don't worry: the prep is to grind and mix everything together into a "stew consistency" so it's just like hiding nutrition in foods for kids!! So the search for "TRUTH" continues!
Jan 3/22/06
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I have a 3 year old cat that we have always used Advantage on... until this last time. I was in the grocery store and in a rush and short on money so I decided that Sergeants gold flea drops would be alright this time. Well I was wrong. I put it on him that night, the next morning I woke up to find cat hair all over the place in big clumps. The back of his neck was completely white (he is a solid black cat)! He lost all of his hair where I put the product! I called the Vet to ask what could be the matter with him, still not associating the Sergeants to the problem, and the Vet asked me if I had put anything on him to have a reaction in that spot. When I told her yes and what it was she said to wash the cat immediately! That it is very common with Sergeants flea drops to do that and it is like poison to some cats. If you are reading this and love your animal only half as much as my family and I do, than do not compromise in price and please do not put this poison on your animal.
Stacey 3/24/06
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I have two wonderful chocolate labs who are now about a year and a half old. I'm trying to figure out what to do about flea and tick control after reading your website for the thick end of an hour. We've used most of the major (read: expensive) flea/tick products over the course of their time with us, including Advantage, Frontline, and K9 Advantix. Neither dog has ever had an adverse reaction (thank God), but I'm not positive that it won't build up to cause problems down the line, or that they could develop a reaction later in life. I'm always careful to follow directions, we always take them on a walk right away so they can disperse the meds by movement, and we make sure we don't do the treatment on a day when they'll be spending a lot of time crated up together, with a chance to lick each other's fur. That said, they always ingest at least a little of each other's drops, and like I said before they haven't had any reactions, not even lethargy or thirst. After reading so many sad stories, I'm counting my blessings.
My question, then, is what I'm supposed to do if the pesticide-based treatments are a bad idea. I have a fairly small backyard where they spend time and do their business, and it's not really practical to treat the whole thing with sulfur since it's so close to all our windows. Also, when we want to give them a good run, we have to use public parks, so we can't really limit their potential exposure to insects. We need something to protect them.
The reason it's such a big concern is, when we first got our boys, they had a third brother, all from the same litter -- I know, it sounds nuts, but my wife talked me into it and we loved all three of them like crazy. Long story short, their brother died from complications of a huge intestinal infestation. It was probably the most heartbreaking thing that has ever happened to my wife and I. It was all because of worms, and some worms can be transmitted by insect bite. So you see my conundrum: do we treat them and risk pesticide poisoning, or not treat them and risk infestation? If we treat them, what's the safest? We couldn't bear to go through another loss due to worm infestation.
I think you should put some kind of note on your site about the dangers of *not* treating pets. It's important to know all the facts -- like that worms can be fatal too.
James 3/29/06
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Bio Spot poisoned my cat!
I noticed a flea on one of my dogs, so I decided to bathe and flea treat all of my pets. One of my 3 pets is a fat, sweet, black and white cat named Miss Kitty. Well, the day after I treated her, she came into the house having tremors! I watched her for a few minutes, then saw her licking her back where Bio Spot had been applied. It was after 6:00, my regular vet was closed and there is no emergency vet clinic in my area. Thank God for your web-site and the advice it offers! It saved her life. I immediately and thoroughly washed her with Dawn dish soap in a deep tub of warm water. It was, however, too late. She went downhill from there. Within the hour, Miss Kitty couldn't walk. She could only scoot backwards on the floor. Her eyes were completely dilated. She panted heavily and shook with tremors. Her nervous system was affected. I put her in a dark quiet room and gave her water to drink often with a large syringe. She lost control of her bladder several times. I felt it was a good thing because I hoped it would flush the poison from her body. Her condition considerably worsened through the night. By 3:00am, she was shaking violently, exhausted, and unable to sleep. The saddest thing is that, despite her pain, she would purr when I petted her and still respond with small meows when I would say her name. I know she was aware I was there, she just had no control over her body. I cried and felt so guilty that I had poisoned my healthy happy cat. By morning, Miss Kitty was completely exhausted. Once, in my husbands arms, her tremors stopped briefly. We thought Miss Kitty had died.
Well, it's been four day's now. Miss Kitty lived! She is eating on her own again. She still shakes some and is weak. She is not walking as well as she did, but at least she can walk. I don't know if she will ever totally recover, but she is alive.
I have used that type of flea product only once before. Last year, I used Frontline on my dogs and Miss Kitty and had no problem, but I will never use that type of product ever again. I'd much rather have the fleas.
If there is ever a class action suit against Farnam for selling Bio Spot to the public, I want to be on the list. I want to see them out of business!
Thank You,
Melissa V. 3/29/06
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Last year I used the Bio Spot Flea and Tick control on my cat. It was a super horrible experience!! I am a nurse and knew I had a major problem and called the vet on call, it was Saturday. He knew immediately what the problem was. She was having seizures and was comatose, unable to meow. I immediately bathed her in the bathtub and started forcing fluids with a dropper. This went on for twenty four hours before I felt she was going to make it. On Monday my personal vet saw her. The vets were in agreement that Bio Spot has killed animals and caused neurological problems. I contacted the manufacture and got an empty promise, nothing has changed. I contacted Pet Depot where I had purchased the product. They promised to take it off the shelf. Nothing has been changed. I would never buy another flea control except from my vet. My cat is okay now but I would not have given you a penny for her life. I now also own a Shih Poo, she's ten months old. Never will I give her anything not vet ordered. Never, never Bio Spot..that crap will kill your pets...
Jj Hall - Alabama 3/31/06
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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.
