Message Board
Search
January 2007
We have a cross collie aged 7 years, she was a fit and active dog until November 06. We bought frontline spot flea treatment after we suspected she had fleas, prior to this we had never used anything. About a few days later we noticed she was retching and seemed to have breathing difficulties. We took her to the vet and he prescribed antibiotics. She never picked up and generally deteoriated, she wasn't eating, looked depressed and was lethargic. We took her back to the vet and he prescribed more antibiotics and did a chest x ray which he said was okay. It is now about 10 weeks since she had the flea treatment and she has lost a lot of weight, my hub and I went on the internet and found your website, we think she has had an adverse reaction to the flea treatment. The vet never mentioned she could have had a reaction, we couldn't understand why she wasn't getting any better. We shall be taking her back tomorrow to see what he thinks. Thanks for the information, we will let you know how we get on.
Lauraine 1/3/07
***********************************************************************************
I had five indoor cats and never had any flea problems until the fall of 2005 following my having brought a rescue (cat) into my home. I purchased Advantage through a veterinarian - one of my cats suffered a most horrible death following my using Advantage. She went into seizures, hypersalavation and other gruesome side affects. I rushed her to an emergency clinic than a regular animal hospital - I got a $1000 vet bill, the cold shoulder from Bayer (In all my years as a consumer I have never come into contact with such a cold hearted rude bunch of individuals) and her handed back to me in a jar. I am still haunted by the images of her passing and grieve her so. To this day there has been no resolve or closure as Bayer refuses to admit their product has ever caused any problems. I have found web sites relating my experience and other Bayer horrors - but they continue on as they did during the Third Reich (they had their own slave labor/concentration camps) doing whatever they please to who ever they please.
Cindy 1/12/07
***********************************************************************************
I have 3 dogs, Max a Golden-Retriever Collie mix, Jake a Cairn Terrior and Milo a Chihuahua. We have never had flea problems in my house or with any of my dogs until Milo. He would sometimes have one or two fleas on him. I would give him a flea bath with Sergeant's flea shampoo. It would kill the fleas on him but not for long. He never had any reactions to the flea bath. This went on for awhile, fleas. bath. fleas bath. He sleeps in my room, since I bought him and my other dogs sleep downstairs, which are my parents. I noticed I was getting bug bites, even in the winter.
I had enough. I headed to Petco on Thursday January 11th and decided to try something different to help with the fleas. I purchased Zodiac Capret Powder and Bio Spot flea and Tick Treatment for 15-33 pound dogs. I came home and put some of the powder on my carpet, then I read that it said leave on for 60 minutes or even 24 hours. This stuff smelt horrible. I vacuumed it up right away and put febreze on my rug to get rid of the smell. Opened all the windows since I have 3 parakeets that also live in my room. (the birds were out of my room before I put the Zodiac down) I then decided if I already put some down, I might as well do the whole rug.
After I powdered the carpet I gave Milo a bath with the Sergeant's combined with dish soap. Later that night around 11 I put the Bio Spot on him. It smelled awful. I went to bed.
The next day when I came home from work I noticed he was scratching and rolling and rubbing everywhere, every 2 minutes. I was really nervous, given the warning my parents gave me on using these products. I only thought it was because they are very healthy, all natural type or people.
Soon he began rolling on his back and whimpering, crying. I decided to give him a bath and get it off of him. I then went searching about Bio Spot. I came across your website and heard all the awful stories, I wiped Milo down with a wet washcloth again and put some lotion on his back for the itching. He is still eating and drinking and not showing any other signs besides the itching, scratching and biting.
I am going to keep a close eye on him and give him another bath tomorrow. He will be sleeping right next to me tonight and I will have the 24 hour vet's number next to my bed. I am so upset that I didnt research this product and its potential dangers before I used it. I will NEVER use any of these products EVER again. I am spreading the word as we speak. Its only been 20 hours since I put the Bio Spot on and then took it off. Hopefully he will be alright.
Thank you for having this website. I will be posting it everywhere.
Amanda 1/13/07.
***********************************************************************************
Most of these products are not regulated by the FDA or EPA. They are manufactured in Germany and other foreign countries. The EPA considers them pesticides. My sister's cat recently died from Advantage. Her vet just couldn't believe that this was the cause. Imagine going to the vet with a simple flea problem and end up with a severely suffering cat who later died the next day. Contact 1-888-FDA-VETS or 1-800-858-7378 to report these terrible reactions. I am throwing all these so-called meds out.
Anonymous 1/13/07
***********************************************************************************
My husband used Bio Spot on our Airedale terrier 2 years ago. He developed 2nd degree chemical burns on his back, and his kidneys temporarily failed. He eventually healed with extensive scarring on his back/spine area. His hair did not grow back. This area on his back is now very sensitive to almost any irritant. Today, he began to blister and bleed again. We are off to the Vet on an emergency basis. If anyone has any ideas about how to treat my Jazz, so that he doesn't suffer from this malady on a recurring basis, I would appreciate knowing. Thanks.
Frances 1/20/07
Frances.Catron@usdoj.gov
***********************************************************************************
On 1/12/2007 after applying bio-spot stipe flea control for cats on my cat Camille, she became violently ill with convulsions. I took my cat immediately to the vet where they diagnosed her with a reaction to the recently applied flea medication. My cat was treated at the vet and transfered to an emergency vet clinic for over night care. With an already compromised kidney condition lets see how many years this shaves off her lifetime. I bought this product from Petco, after the manager there claimed it was a safer, more gentle flea control for cats. HA what a lie. The vet has seen so many of these cases that my cat was diagnosed immediately. It is sick that this company can sell poison to people and it is acceptable. Something must be done! Petco should have put its foot down and said no to selling this known toxin.
Anna 1/23/06
Here [below] is the reaction I received from Sherri Pike. How can we stop this? Call the Governor? The EPA was unimpressed. So we will see where this goes. If I have to I will bring Petco and Farnam in to small claims. Here in Ca, that would cost them more than I am asking for. Let me know if there is any letter writing or contacts that I can write to help get this off the shelf.
Camille thankfully is purring on my lap. Thank god for small miracles.
Anna 1/25/06
Dear Ms. [deleted],
We are sorry to learn of your experience and for what Camille has been through. Please note that there are no ingredients in the Bio Spot Stripe-On Flea Control for Cats that would cause convulsions. In order for Farnam to investigate this occurrence and consider reimbursement for your veterinarian expenses you will need to provide all of the following.
1. Copy of store receipt for the purchase of the Bio Spot.
2. The package, remaining tube and wipe as well as the empty tube that was applied.
3. Copy of the "itemized veterinarian bills" from both clinics.
4. Copy of the "Medical records" from both clinics. (These are the notes taken by the medical staff at the time of treatment).
Please mail all the above to Farnam Companies, Inc. at the address below, ATTN: RISK MANAGEMENT. They will be reviewed upon receipt. Again, we are sorry for what you and Camille have been through and do appreciate you reporting this incident.
Sincerely,
Sherri Pike
Technical Affairs Manager
Farnam Companies, Inc.
P.O. Box 34820
Phoenix, AZ 85067
***********************************************************************************
I recently discovered that my indoor cat had fleas. It's her first time in 8 years, and I was shocked. Before purchasing any chemical products, I searched online for side effects and I came across your website. I think what you're doing is great, and it made me think and ask questions before I used any chemical products. I did end up purchasing Advantage for my cat, after a discussion with the vet of the possible side effects and after reviewing the packaging, as instructed by the EPA, to make sure the product was not bootlegged. I also put the Advantage on her right before the weekend, so we could watch her closely for any side effects. Of course, we had to buy a 3-month supply, but I'm determined only to use it for one month.
Several days after using the Advantage, I noticed that there were still fleas on my cat. I realized that we also have fleas in our carpets that we need to get rid of, or I would have to continue using Advantage. For that reason, I started researching non-chemical alternatives for flea control and found some things that I thought were worth sharing. First, I found some discussions on fleas at www.thriftyfun.com (search for answers: fleas) where readers from New Zealand and Australia said they add a small amount of white vinegar to their dog's water and give their cats odorless garlic tablets to keep fleas away- they said fleas find the "flavor" of garlic and vinegar repulsive. I did not try this- I think my cat would reject vinegar or garlic- and before anyone tries it, they should check with their vet. But if it does work and it's not harmful, what a great non-chemical (not to mention cheap) way to keep our pets flea-free! Also, someone from the Spay/Neuter Incentive Project posted a long message with lots of herbal flea and tick remedies- including an herbal, homemade flea collar and a method of ridding your yard of fleas using diatomaceous earth. Again, I would check with your vet first before trying those remedies, just in case.
What I did try- that I think worked- was misting the carpet with vinegar. Before our flea problem, I had read somewhere that white distilled vinegar worked as a non-chemical fabric freshener (an alternative to products like Febreeze, etc.). I hadn't tried it, but when I read those discussions about fleas disliking the taste of vinegar, I thought I might try it- for flea purposes as well as freshening purposes. Each day for 3 days, I spritzed the carpets and furniture with vinegar, let it dry, then vacuumed. I was careful to get under furniture like couches and beds. After that, I combed my cat with a flea comb and flushed any fleas that I found down the toilet (I was surprised that I was still finding them 2 weeks after we put the Advantage on, but I'm guessing they were coming from carpet). I'm happy to say that I think we're flea-free. Our furry girl isn't scratching anymore, and a week later I haven't found any fleas in the vacuum. The best news is - I don't have to use another dose of Advantage on her (next week will be one month after her first dose).
(FYI, the vinegar smell only lasts a few hours and it did not discolor the carpet or make it sticky.)
I can't be sure exactly what eradicated the fleas and I certainly can't say that the process I used didn't require effort, but I think the effort and time I put in was easier on me than the constant worry that my cat was going to get sick- or worse- from the Advantage.
Thank you again for posting a website with information and stories that make people think and ask questions before they put poisons on their pets. I sincerely hope that some of the non-chemical alternatives mentioned above work for other people so they don't have to use pesticides.
Denise 1/26/07
***********************************************************************************
Eight days ago my husband applied Sergeant's Flea and Tick medicine to the back of our cat's neck. Cailean is five years old, has never been outside, and is extremely loving. (We were using the medicine as a back-up because we take our dog outside for walks and his groomer recently found some fleas on him due to the fact that we have had a very mild winter). So the medicine was applied on Wednesday. Friday evening both Cailean and our dog was sleeping in bed with me and she was purring away. Four hours later my husband arrives home from work and we hear this awful noise coming from the kitchen. The cat was freaking out, growling and hissing at our dog (whom she has been living with now for 5 years). We have two small children so we eventually got her in a crate (after she attempted to bite my husband) and the next day called our vet and brought her in. They gave her a shot of Benadryl and some other medications and said she should be fine within the next few days. It has been six days and last night she started again, growling and hissing, looking very frightened. We have her crated again and are probably going to take her back to the vet on Monday. They told us that we should never buy any of those medications from places like Wal-Mart, PetSmart, etc. They are unsafe and need to be pulled from the market...SO WHY HAVEN'T THEY BEEN?!?!? I am praying that we are able to work through this with Cailean and that here soon the toxins will be out of her system and she will be ok. Hopefully she doesn't have any permanent neurological problems. I can't believe that a perfectly healthy and very loving cat all of the sudden could turn like that because of flea medicine. We will NEVER use any form of liquid flea medications (or flea collars for that matter) on our animals again!
Cynthia 1/25/07
***********************************************************************************
Oh vey all these heart breaking stories have gotten me down. :( But I am really glad that your website exists. I found a number of cases that were the same exact experience I had. The love of my life, a fuzzy mutt name Kuma, started having seizures from the Frontline Plus. It took me several months to realize the correlation before I cut him off from any pesticide based flea treatment.
One of the remarks on your site from a woman stated: "A cumulative toxic effect that won't be apparent with the first application." --This makes A LOT of sense to me. For the first 3 years of Kuma's life he lived with me in Hollywood / Los Angeles, and Los Angeles has LOTS of fleas. So, when I was able to afford it, I would splurge and buy the $50 a box, Advantage to rid his fleas.
But a year or so later, with moving around and in changing careers to work with animals, I switched all the dogs over to Frontline Plus. I don't know the time lapse or the exact periods of time in between, but I do know that Kuma suddenly started having seizures and IT SCARED ME TO DEATH. All my other dogs were fine, it was just Kuma who was affected. A perfectly lively & playful, energetic dog that suddenly started having once monthly seizures, sometimes twice per month, for no known reason. So, I started taking him to vets and paying lots of money (that I didn't have at the time, for tests.) The tests all came back clean. He seemed healthy.
The very first love of my life, was a Chihuahua named Misha that I grew up with, who suffered from severe epilepsy his entire life (for natural reasons not chemicals), and as a child I had to helplessly endure watching Misha have hundreds of them his entire life. So, seeing Kuma the same way, rushed all of that pain back into my life.
I don't know how long it took me to put two and two together,before I finally realized the topical flea treatment was causing them. One day when I woke up and had my light bulb moment, I realized, hmm... soon after I give Kuma his monthly flea treatment he has seizures. I am sure it wasn't that obvious but once I realized it, I was sure the Frontline was the reason! When I asked my vet if one caused the other he said that it couldn't and that Frontline Plus and Advantage were completely safe.
How hard is it NOT to trust a licensed vet who went to medical school for years and years? In comparison, I was only a life time animal lover but had only two years of college experience, so when a vet did not concur, it was very frustrating and hard to justify that I knew something he didn't!! I even went to a different vet and he said that the flea treament was "perfectly safe." Well, I decided to stop giving Kuma topical flea treament on my own. And guess what? He has not had a seizure or issue in almost two years! Hmm, what an odd coincidence.
My story isn't any more radical or special than any of the others on your website, although it is as equally concerning. But what makes my case just a tad different is that my dog Kuma, is a highly experienced animal actor in Hollywood. He has been in 4 National TV commercials, over a dozen movie-of-the-week films, 3 studio films, and dozens of professional print ads.
And can you believe that just last week I received a call from another company and they wanted to see if Kuma could "scratch a flea" on cue. And do you know what it was for? A Frontline commercial!! It is one of the few movie behaviors that Kuma does not have trained on him, but even if he did, I would have passed on it. Sadly, I often work with the animal supplier who does all those cute commercials that feature an itchy Boston Terrier and Pug. It's hard to stay objective in the Entertainment industry, because a lot of situations like this come up when it's about money vs. your morals. But to my own credit, I would rather speak out against the dangers that exist in topical flea treaments then to get paid to promote it.
For starters the product boxes should be seriously modified, and the "other ingredients" should be listed one by one. And then they should pull all these flea products from the shelves of everyday pet stores. Do you know that I can now run down to my local pet store and purchase Advantage, Frontline Plus, or any other brand without a vet's approval? They sell this poison over the counter in my city! I just think that is crazy.
Anyway, it is very late. I was up for HOURS reading the stories off of your site and crying from many of them. If there was a way I could help further, I'd like to be able to. I am throwing around some ideas in my head and hopefully more will come tomorrow once I get some sleep. But perhaps Kuma and I can use his animal actor status to help spread the word about the dangers? Let me know if you might have any ideas or feedback!
Thank you again.
Sarah 1/27/07
***********************************************************************************
On Jan. 29, 2007 we purchased bio spot for our dogs and cats. We applied it to each of our animals. While the dogs had no ill effects from it our cats were a different story. Within 4 hours of applying bio spot one of our cats began to stagger around as if drunk. Wasn't too long until she began to shake and have convulsions while foaming at the mouth. We rushed her to our vet. A few hours later we rushed our other cat up to the vet as well. Both cats were sedated to keep them calm. The call came yesterday that our first cat did not make it. She had a heart attack from the chemical in her system. The vet said it was directly related to the bio spot. Our other cat remains at the vet. Today he called and said the the cat was no longer having seizures but was unresponsive to the light he used to check for pupil dialation. The vet was administering stimulants in small doses as well as barbituits (spelling) in order to bring the cat around slowly. So far our baby has not waken up. We are so heartbroken over the loss of our first cat. To lose this one as well will totally devastate us. The vet said the next 12 to 16 hours are crucial to being able to tell if there is any brain/organ damage. He also informed us that he would call if the cat had any changes. So far we have not received that call. We don't hold out much hope. I cannot believe that bio spot is even on the market. I feel so guilty having given it to my pets. I wish I had known about this product before my vet told me about it. We thought for sure if it was an over the counter med it was safe.
Missing our babies in Pennsylvania,
Ken and Chiryl 1/31/07
Thank you so much for your site. I will most definitely be contacting the bio spot company. We recieved a call this morning informing us that our other cat has passed away. The vet said he could actually smell the chemical coming from his body after he passed. A black cloud hangs over our home. Our Abbey and Missy were loved very much. While bio spot could reimburse us for our loss, they can never bring back the love and sunshine our babies brought into our lives. We are crushed!
Again, thank you so much for your concern and your site. We have been telling everyone with or even thinking about getting pets about the dangers of bio spot. I will begin referring them to your site. Your sites web address is one that I will carry in my purse directly beside my organ donor card. I will hand the web address out to all I know Yes, it is that important for folks to know about the dangers of these products. God bless your site. It was a too late for my pets but if it saves one person the heartache we endured this week it will be worth it.
Ken and Chiryl 2/1/07
Copyright © 2002-2009 BioSpotVictims.org All rights reserved.
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.
