Disaster in a Can
Written By Staff Contributer: Theresa Chaze
Most cat and dog owners have heard stories of how dangerous
over the counter flea meds can be. I heard it but I never thought
it could happen to me. First I was so very careful about checking
for fleas on new cats I brought into the household and mine never
went out. But even with all my precautions, after twenty years of
being a cat caretaker, fleas made their way into my household.
After the shock wore off, I rushed to Wal-Mart for meds to take care
of the problem. I immediately applied a name brand to the back of
their necks, but after doing the more research I realized it was a
mistake. It put them at risk and they didn’t work very well.
After
a week, they were all infested again as was the carpet and the
furniture. After investigating homeopathic remedies, I decided to
use lemon juice and a flea comb. It worked fine on the cats,
however it bleached spots on the furniture. Instead for the
environment, I cleaned really well and vacuumed every day for two
weeks. I was winning the battle. But the war was still active. I
was finding less flea dirt on the cats and there wasn’t any fleas
jumping on my ankles. I lessened the vacuuming to three times a
week. After a couple weeks, there was again a major upsurge of
fleas. Frustrated, I bought a can of Zodiac carpet and upholstery
aerosol flea control. My intention was to keep up on the lemon
juice and the combing, while using the Zodiac product on the carpet
and furniture. That was a very costly and nearly fatal mistake.
Saturday night I sprayed the living room furniture and
couch. Before I could stop her Button had jumped on the couch and
curled up. Sunday mid day she started drooling uncontrollably. By
that evening, she had tremors. The middle of that night I made an
emergency call to my vet. With the information I gave him he
thought it was the flea product. I called the 800 number on the
can. The person I talked to told me the product was perfectly safe
and it had to be something else. The next morning I again called
the vet and he met us at his office. It was very nice of him to
give up his Labor Day plans. Button was very ill.
She was
disoriented, trembling, and appeared to be blind. The vet diagnosed
her as being poisoned. However, after checking the product , he
told me there wasn’t an antidote and the active ingredient was
highly toxic to cats. I didn’t understand.
The only reason I
bought the product was that it was in the cat section of Petsmart.
The best he could do is give her fluids and meds to control the
symptoms. He listed her as guarded and not to get my hopes up.
The rest of the day I did my best to keep her warm and quiet. She
didn’t know where she was and by her reaction she didn’t know me.
Most of the time, she lay staring vacating into space. That
afternoon I again called the 800 number. This time I informed the
person on the other end of my vet’s diagnosis and they took me more
seriously.
It was so very difficult for me to watch this beautiful,
lively spirit become too weak and sick to care for her own needs.
Normally she was obsessive about keeping her fur clean; the first
time I took her to the vet, she urinate all over herself out of
fear. Before the vet techs could clean her, she had done it
herself. But now she urinated on herself where ever she happened to
be and just lied in it. After the vet gave her the meds, the
drooling stopped, but her fur was all matted on her face and chest.
All Monday, she would stare into space without really seeing, being
startled by every sound. Instead of wanted to be cuddled and
petted, she cringed when she was touched. The others tried to
comfort her, but they only frightened her.
I did my best to keep
her clean and dry. But she only wanted to be left alone.
The next day she was a little better, but not much. She was
still very confused, however the tremors were gone and drooling had
almost stopped. She wasn’t eating or drinking, nor did she remember
where the litter box was. But if I put her in the box, she did
urinate and was able to get out of it herself. I took the day off
and we went back to the vet that morning. They gave her more
fluids. Her eyes were more reactive. The vet was more hopeful of
her survival, but he wasn’t sure how much nerve damage had been
done. Since the drooling had mostly stopped, he didn’t give her any
more meds.
That afternoon, she seemed a little stronger even though
she still didn’t want attention. As her eye sight cleared, she
calmed down. Late in the day, she even welcomed some affection.
Wednesday morning she woke with a respiratory infection and
again we were at the vet. He said the poison had weakened her
immune system, which is why the cold had manifested so quickly.
There was green mucus around her nose and she wheezed when she
breathed. He gave me antibiotics for her. However, he was
surprised by how quickly her system had recovered from the
poisoning.
Anyone who has given cats meds knows that it’s not something
to look forward to. The antibiotic was a pretty pink liquid that
really stood out on the carpet, walls and Button. My first attempts
were only mildly successful. She still wasn’t eating by Friday, so
back to the vet we went. He gave her an antibiotic injection and
showed me the proper way to give the meds. He made it look so
easy. Of course she was afraid of him, so she sat still. The
injection boosted her immune system and by that afternoon she was
drinking water and looking at food. But she didn`t start eating
until Saturday.
The vet also recommended Frontline for her and my
nine others. It’s what I should have done in the first place.
Saturday it was my turn to give the antibiotic. However, unlike the
vet, I had to hit a moving target. Button was feeling better and
was less inclined to be cooperative. After changing tactics and
straddling her, I was able to get the proper dosage in her. As the
days went on, I got better at it getting in it her mouth instead of
on her and she healed quickly.
Thursday of that first week, I called the main offices of
Petsmart and the Zodiac flea manufacturer. I wanted them to know
that their product was not appropriate for cats and should be placed
elsewhere. The local manager of Petsmart moved the product to
another part of the store, however the home office remained firm on
keeping the product where it was.
She kept repeating the EPA had
set the placement as if a governmental agency had control over where
a company places a product. However the last time I checked it still
hadn’t been returned to the cat aisle of the local store. The woman
I talked to from Zodiac seemed more helpful at first. She asked me
to fax diagnostic and billing information. She told me that they
would cover the vet bills. The way she made it sound as if it was a
done deal. However, the next week she asked for some of Button’s
fur and more information from the vet.
She said I had misunderstood.
Zodiac was only considering reimbursing me for the
damage their product had caused. I sent them everything they have
asked for, however it’s been over a week and I haven’t heard from
them. My phone calls have not been returned.
It’s been three weeks since Button first got ill and you
would have never known she was sick, except for the pink stains in
the carpet and the places I cut off her fur to send to Zodiac. She
has returned to being the active, fur-ball that she was before. The
Frontline has taken care of the fleas on all the cats. Diluted
Pennyroyal oil sprayed on the furniture and carpeting has cleared
them. I am grateful for the prayers friends sent on her behalf and
to the Banfield Veterinary staff.
I take responsibility for my part
in poisoning Button, however if the product hadn’t been in the cat
section or if the label had a better warning, I would not have
brought it into the household. I wish everyone who reads this to
learn from my experience.
Do not trust the over the counter meds
nor the recommendation of stores. Go to the experts. Spend the
extra money. If I had done so, Button would have been put at risk
and I wouldn’t have had spend over four hundred dollars on vet
bills.