I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but it is a pretty serious subject. Sorry if this is in the wrong place. Feel free to move it
I am posting this all over the net because I am just so pissed off right now and people need to know about this!!!
I have a kitten, a senior cat (12 years-old and my baby) and a dog whom I adore. I figured all those prescription flea and tick meds were just basically the same thing as Hartz only way over-priced, so I thought I was being clever by saving all that money using Hartz Gold on all 3 of my beloved pets. Boy was I wrong!!! Almost immediately, my oldest cat started throwing up and foaming at the mouth. Thinking she had somehow managed to ingest some of the "medication", I called the emergency number on the box. I talked to a man who said to just wash it off and give her some tuna juice to get rid of the bad taste and everything would be fine. I was relieved, but skeptical, so I Googled "Hartz Gold poisoning" and found this site with hundreds of stories of pets who have been poisoned by this product. My heart almost stopped after reading the first account of the death of someone's cat, so I immediately called the Emergency vet.
Here's how the conversation went:
Me: Hi, I just put Hartz flea medicine on my cat and...
Vet: Oh, that stuff is bad.
Me: Well, she must have ingested some of it because my cat started throwing up and now she's foaming at the mouth.
Vet: She probably didn't ingest any of the product at all. It's just THAT poisonous even when absorbed through the skin. Have the tremors started yet?
Me: No, but she's licking her chops a lot.
Vet: That's because she's nauseated. Hartz flea medicine is basically poison and can attack the nervous system, causing tremors and seizures. Pets die from it all the time.
Me (freaking out): Do I need to bring her in? Will she be o.k.?
Vet: What you need to do right now is take some Dawn soap and wash her entire body THREE TIMES, concentrating specifically on the medicated spot. She will probably be o.k., but keep a close eye on her and if she starts having any other symptoms, bring her in right away.
So, I bathed her three times and scrubbed that spot for all I was worth. After drying her off, I checked on the kitten and he was licking his chops rapidly. So into the tub he went for a triple dip with some dish soap. I didn't need to wait for symptoms to start manifesting themselves with my dog, and he too got the three bath treatment. Now I am sitting here, with 3 very wet and very pissed-off pets, cursing Hartz and watching the animals as closely as possible, praying that I reacted in time to prevent anything really serious or even fatal.
Please boycott this evil company and all of their products. It could save your pet's life.
I am posting this all over the net because I am just so pissed off right now and people need to know about this!!!
I have a kitten, a senior cat (12 years-old and my baby) and a dog whom I adore. I figured all those prescription flea and tick meds were just basically the same thing as Hartz only way over-priced, so I thought I was being clever by saving all that money using Hartz Gold on all 3 of my beloved pets. Boy was I wrong!!! Almost immediately, my oldest cat started throwing up and foaming at the mouth. Thinking she had somehow managed to ingest some of the "medication", I called the emergency number on the box. I talked to a man who said to just wash it off and give her some tuna juice to get rid of the bad taste and everything would be fine. I was relieved, but skeptical, so I Googled "Hartz Gold poisoning" and found this site with hundreds of stories of pets who have been poisoned by this product. My heart almost stopped after reading the first account of the death of someone's cat, so I immediately called the Emergency vet.
Here's how the conversation went:
Me: Hi, I just put Hartz flea medicine on my cat and...
Vet: Oh, that stuff is bad.
Me: Well, she must have ingested some of it because my cat started throwing up and now she's foaming at the mouth.
Vet: She probably didn't ingest any of the product at all. It's just THAT poisonous even when absorbed through the skin. Have the tremors started yet?
Me: No, but she's licking her chops a lot.
Vet: That's because she's nauseated. Hartz flea medicine is basically poison and can attack the nervous system, causing tremors and seizures. Pets die from it all the time.
Me (freaking out): Do I need to bring her in? Will she be o.k.?
Vet: What you need to do right now is take some Dawn soap and wash her entire body THREE TIMES, concentrating specifically on the medicated spot. She will probably be o.k., but keep a close eye on her and if she starts having any other symptoms, bring her in right away.
So, I bathed her three times and scrubbed that spot for all I was worth. After drying her off, I checked on the kitten and he was licking his chops rapidly. So into the tub he went for a triple dip with some dish soap. I didn't need to wait for symptoms to start manifesting themselves with my dog, and he too got the three bath treatment. Now I am sitting here, with 3 very wet and very pissed-off pets, cursing Hartz and watching the animals as closely as possible, praying that I reacted in time to prevent anything really serious or even fatal.
Please boycott this evil company and all of their products. It could save your pet's life.