Mysterious rise in pet sicknesses from flea products
SEATTLE -- If you have a dog or cat, you've had to deal with ticks and fleas.
You expect the products you use to kill ticks and fleas to kill the pests -- not to hurt your pet. Vets say, when applied properly, these products are generally safe. But many are wondering why many animals are getting sick, or worse, dying?
A lot of people use a liquid "spot on" product, which you can now get at supermarkets and pet stores. Forrest Desmond put a store-bought flea product on all five of his dogs.
"Within a half hour, all 5 of them were sick, agitated, throwing up, coughing," Desmond said.
Desmond was lucky, his dogs survived. Government figures show store-bought flea treatments caused 44,000 severe reactions in 2008, and there were 1,200 deaths reported.
That's a 50 percent increase from the year before.
So what's going on here? The Environmental Protection Agency says it's "intensifying" its effort to figure out what's causing the uptick in these severe reactions.
"This is a market that literally has dozens of products, so it's possible that there are just a handful of products that are associated with the increase," said Jim Jones with the EPA Pesticides Programs.
Emergency vets in the Seattle area say a lot of the problems they see are caused by misuse -- such as people who use flea and tick products for dogs on their cats.
Dr. Patrick Miles, a vet at Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services in Seattle, says a cat is not a small dog. They cannot handle the flea treatments made for dogs.
"Well, typically the symptoms we see are neurological," Miles said. 'It's a wobbly, drunken gait, tremors, seizure-like symptoms. Those sorts of symptoms. Typically they respond with supportive care."
Again, no one really knows what's going on here. But until we know more, you might want to get your flea and tick products from your vet -- even if they cost more there.
Always follow the directions. There are products for cats, small dogs and large dogs. Don't mix them up.
Never use these products on a young, old, or sick animal unless you talk to your vet first.
If you use a flea/tick treatment and your pet has a negative reaction, get medication attention right away.
For more information:
Increased Scrutiny of Flea and Tick Control Products for Pets
Vets: Report an Adverse Pesticide Reaction
Consumers: Report an Adverse Pesticide Reaction
You expect the products you use to kill ticks and fleas to kill the pests -- not to hurt your pet. Vets say, when applied properly, these products are generally safe. But many are wondering why many animals are getting sick, or worse, dying?
A lot of people use a liquid "spot on" product, which you can now get at supermarkets and pet stores. Forrest Desmond put a store-bought flea product on all five of his dogs.
"Within a half hour, all 5 of them were sick, agitated, throwing up, coughing," Desmond said.
Desmond was lucky, his dogs survived. Government figures show store-bought flea treatments caused 44,000 severe reactions in 2008, and there were 1,200 deaths reported.
That's a 50 percent increase from the year before.
So what's going on here? The Environmental Protection Agency says it's "intensifying" its effort to figure out what's causing the uptick in these severe reactions.
"This is a market that literally has dozens of products, so it's possible that there are just a handful of products that are associated with the increase," said Jim Jones with the EPA Pesticides Programs.
Emergency vets in the Seattle area say a lot of the problems they see are caused by misuse -- such as people who use flea and tick products for dogs on their cats.
Dr. Patrick Miles, a vet at Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services in Seattle, says a cat is not a small dog. They cannot handle the flea treatments made for dogs.
"Well, typically the symptoms we see are neurological," Miles said. 'It's a wobbly, drunken gait, tremors, seizure-like symptoms. Those sorts of symptoms. Typically they respond with supportive care."
Again, no one really knows what's going on here. But until we know more, you might want to get your flea and tick products from your vet -- even if they cost more there.
Always follow the directions. There are products for cats, small dogs and large dogs. Don't mix them up.
Never use these products on a young, old, or sick animal unless you talk to your vet first.
If you use a flea/tick treatment and your pet has a negative reaction, get medication attention right away.
For more information:
Increased Scrutiny of Flea and Tick Control Products for Pets
Vets: Report an Adverse Pesticide Reaction
Consumers: Report an Adverse Pesticide Reaction