Cat Lucky to be Alive after Pet Shop Flea Treatment
By Kirsty Perry
Gucci a young male cat suffered 12 hours of fitting and then coma following treatment with a non-prescription flea treatment that should only have been used on dogs.
Gucci's Story
Gucci's owners bought a Bob Martin Flea and Tick Spot on for Small Dogs and Puppies, this product contains high concentrations of permethrin. A substance highly toxic to cats and the packaging explicitly states that it should not be used on cats. Despite this a pet-shop owner advised them that it could be used on cats.
The owner unfortunately took him at his word and applied it as directed to the back of the neck. Gucci at first experienced irritation where the spot-on product was applied, his owners noticed him trying to lick and rub the skin. Finally, at teatime Gucci managed to lick some of the oily flea treatment off his fur. Immediately he became hyper-excitable and ran around the house in great distress, frothing at the mouth. Soon after this he started having uncontrollable muscular spasms and this was then followed by convulsions.
Still fitting Gucci's owners rushed him to Parkvets hospital. He was placed on a drip and given Valium to stop the convulsions but as this wore off the signs started to return.
Treatment to control the convulsions was needed for the next four hours at which point he fell into a coma at 2 am.
At this stage all that could be done was to keep him warm and place a feeding tube into his stomach via his nose. The big worry at this time was whether he had suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the prolonged convulsions.
After a long worrying night Gucci showed the first signs of recovering when at 8am he sneezed. Over the next 24-hours Gucci gradually regained full consciousness. Though desperately weak from the hours of convulsions he slowly rallied until he could begin to feed himself.
Blood tests showed that no liver or kidney damage had occurred during this time and he was given a bath to remove all remaining traces of the spot-on flea product. Happily we were able to discharge Gucci after four days in hospital and he is now back to his usual mischievous ways.
The Moral of the Story
This is not an isolated case. Gucci is the third cat this year we have treated following accidental poisoning with Bob Martin dog flea treatment. He is one of the lucky ones to survive.
1. Don't buy non-prescription flea treatments that contain permerthrin. They don't work and they can poison your cat.
2. Don't take veterinary advice from a non qualified person.
Effective Flea Treatment
At Parkvets we recommend a full parasite assessment taking account of your pet's circumstances before making a specific recommendation. Click here to learn more about our parasite plan.
