Hartz Flea/Tick Drops Generating Thousands of Complaints

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Hartz Flea, Tick Drops Generating Thousands Of Complaints

Product Causes Convulsions, Seizures In Some Cats

Jeff Burnside, NBC 6 Reporter

July 14, 2004

 

http://www.nbc6.net/money/3529286/detail.html

 

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A nationally sold pet product may be harming

or even killing your pet. And now, an NBC 6 investigation has found

that a warning label that the maker said could fix the problem is not

working.

 

Flea and tick products are found in millions of homes in South

Florida and across America. One of them is generating thousands of

complaints and horror stories.

 

Flea Medicine Hurts Some Pets

 

Consumers are reporting that their cats are going into convulsions,

seizures, are unable to walk or control their muscles.

 

An Arkansas veterinarian videotaped several cases of severe

reactions. When pet owners like Karen West, of West Palm Beach, saw

the videotape, they said it's exactly what they witnessed with their

cats.

 

West gives her cat named " Little Kitty " extra loving these days

because it began convulsing, she says, after she applied Hartz flea

and tick drops for cats.

 

" He actually had tremors. His head was going like this, " West said,

as she jerked her head to one side. " And his eyes were wildly dilated

and I was petrified. … I was in total shock but I knew I had to act,

because my cat would die if I didn't act. "

 

When West rushed her cat to a nearby animal emergency clinic, clinic

workers told her they had seen the product create a similar reaction

many times before.

 

" I went from being shocked to being really mad, " West said.

 

West is not the only cat owner who's really mad. Angry websites and

postings dot the Internet, complaining about Hartz flea and tick

drops.

 

There have been 7,100 complaints between 1998 and the beginning of

this year, including dozens of deaths, according to the Environmental

Protection Agency. Some veterinarians say it's a well-known problem.

 

Dr. Sam Strauss of Pembroke Lakes says the risk of reaction from

Hartz flea and tick drops, while rare, is too high and too severe.

 

" I would never give this product to my cat, " Strauss said. " I would

not also take a gun with 100 empty chambers and one bullet and spin

the chamber and put it to my head. "

 

What is Hartz's response to the controversy? The company's top

doctor, Albert Ahn, said, " When one looks at the actual incidents

where there seems to be a strong link or a probable link between use

of the product and an alleged adverse event, we find that, in fact,

that the rate is very, very low. "

 

Hartz says, in most cases, it's the pet owners' fault for not

following directions. Ahn says the chance a cat will react to its

flea and tick drops is just 1 in 25,000.

 

But an EPA memo states, " There is significant evidence … that some

cats develop neurological signs of toxicity after exposure " and that

" pets not receiving aggressive care may die. "

 

Hartz agreed to pull the product from shelves to repackage it with a

warning label and better instructions because they maintain most of

the problems are caused by customers' mistakes -- not the product

itself.

 

But NBC 6 has learned that, since the new label went on, the number

of complaints has not gone down, suggesting customers may not be

primarily to blame.

 

The box West used had the new instructions. She is sure she used the

product properly.

 

" I read all the instructions. I applied it exactly as it said, " West

said.

 

In an interview, when it was pointed out that no other similar

product has generated such anger, Ahn said, " Contrary to your

representation, Jeff, this is a very popular flea and tick

treatment. "

 

It is a popular product largely because it is much less expensive

than other flea and tick medicine.

 

Strauss argues, " I don't know any veterinarians that routinely

recommend its use, simply because there are safer and more effective

products on the market. "

 

West was upset because she bought the less expensive Hartz brand even

though she normally buys the more expensive flea and tick

medications.

 

As a result, she marched back to the store demanding Hartz be

removed.

 

" I first asked the owner, the manager to do it, " she said. " And I

didn't see him going do it. And so I went back and did it myself and

I handed it to him in a big armload. And I said, 'This just poisoned

my cat. Don't sell it to anybody else.' "

 

All sides agree there's some risk in any medicine. As Hartz puts it,

even peanut butter generates reaction in some people. But what is an

acceptable level of risk?

 

The EPA tells us it is disappointed the new warning label has not

reduced complaints, and that the issue is far from resolved.

 

Two leading animal welfare groups, PETA and the Humane Society of the

United States, are calling on Hartz to fix the problem.

 

If your cat has had a reaction, call Hartz' hotline at (800) 275-

1414.

 

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