hartzvictims.org

[candyshopgirl]

So i want everyone to know what happened to my cat so they don not use this product.So friday evening i used some hartz flea stuff on my cat princess.Its the stuff you put between the shoulder blades.Well she started acting weird squinting her eyes so i washed it off and thought nothing more of it.Well the next morning i noticed she was twiching her eyes and her back was twiching like a seizure.I called the vet and he told me to wash her off with dawn dish soap and use Hydrocortisone Cream immediately.I washed her 4 times.well today is monday and shes just now starting to feel better.shes finally eating and drinking again.so i think everyone should go to this website and think before using this product.

[the_std]

All medicines have side effects.

[Pedersen]

Side effects? Side effects??? Really?

Let's see what Hartz has to say:

Some reaction may occur after using any pesticide product. Generally, if a pet is going to have any sensitivity, it would be a skin irritation at the site of product application. This should not persist for long, but if it lasts for more than a couple of days, or becomes more severe, we recommend you consult your veterinarian as soon as possible.

Hmmm, I wonder what might be found on hartsvictims.org. Page after page after page of far more severe reactions than were mentioned in that side effects I quoted. "skin irritation" vs seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, and death. Stories of Hartz saying "Woops, that sucks. Guess you shouldn't have used it on your pet. Better luck next time." More stories of Hartz saying "Well, I suppose we can cover a portion of your vet bills. But it's still not our fault."

Now, if Hartz products carried warnings stating "Warning: This product has been known to cause painful death for some cats and dogs even when applied according to our directions" then it might be passable. They don't.

These aren't just side effects. These aren't just minor rashes. This is a company that allows dangerous products out the door. Count me out as one of their customers. Hell, I wouldn't even buy a rawhide chew from them.

[candyshopgirl]

It was so fricking scary.she was laying on the kitchen floor and wasnt blinking her eyes.U would have thought she was dead the only movement was about every ten to fifteen mins when she would have something like a seizures.

[draggar]

The issue with any flea / tick product is that it is poison and some animals may react to it, some worse than others.

Miami is having a bad year with ticks so the Finnish Spitz breeder we work with (who now has Ginger) used some tick drops on them (I think it was Frontline). A few days later she started to have severe seizures. Luckily they've stopped but it was a scary time.

[AccountingDrone]

I rarely use OTC stuff on my animals, I had a dog that had a very bad reaction to a hartz product about 20 years ago. I will go short on my food to get proper meds for my critters. It is way too easy to poison animals.

[Hyndis]

Unfortunately with parasites there really is no good way to kill them. You need to poison yourself to remove parasites. Yes, thats correct. You need to literally poison yourself.

You need something that will kill an animal. Only problem is that humans, cats, and dogs are also animals.

As you are much larger than the parasite you're trying to kill what will be a lethal dose for the parasite will be only an annoyance to you. Hopefully!

Unfortunately sometimes the poison is a little too strong. It happens.



This is why I utterly despise parasites. Fleas, ticks, worms, and other related nastiness.

[PepperElf]

there may be a safer alternative ... though possibly a more expensive one...

cat groomers. Getting kitty shampooed and brushed may help. also many groomers have products - or good advice - on what to use.

[Kaylyn]

The kitten I had before Arwen was getting kinda skinny, so I used an OTC wormer (Pro-Pet, not Hartz). He didn't react too well to it, and started acting kind of drunk. I realized after the whole incident that it was a side effect of the wormer and actually not as bad as it looked.

Anyway, I had him bundled up because he just acted like he was miserable. Saw fleas crawling all over the poor guy. Hadn't had a chance to get him to a vet, but I had some leftover Hartz flea treatment (One Spot) so I used a couple of drops out of one treatment. Not even a whole treatment, because he was so tiny and underweight.

Cue seizures so severe he fell off the bed at one point when I had my back turned. Then he gradually got weaker and weaker...oh, and he went blind. I tried to comfort him, and he wound up latching onto my hand with his teeth...thought he was going to tear a chunk out of me with the force of his bite, but he didn't break the skin. Eventually he just lay there on his side, gasping for air, barely moving, and seizing. He died shortly after.

I refuse to use Hartz anymore because of that. When I got Arwen I promised myself I would only use vet-approved products on her. She's had 2 vet visits for shots, and got Frontlined both times, and is a happy kitty. I'll continue buying the Frontline products from the vet's office...I know it's more expensive, but it just seems safer.

[jedimaster91]

It is very important to do your research. When we got Ziggy, I looked at every flea/tick repellant on the market and made a decision to use K9 Advantix because it had the features I wanted (we have bad ticks and mosquitoes in my area, so I want that protection). I would wholeheartedly recommend K9 Advantix to anyone with dogs. My dogs have never had a single tick while using it.

When we got Tag, it was noted in his medical history that he'd had whipworm, which wasn't covered with my K9 Advantix/Hartguard combo. So I talked with my vet to find the combination of medications that would cover everything--which ended up being K9 Advantix/Interceptor. When it's time for the dogs to get their flea meds, I apply it at night when we crate them for bed. That way they can't lick it off each other and get sick.

Bottom line is research, research, research. Yes, all medications can have side effects and those side effects can range from minor annoyance to lethal. Frankly, I don't trust Hartz products period. Their rawhide chews were causing some aggression issues with Tag awhile back, so I quit using them.

[Pedersen]

The issue with any flea / tick product is that it is poison and some animals may react to it, some worse than others.

Miami is having a bad year with ticks so the Finnish Spitz breeder we work with (who now has Ginger) used some tick drops on them (I think it was Frontline). A few days later she started to have severe seizures. Luckily they've stopped but it was a scary time.

This, of course, is true. Hartz, though, goes out of their way to minimize people's expectations. They tell them that they can expect to see skin irritation. They don't mention anything like "oh, by the way, your pet could start experiencing very strong, and very negative reactions. If this does happen, get it to the vet immediately. If you don't, it could die."

Also, Hartz products in general seem to have issues. One of the stories I read on there was about their milk replacement for kittens, meant for kittens who had to be weaned too early. As it turns out, their milk replacement really is a complete milk replacement. It's based on whey, instead of dairy. Failure to know this does damage when the kitten needs the dairy. In the particular story I read, the kitten (at about 4 weeks) had a lump in its tummy roughly the size of a tennis ball. It essentially had to get pumped.

That site only manages to publish stories from the subset of the population that meets the following criteria: 1) has a pet 2) has treated that pet with Hartz product 3) watched that pet suffer from said Hartz product 4) decides to publish their story on their internet 5) managed to find hartzvictims.org as a place to do so.

That looks like a really small cross section to me. And yet, they have over 1800 stories going all the way back to 2002. Very small story source (because of #4 and #5), and still over 1800 stories? This should raise alarm bells.Compare this to something like paypalsucks.com, which only has about ten times as many stories in its forums, despite being about an internet company and being online about as long.

Something is very very wrong with Hartz products.

Unfortunately with parasites there really is no good way to kill them. You need to poison yourself to remove parasites. Yes, thats correct. You need to literally poison yourself.

Actually, you don't. You have to poison the parasite, which means you have to consume something that will poison it. Since different animals have different biologies, different things are lethal to them.

For instance, a Komodo dragon's bite is so septic that the diseases will kill most people within a couple of days. The dragon doesn't notice it. The Portugese Man o' War jellyfish has a venom that can do great harm, depending on quantity and where it travels. Same for bee stings, various spider bites, various snake bites, etc.

And then we come to Extremophiles, organisms which live (and thrive) in conditions that are, at best, dangerous for people. For instance, Acidophiles, Thermophiles, and quite a few others that thrive in conditions that would kill people.

Many creatures excrete venom that is incapable of harming people, but paralyzes or kills their intended targets. So, no, you do not need to poison yourself. You need to poison the parasite. And yes, there is a big difference.

[crazylegs]

All medications can be dangerous. Asprin is dangerous to suceptible individuals, as are decongestants - hell even Oxygen can cause blindness in newborn infants*.

Because a pet can't tell you what is wrong it is vital that you undertake research to see what side effects are likely to be caused. If you're worried get a recommendation from a vet that you trust.

*This phenomenon is generally caused because of long term (hrs) exposure to Oxygen rather than during resus procedures.

[Cassandra]

I stopped using Hartz products about five years ago. At that time I was working for the BBB and since Hartz is headquartered in my state, we got the complaints for them. It sparked an interest to me since my family had 3 cats and a dog. So I started to pay more attention to the news and started to read more into the problem. There were several sick animals as well as quite a few deaths. This is what I was able to find that was from that time frame.

http://www.judyshealthcafe.com/artic...tzmountain.htm

and from a more reputable source


http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...08-hartz_x.htm

I now only use stuff from the vet after I sit and ask to know every reported side effect from it. I even got my mom and friends to stop buying Hartz medications. I do purchase some of their bowls, brushes, and toys on occasion, but I will never by any kind of drug from that company.