Pyrethrin Poisoning in Pets

This weekend at my emergency clinic we almost had another casualty to the “Frontline and Advantage as too expensive for me” excuse to save a couple of dollars. A client put an over-the-counter flea medication on her cat. About an hour later, the cat was having a seizure and was unresponsive. A night in the hospital and a couple of hundred dollars later, we were able to send the cat home. Not all of those patients are so lucky. I found a great website that describes what pyrethrins are, how they work and why you probably shouldn’t use them on any of your pets.

http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/pyrethrins-ziram/pyrethrins-ext.html

I know we talked about this before, but I wanted to let people know that there are at least 2 new products on the market.

Promeris: It’s a completely new compound that works on both dogs and cats. Since it’s labeled for killing fleas for more than 4 weeks, there should be very little problem with the product being overwhelmed by a large infestation when used monthly. (www.promeris.com)

Comfortis: It’s a monthly pill that kills fleas. One of the most common reasons given for flea medication failure is incorrect application of the product. Oral administration should fix that problem. The major drawback of this medication is that is doesn’t work on ticks, so you would need to use an amitraz collar alongside the monthly pill. (www.comfortis4dogs.com). It would be great if someone mixed this product with a monthly heartworm preventive.

Flea season has already arrived in parts of the South and it won’t be long before its warm enough for these little pests up North. Now is the time to start your flea control program. Remember, only 5% of the fleas in an environment are in the adult stage. Or, for every 5 you see on your dog, there are 95 in your carpet!

http://frontline.us.merial.com/fleas/sub3_flea2.asp