Baby the Cat's First Christmas was Ruined by a Hartz Pet Product

My intention was to write a cute little story about our Siamese cat named "Baby" and how she is enjoying her first Christmas at our house. Baby is nearly two years-old but we have had her only since last spring, so this is her first Christmas with us.

Baby brought a ray of sunshine into our home from the start and we have enjoyed all of her playful antics and the cute personality that has slowly been coming out since she adopted us.

We put our Christmas tree up about a week ago and wondered how Baby would adapt to having a light-covered tree within easy reach. She enjoyed the tree very much, hiding beneath its branches and sleeping on the Christmas tree skirt. She also played with her ball, shoving it gently beneath the tree skirt and pouncing on it. Not once did she offer to get into the ornaments or climb the tree. We were very proud of her being such a good girl. One morning when I awoke, I found three of her favorite toys lined up in a neat row beneath the Christmas tree. It seems that Baby understands the importance of toys beneath the Christmas tree.

Since we live in the south where fleas and ticks are a common problem, we treated Baby with a flea and tick medication. The first time we applied the once-a-month lotion there was no problem. However, the following month when the treatment was applied, Baby began to exhibit some very strange behaviors. At first she would run at full tilt throughout the house. I didn't think much of it at first because she indulges periodically in the "need for speed" by running at break-neck speed from one end of our house to the other. However, this time it was a little different. We noticed her pupils were dilated and she couldn't seem to stop running. After a few minutes, she finally came to a screeching halt and began to climb into places she had never been before. She was searching for tight little nooks and crannies to crawl into and get away from any kind of noise and light. We also noticed that when she walked, she moved with an unsteady gait and had tremors in her back legs. She would extend one leg at a time straight out behind her, followed by tremors of that leg. By this time we were extremely concerned.

Of course, it was the weekend and we were at a loss as to what to do for "Baby". The package that the medication came in was torn and only part of the instructions remained so I did an online search for the missing information.

To my surprise, I pulled up several accounts of similar stories by other people who have used this same product on their pets. Some of the pets passed away, even though they received veterinarian treatment costing hundreds of dollars.

After locating the information I needed online, we washed the area on the cat's neck where we had applied the treatment. We carefully washed, rinsed and dried her entire neck area and carried her to a dark, quiet bedroom to rest. She stayed in bed all evening and through the night, getting up only when she needed to eat, drink or use her litter box.

The following morning, Baby was somewhat better, although the leg tremors continued. She also was eating about three times her usual amount of food and drinking a lot more water. However, her pupils were no longer dilated and she was much more calm, so we took that as a good sign.

Hopefully Baby will overcome the adverse effects of this flea and tick treatment and if she does, we will never ever use this product again. From now on, we will use only the products recommended by our veterinarian, even though they might cost a bit more. The agony that Baby has suffered is unbearable and we are hoping and praying for a full recovery of our precious pet. We can't wait for our Baby to return to her normal, loving and playful self.

If you would like to learn more about this pet product, please click this link to Hartz Victims.org "One More Victim is One Too Many".

Sources:

Personal Experience

http://www.hartzvictims.org/about-hartzvictimsorg/