Improper Application of Flea and Tick Medicine Can Kill Your Pet

Fleas and ticks are everywhere. You always have to make sure that your pets are protected. But the products that are used on your dogs and cats also may harm them. So many pet owners have turned to "spot on" flea and tick medication that you apply once a month to keep them away. Veterinarians have been prescribing these treatments for a while now because they are very easy to use and also very affective. On the downside, just a little of this treatment can turn to poison.

There were 44,000 sick pets because of the "spot on" treatments reported by the EPA in 2008. That is about 50 percent more than the year before. 600 out of the 44,000 sick pets died because of the treatment. Some of the bad reactions to this poisonous treatment are diarrhea, vomiting, trembling, seizures and depression. The EPA doesn’t believe that it was a bad batch of medicine, but they believe it was being misused because the labels were unclear and people were not able to understand them. Some of the reasons that the pets are getting sick is because there are dangers in using a dog product on a cat, or using a product for a big dog, on a little dog.

The EPA said it will develop stricter testing and evaluation requirements for flea and tick treatments that are applied to a pet’s skin. The agency also will begin reviewing labels to determine which ones need to say more clearly how to use the products. There is also another concern. Flea and tick products made for dogs contain a pesticide called permethrin, which can kill a cat.

One way to keep your pet’s safe is to read the labels very carefully and follow all labeling before exposing your pet to this pesticide. By reading the label carefully, this will decrease the injuries and deaths of our pets.