:( Cat acting wierd

The past few days my cat Harlequin has been acting really distant. Ever since we put this flea drop treatment on her she has been acting a lot more shy and she doesnt wash herself as much anymore. We live in the basement and all she does is sit at the top of the stairs by herself. It really worries me. She is eating/drinking water/going to the bathroom but her mood is what upsets me. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

we (me and my girl) just gave her a bath so hopefully that will make her feel better. We think maybe that flea medication was makin her feel nasty
maybe sick.

I hope it helps :?

 

What kind of flea drop did you put on her? I've heard lots of stories of cats having bad reactions to many of the over the counter flea drops...especially Hartz.
Let us know how she's doing.

 

Yeah, Hartz is nasty and they should be sued out of existence for the poisons that they put on the market that are completely unsafe for any living creature. I have read horror story after horror story on the web about cats getting sick, permanently injured, or worse after being given Hartz flea products.

After doing some research into safer alternatives, I found that Frontline and Advantage (available via prescription at your vet) are much safer for flea control than anything that is available over the counter, and they actually work too.

I hope that Harlequin feels better soon! Good luck!

 

She may be allergic to that flea drop. I hope you find a good alternative.

 

Yeah it was hartz :| The other two cats are fine though thankfully. We gave her a bath last night and this morning she seems to be doing better. Is there anything else I can do to make her feel better?

 

See if you can get her to drink more fluids. It'll help flush out the chemicals from her system. My Pumpkin used to get sick from Hartz collars and my other cats did fine as well. Luckily, no one has fleas this year. And I'm going to the vet for Frontline or Advantage in the future. I hope Harlequin gets back to her normal self soon! :love_y_t_much: :m10:

 

Thank you so much! How do you get a cat to drink more water??

 

I don't know. :0011: Keep the faucet running? Just kidding. Give her some cold cuts (limited since it's high in salt and nitrates) or canned tuna and she'll be naturally more thirsty.

 

gotcha. Thanks so much

 

Well we thought she was doin better yesterday after her bath, she doesnt sit at the top of the stairs anymore. She hasnt eaten a lot today or dranka lot of water. I took a straw and fed her some water just a few minutes ago. Her belly seems really warm and she is really lathargic. She's been sleeping a lot more then usual today. Her nose is also dry

Help Any websites that can give me any clues? My vet is closed.

 

If I were you, I would look in the yellow pages ASAP under veterinary (emergency) hospitals in your area and try to find one that is open 24 hours. There may be something that they could do, particularly if you tell them the name of the product that you used, and bring the empty box/bottle with you. If no such place is available in your area, I would plan to take Harlequin to her vet the first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I have no idea what you could do to help her, sorry.

You my be able to find something by searching here.

Good luck. There should be a major boycott agains all Hartz products until they remove all their harmful products from the shelves. Click the link above to get a small inkling as to what Hartz is doing to pets. There is also an article on MSNB here that talks about thousands of complaints against Hartz Flea & Tick Drops.

 

***UPDATE****

Well, this morning I called the vet and my parents who are out of town and I brought Harley in. The vet called me and told me that she had a fever of 105 and was dehydrated..They gave her a shot to bring down the fever and fluids under the skin to rehydrate her. They also took some blood. He doesnt think the flea stuff caused this..but then again he isnt sure. Thats what the blood work is for. My girl is picking her up and bringing her home as I write this, because im still stuck at work and the vets close when i get off work. Anyway, I'll update more when i know exactly what the result sof the blood work were. i think we were very lucky.

I want to thank the kinda souls of this board for helping me in this crisis. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!

I dont know what i would do without harlequinn..she is my familiar.

 

How's Harlequin doing now? A fever of 105 is very scary. I'm glad you caught it in time. Everytime Pumpkin had a Hartz flea collar on, she would catch a very bad cold. None of our other cats ever got sick from the collars. I'm convinced it had something to do with the Hartz products. Best wishes for Harlequin's speedy recovery!

 

My girl just picked her up and she is safe and sound at home. She told me she looks and acts a lot better and that she is actually eating!!!

She also told me that she thinks harlequinn misses me because she was meowing for me walking all over the place looking for me then layed down on a pair of my jeans before going to eat.

 

I'm so glad to hear that your cat seems to be feeling better.

 

Thank you all for your support. She is doing marvelously. I just hope her blood work comes back ok tomorrow.

 

There was a news piece on our local news last evening about buying flea products and such over the counter. They had an example of a dog that was given a Hartz product and became very ill. They were warning people to be careful because these products have chemicals. They weren't pointing a finger at any one product, but it was interesting that they used Hartz as an example. I have heard bad things about Hartz for years and never use their products.

I hope your kitty keeps improving.