Flea meds neurological side effects?

Burts

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Im not 100 percent certain but after giving my persian cat allie flea meds twice 3 weeks apart she seems to have a new behavior...

She shows hyperesthesia syndrome

She licks the base of her tail or tail and she will hold her head perked up to the side as if you were scratching the sensitive base of tail region... Its happening a lot more frequent, youll see her with her head perked up in a curious way and then all of a sudden she licks the spot..

I think this has been occuring after the flea meds, in the general time frame like 2 months ago, I also had to switch her food but I think this was before the food switch
 

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I guess anything is possible. It would help if we knew WHICH flea medicine you gave her. Did you look up known side effects to see if this was reported as a possible side effect? It's also possible that this new behavior is just a little quirk she has. One of my guys licks his tail too, and sometimes acts weird, to the point that I asked our Vet about FHS, but he doesn't have it, supposedly. Oftentimes cats with FHS will actually chew on themselves because they don't recognize their tails as being their own appendages :eek2:
 

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I'd talk with your vet about this. While it MIGHT be related to the flea med (any living creature can have a reaction to anything at anytime, unfortunately), it would be unusual. And I'd not re-apply the medication until you get an answer...although I'm perfectly sure you got that far on your own!
 
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Burts

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It was advantage 2, she licks her tail holds her head perked up in the air, licks her tail and runs.....
 

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Hi. Advantage II is probably one of the 'safer' flea meds, in terms of possible side effects. That is not to say your cat might not be an exception to the rule. But, Adv II is not absorbed into the bloodstream, so less of a possibility of neurological side effects. The things you are describing could be related to her still having fleas - or, perhaps even a flea allergy. Adv II is supposed to kill fleas without the flea having to bite the cat, so the treatment should prevent the development of a flea allergy - if it is actually working...

I know all the reviews say that Adv II is still very effective, but it is not the case for Feeby. While we have the fleas mostly under control by using Adv II and constant vacuuming, she is still bites at her tail and has other mannerisms - similar to what you have described - that I attribute to fleas. And, I can still find some, albeit very small and lethargic, fleas on her when I flea comb her. Btw, because the fleas have been next to impossible to get rid of, I am currently treating Feeby with Adv II every 10 days - 2 weeks. (The instructions indicate it can be applied every 7 days if needed to get the fleas under control.) At 15+ yo, I am a little uncomfortable treating her with another type/brand, given so many of them do have possible side effects and a lot of them are absorbed into the bloodstream. So, I will stick with Adv II for a bit longer...

Are you vacuuming every 2-3 days, just to help remove whatever fleas might be still hanging around? If not, I would suggest you do so. And - check her for fleas with a flea comb. If you don't know how to do so, get a small dish of very soapy water (dish soap works just fine), take long strokes with the flea comb and dip the comb in the water. Dry the comb and repeat over her entire body. Do her tail and underneath her tail after that - the fleas hang around that area and also go to that spot as well to get away from the combing.

If you haven't done so, you probably should consider treating the carpeting as well.
 
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Burts

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I think the fleas are gone, I gave her one dose and 3 weeks later another....

I just gave her a oatmeal shampoo bath and shes drying in the sun now...

This behavior started sometime after the meds, I will get a video and post it soon, hoping the bath helps

Before when I gave her advantage multi in the past , she would take it and show no reactions..After the advantage 2 she would bolt and run around frantically, because of the sensation of wetness on the neck, I dont know

I will try the flea comb
 

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Before when I gave her advantage multi in the past , she would take it and show no reactions. After the advantage 2 she would bolt and run around frantically, because of the sensation of wetness on the neck, I dont know
Both are topicals, so it is weird that she would react to the one and not the same with the other. They both contain Imidacloprid; Adv II also contains Pyriproxyfen while Adv Multi contains Moxidectin. So, perhaps the 2nd ingredient in Adv II smells worse than the one in Adv Multi?? I have actually heard that Moxidectin has a larger list of possible side effects than that of Pyriproxyfen. But, again, every cat is different. I hope to hear that the flea combing doesn't result in finding any fleas, but if it does, it would at least explain her behavior.
Keep us posted!
 
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Burts

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Thanks for the info, its been over a year since she had advantage multi or anything until recently, she also had a diet change recently because of diarrhea...Shes on hill wd now and the diarrhea is gone, lots of factors
 

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Now, go read the same kind of data on Adv Multi. Think you will find very similar results, especially since the same ingredient mentioned in this article is in both treatments. Oh, and you might want to use data that is a bit more current than what you posted - from what I can tell the article you referenced was created before Adv Multi was even developed, so you won't find a comparison there - or, at least I didn't.
 
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Burts

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Started her on cbd last night, it looks like full on hyperesthesia and this is only happening after the flea meds, coincidence? She licks her hind end or rear paw, perks her head up to the sky, licks licks then runs....

Im so upset, I literally just got over her diarrhea which lasted a month and also began after the flea meds but prob coincidence and now this...The worst part is it happens a bunch of times not just once or twice a day....As soon as I woke up I saw her doing it, so into her stroller she went and into her mouth went the cbd...

Im praying this gets better, at first it was once a day when I first noticed it
 

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What prompted you to start her on CBD? Did you read somewhere that it might help with (presumptive) FHS? Are you using CBD for pets? I do give one of my guys CBD for anxiety, and I believe it helps (not so much growling t the Vet, for one thing) but definitely let your Vet know you are giving it next time you see or talk to them.

Hope it helps
 
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Burts

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I already had a bottle for my other cat that has what I assume to be a different side of hyperesthesia where he scratches..The fhs group on facebook as well as a lot of people who write reviews praise it for fhs treatment...

I have been reading reviews about advantage 2 all morning and lot of 2020 reviews where cats have neurological side effects and what not, with millions of cats not all of them take it well

Oliver my other cat been through one a half bottles of holistapet cbd
 

mrsgreenjeens

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All sounds good. Keep us posted on her progress.
 
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Burts

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I finally got a vid, she was having episodes in the house and then she came outside when i filmed this
This sux and it bothers me greatly, could it be the new food hill wd which just cured her diarrhea only other varible is the flea meds

 

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Not all fleas live on the cat. A lot of them live on the surfaces and breed, and jump on the cat just to get fed. So even when you use an effective flea treatment there might be still fleas. If your kitty is allergic it takes like one bite for an itchy reaction. BUT, of course another allergy is possible too. It could be the new food. It could also be another parasite/insect, a mosquito, or a change in the house. (My own cat has been itching/overgrooming since yesterday but I found no fleas and she's already on a strong flea treatment. I suspect of a mysterious allergy for her too.)

I doubt this is a side effect of Advantage. However, as it's been told Advantage isn't the most effective treatment for fleas so I will again say maybe there are still some fleas or another parasite in the house.

I already had a bottle for my other cat that has what I assume to be a different side of hyperesthesia where he scratches
Are both cats overgrooming/itchy? You assume hyperesthesia but the chances of both of them having the same neurological condition are not high. It's more likely there is a parasite that affects them both. Or a common allergen.
 

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Pretty kitty!!!

That video depicts the very same behavior as what would have been displayed IF I had taken one of Feeby a few months ago when her fleas were worse than they are now. Many times, frantically biting at her tail and then running, repeat, etc. In Feeby's case, I took the running to mean she was trying to get away from the biting.

But, as mentioned above, it could be a food allergy, or any number of environmental allergies as well.
 
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Burts

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Yea but before Allie had flea treatments when she had fleas she would not do this, Olivers symptoms is like waking up and compulsively scratching....

Maybe the food, but this is the only hills wd that I found to stop her diarrhea, I tried so so many different foods...She used to eat royal gastro but she dont like that no more....

If it is food and not in curable hyperesthesia then great

This is a quote from my hours of research from comments and only thing I found to link flea meds to hyper


Hello,

All 3 of my cats (6yo mum and two 4yo boys) also developed feline hyperesthesia within several hours of having a spot on flea medication applied to their fur (Brand: Advocate for cats). One of my cats had such a severe reaction on that first night that he tried to bite off the tip of his own tail! And has been continuing to do so ever since! The vet doesn’t know what else to try, he has been on gabapentin and Endep at varying dosages but they just don’t seem to be helping the behaviour at all. He is very miserable and has to wear a head cone designed for a medium sized dog after each tail biting incident to prevent him from ripping off the tip of his tail. There is little to no information online linking flea medication to feline hyperesthesia, and the information I have found mainly is in peoples comments, not in any sort of official information about the condition.

However I cant think what else could have caused all three of my pets to develop this so called ‘rare’ condition at exactly the same time within hours of having the flea medication. This all occurred nearly 5 months ago, and I haven’t dared to use any sort of flea treatments on them since. The hyperesthesia symptoms are even getting worse in one of my pets. I have tried feliway and homeopathic drops, but nothing really seems to be working.

The other symptoms that I have noticed in my pets since developing this condition apart from all to common ones are…..

– Far more vivid nightmares/dreams where they vocalise and twitch.

– Increased stretching out / twitching of the muscles in their hind legs.

– An obsession with chewing/grooming their hind legs and between their toes.

Meg”
 

FeebysOwner

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All 3 of my cats (6yo mum and two 4yo boys) also developed feline hyperesthesia within several hours of having a spot on flea medication applied to their fur (Brand: Advocate for cats).
Are the cats all related? It seems highly unlikely that all of them, if not related, would end up having neurological issues from the same flea treatment. I guess I just got confused because you said you didn't have issues with Adv Multi - which the primary ingredient in it is the same as Adv II and Advocate. Maybe, you got ahold of a bogus product?? Something that contained a toxin that affected their nervous system? Maybe ask the vet if there is any testing that could be done from a neurological standpoint? Or, perhaps, consult with a vet that specializes in neurological disorders - maybe they could shed some light on this...

Maybe the food, but this is the only hills wd that I found to stop her diarrhea, I tried so so many different foods...She used to eat royal gastro but she dont like that no more....
It is about as unlikely that all 3 cats would have an allergy to the food as it is for the flea treatment to negatively affect all 3. Do they all eat the same food now? You could try to mix the hills w/d with the gastro that she used to eat to see if that would still keep her diarrhea at bay, but help reduce any allergic reactions. You could also write down the ingredients in the gastro food and see if you could find any alternatives with close to/same ingredients.

I am now wondering if there isn't an environmental source for the symptoms they are exhibiting. Something that might be more likely to affect cats in general, across the board. Not saying it is your case, but gas leaks, outdoor sprays that are done in your neighborhood/city/county for mosquitoes, or other insecticides - things of that sort?? Just throwing other possibilities out for consideration.
 
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