Flea Meds Reaction?

ellewolfe · Apr 1, 2018

Hey ya'll, so I got a kitten who brought home fleas and I wanted to make sure my two adult cats were protected so I got some PetArmor flea meds. I've never had to use a flea treatment so I don't know if I got a decent one, I just know I've heard to stay away from Hartz. So I put in on my two cats two days ago. My grey tabby is fine, it applied fine and his coat looks good.

My black cat though, later that night after applying it, it looked like he got into white paint. It left what I figured was some dried residue on his black coat from a messy application and didn't think much of it. Last night I had him in my lab and found the white "residue" is almost gone, but that's because all of his fur fell out in that spot, larger than a half dollar between his shoulders. Looking closer, It doesn't look like a messy application staining his fur white, it actually looks like the tip of his hairs are burnt off, like if you took a lighter to a strand of hair. He doesn't like me touching the area and it seems maybe slightly discolored. I don't know if its the product or my cat having an skin reaction.

He's a short hair with a very limited undercoat (he was discarded as a "failed" attempt at a Bombay litter and they don't have undercoats) but he's suddenly shedding the entire undercoat, which has never happened. Nothing is too serious now to warrant a visit to vet, but is this normal with flea meds for some cats, I can't find good info online about it?

di and bob · Apr 1, 2018

No, not normal, a reaction. Don't use that brand on him again, the next reaction could be much worse. Also make sure you apply the correct amount for their weight, too much can cause a reaction too, even tremors. The next time too, put it much higher than between the shoulder blades, most cats can reach that area with their tongue, and it is horrible to see all the mouth foaming, etc. that happens. On one cat I have to put it almost between his ears. Your little one should be OK now, but he will have to heal. I had a long haired cat lose almost every bit of fur on their body from a reaction to a certain flea med. He was fine when I changed brands. It took him literally 6 months to grow his fur back.

ellewolfe · Apr 1, 2018

I put it basically on that back of his neck so he wouldn't reach it but I don't know if the other cat could have groomed him and ingested it, etc. I used the amount it said for his weight but I should have known, next time we're just going to do a comfortis pill, my parents always used those for their dogs. I just wanted a quick fix that could get delivered asap, the other cat is the one who has ironically has skin problems and a flea allergy.

maggiedemi · Apr 1, 2018

What are the ingredients in it, was it Fipronil?

ellewolfe · Apr 6, 2018

yes, it was a 9.7% fipronil for cats over 8 weeks and >1.5lbs and he's a burly 16lb 5 year old. And boy does he still have a bald spot that he is very angry about. Vet said next month we're gonna try to do something a little better for his skin. The other cat is fine, I'm just glad I found this out because I used it on my kitten when he get's older.