Hooray for one of my local news stations attempt to shed light on the dangers of OTC flea treatments!!
http://cbs11tv.com/pets/pets.fleas.ticks.2.1981586.html
http://cbs11tv.com/pets/pets.fleas.ticks.2.1981586.html
Revolution is not. Because it is also a heartworm preventative it is prescription only at this time (and likely because of patents). Frontline, Advantage, and Vectra are OTC.Originally Posted by LDG
And to make things more confusing (though I didn't watch the link) is that Revolution &etc. are available OTC now.
No doubt that it does. However you can't walk into, say, walmart and get Advantage.Originally Posted by LDG
Thanks for that - but it still makes things confusing for people!
Vectra is OTC? Wow that's really scary. That's a drug I would not use on my cats, and you know the dog version of Vectra is toxic to cats, and the labels are not much different from each other. People don't read labels, or if they do, they disregard them.Originally Posted by strange_wings
Revolution is not. Because it is also a heartworm preventative it is prescription only at this time (and likely because of patents). Frontline, Advantage, and Vectra are OTC.
You know, it's completely possible that even those flea topicals could have made him ill. One should never forget that when we have to use them we are putting a dose of a insecticide strong enough to last a month onto our pets. The EPA has investigated even Revolution, Advantage, and Frontline because there have been deaths linked to them.Originally Posted by nurseangel
When Marshmallowgot sick, the vet kept asking if we'd used OTC flea meds on him. We hadn't...just what we bought at the vet's office. (It is still unknown what caused his death.)
From what information I've came across, it is. Reviews/complaints point to the dog version being toxic to dogs, even.Originally Posted by otto
Vectra is OTC? Wow that's really scary. That's a drug I would not use on my cats, and you know the dog version of Vectra is toxic to cats, and the labels are not much different from each other. People don't read labels, or if they do, they disregard them.
Originally Posted by stephanietx
Hooray for one of my local news stations attempt to shed light on the dangers of OTC flea treatments!!
http://cbs11tv.com/pets/pets.fleas.ticks.2.1981586.html
My vet clinic has posters like that.Originally Posted by strange_wings
What I wish is that some party (not a topical manufacturer) could print up some basic posters and pamphlets with easy to read bullets about OTC flea and tick products dangers. While many going to the vet may ignore it thinking that it's a way to sell the higher priced topicals, most people would end up reading it.
We've all sat around in doctor and vet clinic waiting areas... you end up reading anything within sight and any pamphlet near you.
The legality of displaying such at a vet clinic would probably prevent this from happening, though.
(I've read every pamphlet at the vet and I think DH has read every pamphlet at the doc's office... including the ones on pap smears and breast cancer. )
But Hartz, for example, doesn't use either. They use a pesticide that starts with a T, though iirc it might be a synthetic derived from pyrethrin. So even if people can learn to avoid the main two that are bad, they may not know of the others.Originally Posted by otto
My vet clinic has posters like that.
They have ones warning of the danger of using anything with permethrin and pyrethrin on or around cats.
No, the posters don't mention the OTC stuff at all, sadly. You're right they probably can't, legally, post anything like that about. What they do is keep their prices for flea meds low, lower than on line stores, so to encourage people to buy the real, safe thing.Originally Posted by strange_wings
But Hartz, for example, doesn't use either. They use a pesticide that starts with a T, though iirc it might be a synthetic derived from pyrethrin. So even if people can learn to avoid the main two that are bad, they may not know of the others.
Do those posters list bad OTC brands by name to avoid? That's what I'm thinking they can't legally do. (but would be more effective for people to remember)