WARNING to dog & cat owners about Promeris for fleas & tics

[napi21]

I received this info just now from the President of the rescue group I volunteer for. I will also post this in the Pets forum, but I wanted to also post it here to wwarn as many people as possible.

This is a very important message to my family & friends who have
dogs-cats--and to alert you to the hazard of using a new Flea & Tick
Preventative called ProMeris. (See Google for adverse reactions.)

This is a new product designed to be a more effective product than
other flea/tick treatments that was just released this year. It is available
thru a vet and not currently on-line. I got ProMeris this week for my 7
dogs (6 Huskies & 1 Golden-Airdale) , and the results were
debilitating for nearly all of them-including me. Since my incident this week, my
vet has pulled it from distribution and alerted the manufacturer, Fort
Dodge .
Here are my results: Within less than 2 hours after applying, 4 of
my dogs had vomited from 2-4 times, 3 were disoriented and stumbling, 1 was
dragging his back leg, 1 was salivating. I had very similar symptoms
like an allergic reaction-my lips were swollen, eyes very red, mucous
membranes such as eyes, nose, and mouth were stinging. I was very disoriented-
dizzy equilibrium and not able to drive. To make this a short story-all 7
of my dogs were admitted to the hospital for veterinarian care, and 3 of them
remained for care, IV fluids and observation for 24 hours. I was in the
emergency room. I'm home now and so are the dogs. We're all feeling
much better. Vet bills were over $2,500 and Fort Dodge is paying for
these. Not only can the product cause this reaction, it has a highly noxious odor
that permeated the house and is just starting to dissipate after 3
days.
Your dogs/cats might not have the same reaction, but given my
experience-I wanted to help you all become well-educated about the product.


I deleted the poster's name for privacy reasons, but she is a breeder of Welsh Terriers and known to our President, so her info is reliable.

[lisa58]

1. Thanks for posting...

...you reminded me I have to treat my dog and cat today.

[I Have A Dream]

2. This is important information. K&R. nt

[RebelOne]

3. This warning should be posted all over the Internet.

I certainly hope it is pulled off the market. I use Frontline Plus for my dog and so far, there haven't been any adverse effects.

This reminds me of the arthritis drug Rimadyl. My 10-year-old Rottweiler was taking it, but after 3 months, she started vomiting and having bloody bowel movements. Fortunately, I did some research and pulled her off the drug. Then I found out that Rimadyl was responsible for many dogs' deaths. It affects the liver. My dog was lucky in that she did not have any damage to her liver. I have been campaigning against that drug now for years.

[napi21]

6. I always use Frontline Plus too, and never had any adverse reactions.

Because I volunteer for a rescue group, sometime I have as many as 6 dogs at once, and I'm always looking for something new & improved to reduce the costs a bit, but I NEVER use anything without checking with my vet FIRST! I can't understand how something that causes THIS MUCH of a reaction was allowed to be released to the market!

[emilyg]

4. Thank you.

My kitties thank you, too.

[greyl]

5. That email has been going around. Did your pres write it originally?

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=141297

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Always always always check snopes first

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/promeris.asp

[NashVegas]

9. Status: Undetermined

I've heard a vet say he was happy some of this stuff (ProMeris, Frontline) is OTC, as it's so toxic, he doesn't really want to administer it himself.

[napi21]

8. FWIW, I DID verify that the author of the notice sent to our rescue group IS

a ligitimate breeder or Welsh Terriers in NY.

[MiniMe]

10. Interesting, but the author doesn't mention Welsh Terriers at all

Just Huskies and a Airedale/Golden mix.

I don't use new products on my dogs just in case. For a while the vets were promoting the 6 month heartworm shot, what a disaster that was. I never used it, but there were a lot of problems and they finally had to pull it off the market. I tend to stick to the old reliables until they are proven safe.

[napi21]

11. It was her signature. She signed her name & the name of her

business. I didn't feel comfortable posting that info on a public message board.

[MiniMe]

12. I think you are right not posting the info, I was just pointing out that

you mentioned that she was a breeder of Welsh Terriers and that was not the breed mentioned in the email. The discrepancy in the breeds make me question if she is really the author, or if she was passing along information. :hi:

Like I said, I still wouldn't use it.

[kestrel91316]

13. Promeris is a pretty new product, but I am not aware of any

complaints about it in veterinary circles. If there were major problems with it, word would rapidly spread.

I saw no need to change to a new product when I am perfectly happy with Advantage and Advantage Multi for parasite control. The only theoretical advantage to Promeris, IIRC, is that it also gets tapeworms. Big deal. We can easily treat tapeworms (on those rare occasions when we see them these days) with oral or injectable praziquantel, which is extremely safe.

I find myself wondering if these hysterical rumors about new products are deliberately started by manufacturers of competing products, lol.

[napi21]

15. I don't know, but it sure makes me wary of trying it, especially since

it appears to be priced almost the same price as Frontline Plus. One of the reasons it caught my eye last week was because I thought it might be a generic alt. to Frontline Plus. I've beern buying the generic alt. to Heartguard for over 2 years because it's 1/2 the price and my vet recommended it when I asked her how I could reduce costs since I had 6 little flufferbutts at the time.

[kestrel91316]

25. I'm ALWAYS slow to switch to new drugs/antiparasitics.

Took me forever to add butorphanol to my pre-anesthetic protocol. I let everybody else's patients be the guinea pigs.

Promeris had undergone a great deal of testing to get approved for use in dogs, but I'm still not just gonna hop on board with some new product JUST BECAUSE it's new. That's silly. If it ain't broke, why fix it?

Turns out I was confusing Promeris (a dog enternal/internal parasite product) with Profender, a new internal parasite product introduced for cats, which I have not used.

[kestrel91316]

26. The only discussion on the vet board I use is that there is

an internet rumor circulating, and depending on where it's posted, the names of the people involved keep changing, lol. That's ONE clue that it just may be bogus.

The vets that have used Promeris on their own animals have noted a VERY strong and somewhat objectionable odor that lingers. They also have seen some transient lethargy with the first application or two in smaller animals.

There is a theory that the problems seen in the dogs and the purported affected owner are due to INGESTION of the product. Good reason to always wash one's hands after petting an animal or applying any foreign substances with your hands.

[napi21]

27. Even if those are the only problems, they're reason enough for ME

not to ever use it. As I said, I've been using Frontline Plus for years on both MY dogs & cat, and on all the fosters I've had and there have been NO PROBLEMS. I agree with YOU. If it ain't broke.....

[kestrel91316]

29. ............OR - better the devil you know than the devil you don't. LOL

[yardwork]

30. Both Frontline and Revolution have caused skin reactions in my 17 year old cat.

I switched from Revolution because it was causing blistering and scabbing at the application site on the back of his neck. Frontline caused the hair to fall out on the site, but at least there was no blistering or scabbing. It's possible that he got the fur out himself, or it fell out.

I'm not sure what to do next. I don't want him to be at risk for heartworms or lyme disease. Neither Frontline nor Revolution bother my four year old.

[kestrel91316]

31. I have seen occasional fur loss (minor, temporary) at the application

site for Advantage and Revolution (I don't carry Frontline just because it's redundant), but no actual skin disease/inflammation. My theory was the cat was wigging out over the smell and liquid sensation and just scratched at the spot enough to pull fur loose. I never seemed to be a persistent problem, so I ignore it - always seems to resolve and not recur.

You might want to try Advantage Multi, it gets fleas, ear mites, roundworms, hookworms, and heartworm. I don't worry about ticks in cats here in SoCal. Ticks embedded in cats are rarer than hen's teeth here (and most places), and IIRC cats don't GET Lyme disease.

I'll check on that at VIN.........

Ok, here's the scoop: Per Alice Wolf at VIN (she's one of their feline medicine consultants), cats only rarely get infected by Borrelia (the Lyme bacteria), and even then they generally don't have any physical symptoms. So for all intents and purposes cats don't get Lyme Disease. That said, cats living in areas with ticks should have tick control.

I only recommend tick control for cats if they go outdoors in the chapparal (in which case they are coyote bait, and ticks are their least concern IMHO).

[yardwork]

36. Thank you for this very helpful info!

Since I bought six months' supply of Frontline for each cat, I'll continue to use it, reassured that the hair loss is probably not a serious problem. It is growing back.

North Carolina does have a lot of ticks, and my cat goes in the woods on the rare occasions when I let him out. I try to let him out rarely, and only when I'm around to supervise. He was an indoor-outdoor cat all his life before I adopted him, and he longs to go out, but he's 17 years old or more (I'm not sure of his birth year), and somebody took away his front claws, and he likes to fight other cats. Sigh.

When the Frontline runs out, I'll ask my vet for Advantage Multi.

In other news, I'm taking both cats into the vet tomorrow to have their teeth cleaned. I'm worried about the old cat under anesthesia, but two vets have reported that he has serious periodontal disease and is likely in a lot of pain. What are your thoughts on cleaning teeth in older cats?

Thank you - you are a DU treasure!

P.S. I never eat beef anymore and I encourage everyone I know not to eat beef. Prions for mad cow disease, growth hormones, antibiotics, unsafe and unclean conditions - it's worse now than before The Jungle was published. Anybody eating beef now is taking their lives in their hands.

[warren pease]

14. Anybody using Advantage for adult cats and, if so, how's it working?

Does it get rid of fleas for a month, as advertised? Is it safe for them, even if they manage to ingest some? How about for adult humans? And for very young kids, say around 2?

I'd be grateful if you'd relate your experiences with this stuff. Vet says it's fine, but I'd like some real-world comment as well.

Thanks very much in advance,


wp

[Lorien]

19. I've had no problem with Advantage, though the flea cycle is

three weeks-not four-here in Florida. For best results put it on the SKIN (not hair) just at the base of the back of the skull. I've done pet rescue and none of my foster kittens ever had a bad reaction to advantage.

However, Biospot, which is sold at grocery and pet supply stores, did send my mother's cat to the vet. The symptoms were similar to those listed in the OP, though a bit less severe.

[enki23]

20. Advantage always worked quite well for us

We had two dogs and three cats in southern Louisiana for several years, and the flea problem there was year-round, and relentless. Advantage seemed to work better for us than Frontline for the fleas down there, though that's just us. The one thing to be careful of is to make damned sure not to mix the cat and dog products when going the Advantage route. Advantix for dogs contains permethrin, which cats just can't handle, as I can relate from personal experience. I have a cat who barely survived an accidental application of canine Advantix (that's the Advantage product that advertises itself as a more effective flea *and tick* control). If you have both cats and dogs, and are worried about tick problems as well as fleas, you might want to for Frontline or some other similar products.

Anyway, if you only have the cats, feline Advantage always seemed to work quite well for us. Since the area was awash in FIV, we were pretty wary of ticks (we also got the cats every possible vaccination to be safe).

[dixiegrrrrl]

23. I have used Advantage for 7 years on my cats

Won't use anything else, as long as Advantage continues current formula.

I did use Hartz once, 7 years ago,damn near killed the cat, ;(
and Hartz paid the bill, after I sent letter.
Hartz use(d) Pyrethin, which is toxic to cats.
They tried to keep it all quiet, but internet spread the truth.

have no probs with Advantage Flea and tick applications.

[warren pease]

28. Thanks, dixiegrrrrl (right number of "Rs?" My eyes are getting worse by the day)...

And thanks to all for your Advantage stories. I'm very glad all your cats survived their doses of Pyrethin.

One time years ago, a pet store owner sold me some doggie Advantage, saying it's just a matter of dosage and not to use a full tube and it'll work just fine and all that. Given the near fatalities you all describe, it was fortunate that I started thinking about the chemistry and biology involved and, after a while, his explanation just didn't ring true.

So I got some cat Advantage the next day. The vet I bought it from told me the first guy should be arrested and jailed for animal abuse. I confronted the guy later that day and he was either completely amazed or the best unemployed actor I've ever seen. In any case, I don't think he continued the practice, so a lot of good came out of the experience.

Again, thanks so much for the information. I really appreciate it, as do the cats -- at least once they get done with bitching about the application process and trying to lick it off the back of their necks.

If they weren't cats, they'd probably cooperate and lick the stuff off each other. Fortunately, being rugged individualists and/or idiots, they haven't figured that one out yet.


wp

[FlyingSquirrel]

35. Frontline's better.

http://www.fleasmart.com/

[spin]

16. I wonder if it comes from China like the food that killed my cat (nt)

[mahina]

22. Sorry about you kitty.

[leftchick]

17. Some Natural alternatives

http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.aspx?searchterms=fleas-ticks

[intheflow]

18. Thanks for posting.

This is deeply troubling. I'm lucky to live in a dry place, so we don't have the flea and tick problems my dogs faced when I lived in Massachusetts and Mississippi. I don't do anything here and it seems to be fine that way. I never liked using the Advantix my vet gave me because it always smelled bad to me, and I was always scared my dog would ingest some while biting around for a flea. This stuff seems far worse. It really makes me angry that there seem to be so few regulations on any kind of legal med or chemicals, but buy a joint and it's in the slammer for years! :grr:

[mahina]

21. Thanks! Washing the dog with Dawn dish soap kills fleas and ticks

without that pesky emergency room visit.

Also, simple green squirted on roaches kills them right away.

Hope your friend and her dogs recover their health soon, and thank you so much for giving us the word on this stuff.

So, yeah for Dawn soap! Leave the bubbles on them for a good 10-15 minutes. Cheap, effective and no poison involved, works for my dog and our whole neighborhood that used to have a tick problem. It doesn't kill every single one, but neither does the poison.

Good luck!

[JCMach1]

32. AVON- Skin So Soft

Works as well.

[bdamomma]

24. thanks for the warnings, and sorry that you and your pets got sick.

stupid pharmaceutical companies.

[lonestarnot]

33. Damn! I'm glad everyone is better. Sorry you had to go through that and the doggies too.

:hug:

[FlyingSquirrel]

34. If you REALLY want to get rid of those fleas for good...

http://www.fleasmart.com/

[TankLV]

37. I heard garlic works great too...

but then there is that ONE "minor" drawback from feeding dogs garlic...

[REP]

39. Heinz Body Anemia?

More than a minor drawback.

[bhender945]

38. Caution RE: Pro meris

I had a similar situation with Pro Meris. I used it on my 45lb Border Collie for the 1st time early morning April 19, 2008. The first thing I noticed was the AWFUL CHEMICAL SMELL of the product. I put it on him in the bathroom with the door closed and I thought both of us were going to pass out from the smell, it is that chemically strong.

Bodie had just come from the groomers on Thursday and his coat was thin and his hair was short. So the medicine was able to be easily applied to his skin and not hair.

The smell was so awful that I immediately put him outside in hopes of cleaning the smell from my home and giving him some breathing relief. He wasn't outside more than 2 minutes and I had heard a big THUD coming from the back door. I looked out the door he had just "Fell-out". I brought him in the house and he was disoriented and all he wanted to do was sleep.

Bodie is not a lap dog; normally he does not like to sit next to me, he prefers to stay on the floor or in his "own chair." The only time Bodie becomes a lap dog is during a thunderstorm or when he is sick. I tell all of this because when I brought Bodie back into the house, he was still smelling like a chemical plant, all he wanted to do was lay down next to me and "pass-out". As much as I didn't want him near me, I had an obligation to comfort him as much as I was able.

I kept a fan blowing on us so that the smell would not just emanate from his skin to my nose. Bodie was completely out of sorts and I just laid there with him for about 3 hours before he was able to get up and, gingerly, move about.

BUT WAIT, WHAT DID BODIE LEAVE BEHIND ON MY CHAIR FOR THE PRO MERIS? A PERMANENT STAIN! YES, THIS STUFF ALSO STAINS THE FURNITURE.

But most importantly: I am glad to report that Bodie laid around all day yesterday (If you know a 2 y/o Border Collie, they never lay around) and today he is starting to feel better and he actually ate a small amount of food for the first time in 2 days.

My vet's office told me they had stopped stocking the other brands; they were exclusively going to Pro Meris. I can assure you of two things
1) I will NEVER use Pro Meris again
2) My vet will give me a prescription for another brand or I will change vets.

Barry N. Henderson