Permethrin flea products toxic to cats

Fleas are out and about again with the warmer weather. Be sure to only use a cat flea product on your cat.

Dog flea products containing permethrin can be fatal if applied to cats even in small amounts. It is vital that dog flea products are not applied to cats.

In fact it is better that flea products with permethrin in them are not used on dogs who live with cats. A treated dog only has to brush against a cat to poison her.

Last summer we saw Smokey cat who sleeps nestled against the family dog, Jessie. Last year Jessie was treated with a permethrin flea and tick product before going down the coast for holidays.

Some hours later Smokey started frothing at the mouth, vomiting and twitching. She was whisked off to us and spent several days in intensive care.

Next time the family will use a tick prevention product like Frontline or Frontera on Jessie that is safe for cats as well. They only use products intended for cats, like Activyl, Advantage, Comfortis or Revolution, on Smokey.