Do you use Frontline and has your pet died after losing control of hind-quarters?

In the past year I've had a dog and a cat die from identical symptoms: a sudden loss of use of their back 2/3s of the body, vomiting, spasms and diarreha. According to the vet that examined the dog before she died, the symptoms resembled arsenic poisoning. She recovered that time but had a recurrence about 8 weeks later and died within 45 minutes. I called in animal control and after examining our property (which is fenced and designed as a safe-haven for the dogs) and finding no apparent environmental cause for the death they took the body for a necropsy. I didn't hear anything for several weeks and when I called they claimed to have, before they performed any tests, lost both the body and the stool and vomit samples I'd collected.

About 8 months later, our 12 year old cat suddenly exhibited the same symptoms only he died within about 15 minutes from the onset of symptoms. After the dog died I'd scoured the area for any possible toxins, finding nothing. After the dog, I thought the most probable explanation was contaminated food, however the cat's death makes that seem much less likely.

Has anyone else encountered something like this? The one commonality was that we use Frontline for all the pets. I'm concerned that there may be a link to fipronil and/or methoprene, the active ingredients in Frontline Plus. Under instructions from our vet we dose by weight, so they were all treated from the same batches. The third pet, another dog, is about 15 pounds lighter than the dog that died (40 and 55 lbs) and we split his dose with the cat. This means he probably has received the lightest dosing by weight of the three.

This dog is doing well but I'm very concerned. At this point, I have no faith in veterinarians or animal control so I've decided to post the question here. What I have is a weak correlation on one variable, and your input can help either firm up this correlation or help to rule it out as a possible cause. This means I'd like to hear from you if you've have used the product whether or not you've experienced possible harmful effects. It would help if you could include the weight of your pet, the amount of the dose (small, medium, big dog etc), and the length of time you've used the product.

Thanks in advance for your help. - K

edited for clarity and to add:

Don't do this type of dosing with any other flea product as they ARE NOT the same product for cats and dogs. Also, consult your vet if you want to adjust the dosage to more accurately match your pet's weight.

and the area where I put the medicine broke out in a boil within a couple days. I just quit giving him anything, as he was inside 95% of the time. A year or so later, the vet said they had a different formula that shouldn't do that, so I gave it to him. Sure enough, he broke out with a boil. He ranged from 18-22#.

He died in February of pancreatitis. Sorry to hear of your problems.

We don't use it very often - just when we have a really bad problem.

Have you checked to see if it was manufactured in China?

to cardiomyopathy. Silent heart disease is a problem in some cats, especially males IMHO, and often the first symptom is acute death with or without sudden onset of hind limb paralysis. I lost a hospital mascot to this several years ago with NO prior notice.

Frontline is a very safe drug with a long track record. I have never seen or heard of death associated with its use in cats. As a cat vet I won't comment on the dog other than to say I haven't heard of problems there, either.

That said, I would NEVER just divide up a dog-sized dose of topical pesticide and eyeball a "cat dose". Probably unwise as a general principal, but a small error is not going to kill your cat.

MILLIONS of animals have been treated with Frontline over the years. If it were killing animals, we vets would have noticed years ago.

Sorry to hear about your fur babies. It always hurts to lose them, and when it happens suddenly it's really bad. I know.

It was suggested by the vet and he assigned dosage; specifying it was only for Frontline as other flea meds are not common to both animals.

I should have mentioned that. I'll add it to the OP.

I've lost cats to:
Feline leukemia
Infectious peritonitis
Aortic blood clot

All of them lost control of their hindquarters shortly before their death.

That lowers the possibility of common cause.

It carries a lot of weight.

I called and asked.

My daughter has had no problems using Advantage on her 3 dogs. Two of the dogs weigh less than 20 lbs., one weighs around 30 lbs. and one weighs over 60 lbs.

Edit to correct product name.

no problems here

My kneejerk reaction is that this is the source of your problem - something is in there that shouldn't be.


http://www.merial.com/around_world/manufacturing/index.asp

Thanks. Contamination would mean the product is *generally* safe. From the responses it sounds like this is a dead end.

After we lost Annabelle (a shiba inu we bailed out of jail) we didn't immediately want to grow the family again. But the survivor, Alan, has seemed pretty lonely and been getting fat and lazy so we just selected a bony, starved looking little lady that animal control labeled as "part terrier". She turned out to be a whippet with a wonderful, playful personality. We just got her about 6 weeks ago and I was getting ready to administer their flea med, so I decided to post this before doing it.

My heartfelt thanks to everyone who took the time to answer. I still don't know where to look, but at least I can have some confidence that the meds probably aren't the problem. If it is contamination, it can't be helped at my level.

I have two of them and they are wonderful dogs. We've used Advantage on them, as well as on the greyhounds and Siberian Husky, with no ill effects. And since whippets want to sleep with you, in your bed and, most of the year, under the covers as well, their not having fleas and/or ticks is a good thing. Thank you for rescuing your whippet.

Let me also tell you that I am a volunteer dog rescuer and use it on any rscues I have too. I've NEVER had a problem with it, nor have any of the pets. I don't want to make assumptions, but are any of your neighbors animal haters, or hate you for some reason? If the vet suspected arsenic, it's possible for a passerby to toss soke arsenic injected meat over the fence, and after your dog consumed it, there would be no evidence in your yard. They could have done the same thing to your cat.

As far as I know, IF your pet is allergic to any med, the sympthoms usually appear rather quick...not weeks later.

Sorry that you lost your pets. I have used frontline on both dogs and cats for years. Each the appropriate dose for their size. Dog for dog and cat for cat, of course. I've never had any problems. I live in a climate where we have to treat for fleas year round.

one cat is 7 years, one is a year. No problems with Frontline Plus.
We use a new product on the dog, combo which kills fleas, ticks, and has heartworm protection.

on my dog, and as needed with my cats. It works a thousand times better than Advantage. I swear by it.

You should have no faith in Animal Control, but it's important to have a vet you trust. He/she could provide a valid necropsy, something most animal control offices are ill-equipped for. Two possibilities come to mind; that someone threw poison over your fence, or the pets ingested poisoned birds or rodents. When I lived in Rural America, both scenarios were all too common.

Poisoning is a possibility unfortunately it can't be investigated. Of course you never know someone's true heart, but there is nothing to suggest someone did it deliberately. Rodents poisoned by a neighbor and wandering over here to get eaten are a very real possibility, but again, it can't be investigated beyond confirming that none of the immediate neighbors use poison (everyone has cats) for rodent control.

a friend of mine owns a rental house down the street. She rented to two students, who unfortunately allowed others to stay there. At one point, the neighbors complained because there were 5 dogs in the house, and the renters never picked up after their dogs. Soon rats appeared.

My friend evicted the students because there was (sorry) crap all over the place, inside and out. The lease said "no dogs." When the exterminator came, he spread some type of poison under the foundation and in the garage. He said the rats appeared because the number one thing they love to eat is dog excrement. He also warned my friend to keep all dogs away from the property because the rat poison would kill them.

Now I am wondering if that rat poison contained arsenic. I am going to try to find out from my friend and let you know.

Sam

They worked... and they were based on the rec of a vet.

I have no need now, being up north, but the garlic pills really seemed to help when I was down south.

They cause oxidative damage to hemoglobin and shorten rbc lifespan.

Dogs and cats should not be given anything containing garlic or onions. Heinz body amenia is something best avoided.

We never had any problems related to the garlic consumption, in fact our dog's quality of life improved: no hot spots, no fleas. Perhaps we were lucky. After reading your post and googling, I see what you are saying. Thanks for the heads up... if I find the need for flea/tick prevention in the future, I will not be using garlic. Do you have any suggestions that don't involve harsh meds? Thanks!

"harsh meds" at all. Especially compared to the old flea products we used before they came about, lol. They are the SAFEST and MOST EFFECTIVE products out there. You can take that to the bank.

Product goes only where it is needed: on the animal that the fleas must feed on to reproduce. No more insecticides all over the house and yard. No more highly toxic, ineffective collars, dips, powders, etc. No more useless shampoos and sprays. No more flea anemia deaths; much less spread of Hemobartonella/Mycoplasma and possible Feline Leukemia Virus. Much less risk of human Cat Scratch Disease. And of course, flea tapeworms are almost a thing of the past. THANK GOD - those things are disgusting.

If I had to go back to the bad old days before Advantage and Frontline I'd rather just shoot myself.

Oh, and as for why your vet gave you the advice about garlic, that is very old-fashioned and unfortunately lots of vets do not bother to keep up with current information. But it's been common knowledge for years. Ask him/her. Maybe they need to become enlightened about it.

and not copping to it. :(

Check with your neighbors if any pets have died suddenly.

Have you or your neighbors been spraying any pesticides? Many act as neurotoxins.

We always followed the directions carefully and watched for any interaction with other vet medications. No problems that I can recall. But since we have no flea problems, we don't use Frontline or anything else.

Frontline, Advantage and Resolution. I tried all these on my standard poodle. At first she had no problem but then after use she would pace, pant and get really warm. This would go on for 12-24 hours. Our springer spaniel started developing the same symptoms but to a lesser degree. I now give them Program which is an oral tablet that provides protection only from the adult flea.

It sounds like that might true for her; was that the conclusion?

I was worried about a neurological since the med is administered directly over the spinal column.

The vet was very surprised she had this problem but I have since talked with other pet owners whose pets have had the same problem.

for years with literally hundreds of dogs and cats and we have not encountered any reactions other than an occasional minor loss or hair at the application site.

smelly crap on them AGAIN.

Fifteen years and millions of animals, and very few problems. Frontline and Advantage are the SAFEST and most effective flea controls on the planet.

Of my fosters (who am I kidding? They're permanent!LOL), I have 4 that will let me put it on, and not make a fuss. The other four always suspect I have something up my sleeve, no matter how sly I try to be! It takes me about a week to catch them all by surprise! Thankfully since I have no outdoor pets to track fleas in, I can usually just use it on an as-needed basis, as opposed to every month.

Once, I was ambushing Fabi, and she turned her head at the wrong moment. It got in her eyes and she SCREECHED! I had to catch her and cage her so I could clean her eyes as much as possible. I called the shelter director, terrified that I had just blinded the poor dear. Her eyes were red and irritated for a day, but she was fine the next morning, even with a direct squirt in the eye!

diabetes, Cushings', hypothyroidism, and discoid lupus. There were 3 dogs here that were poisioned with antifreeze soaked chicken.

If I ever find out that is the case here I expect to go to jail for shooting the poisoner. We are always outside when the dogs are out so I don't think that deliberate poisoning is the problem, but it was the first thing I considered.

what they eat, and sniff everything closely. If it smells the least bit off they won't touch it. Dogs, OTOH, are easily poisoned because they chow down first and ask questions later.

Brewers Yeast is a nice little nutritional supplement but it is worthless for flea control.

http://www.eartheasy.com/article_natural_flea_control.htm

Fleas particularly dislike the flavor of garlic and yeast (nutritional or brewer's yeast). Mixing garlic and yeast with your pet's food can render their blood unpalatable to fleas.

Cat owners: Please be aware that raw garlic is known to be toxic to cats. According to Dr. Randy Kidd, the use of garlic, as well as onions, shallots and chives, has been shown to cause damage to feline red blood cells which can result in hemolytic anemia and eventual death. Raw garlic and onions can also cause ulcers and irritation of the mouth, esophagus and stomach.

Use about a teaspoon of brewer's (or nutritional) yeast daily for cats and small dogs, and a tablespoon for a 50-pound dog. Some animals are yeast intolerant and will react with a skin allergy. Discontinue use if this occurs. Combine the yeast with the garlic in your animal's food, and consider doubling the dosage during peak flea season.

Other natural repellents include vitamin B1 (thiamine) and apple cider vinegar. (See your veterinarian for the correct amount of a vitamin B1 supplement for your pet.) The dosage of apple cider vinegar is about one teaspoon daily in the pet's drinking water. Apple cider vinegar helps strengthen the immune system.

but there are folks out there selling books telling people to drink vinegar for acid reflux and insisting that they have a magical blend of 45 herbs and spices that will detoxify my colon.

Yeast is a nice source of B vitamins and nutrients but the claims that it repels fleas is hocus pocus.

We have Large,medium, and small doses for our three pups.
We have two indoor cats but there is now a shot that the vet gives them once a year that prevents fleas.
We still use frontline on the stray cats that hang around outside our house if they are friendly enough to be handled.

Believe me when I say the old fashion way of dipping the animals in really strong chemicals was and is way worse for YOU and the animals then Frontline is to use today.Not to mention traumatizing for the four legged guys.
And it didn't even work half as well.
Then there was the issue of having to spray your house with even more chemicals to kill the fleas and do all the beddings ect.
Frontline,advantage, ect is a real boon to all animal households.

They're indoor cats, so normally they don't get fleas, but they got them, sadly, from ME! I had been using the same back hall to a two-story house as my downstairs neighbors' dogs (laundry was in the basement). Her dogs DID go out, and they got fleas, and they passed them on to me, and I passed them on to my poor cats. All three of us were getting eaten alive until I put the cats on Advantage.

It worked like a charm--not only to kill the fleas on the cats but to get rid of the fleas that had infested my bed and bedroom. All I had to do was leave the door open and let the cats go in it all day following treatment (normally I closed the door to them during the day, so of course when I left it open they went there like a shot). Being the only warmblooded creatures in the room all day long, they attracted every flea left in the place, so soon they were all dead. The only work I had left to do was to vacuum up the huge quantity of dead fleas left in their wake.

Living animals treated with Frontline or Advantage are the best "flea bombs" your home will ever have. You treat them, then give them the run of the place. The fleas will soon be gone.

I suspect poisoning of some other kind in the case of the OP's pets. Either intentional or accidental from something in the neighborhood. It's one reason my cats are indoor. This way, I know what they're eating. My first cat was outdoor for a while, but after he almost died from feline urological syndrome, he became indoor. It was well enough; one of his littermates did die of poisoning at a young age, or so I heard.

I used it on my Collie when it first came on the market and was told to use it every month during flea seaon. Within a few days after his first dose, the top of his tail near his back "exploded". A huge, gaping wound.

Vet said he had no idea what it was or what caused it. Biopsy was normal tissue.

It was starting to heal when it was time for his second dose of Frontline. At this point, I hadn't connected it to the Frontline. I gave him his second dose of Frontline and within 24 hours, his tail explosion was three times as big.

I took him back to the vet and I told him I would NEVER EVER use that crap on my dogs again. I told him to report it, he refused, said the dog was probably allergic to the oil in it. BULLSHIT

Two years later, this particular dog was diagnosed with mast cell cancer. Can you guess where the tumor was? That's right, on the tail, in the same spot. Coincidence? I don't think so. I asked the vet if he'd ever seen cancer caused by an allergy to oil. I got no answer. Surprise, surprise.

BTW, arsenic comes from peach pits. You don't have any peach trees, do you?

Just as I was feeling comfortable about using a product I really feel is needed, I read your post and it all came crashing down. :banghead:

I left off a point in the OP; Indiana Jones (cat) had developed a small but noticeable lump on the spine at the spot between the shoulder blades where the Frontline was administered. No "explosion" as your tragedy started with though. I'd very much like to hear Kestrel's take on your experience.

My instinct is telling me to shun the stuff, but the flea and tick problem here in the mid-Atlantic coastal region is pretty bad. I take the people with a lot of experience at their word and that leads to the conclusion that if there is a problem with an adverse reaction such cancer, it isn't anywhere near as severe as my 2 out of 3 loss would indicate. Coincidences can be powerful tools in shaping our perceptions, and it is good to be on guard against them. In this case, given the input provided here today, I tend towards believing that, in spite of my gut reaction, the weight of the evidence points to a series of coincidences informed by my ignorance of veterinary medicine.

The potential for an overlooked side effect seems to exist (and I'd ask Kestrel keep it in mind going forward) but without greater evidence than I have now, I have to go with the relief from pest infestation that I KNOW is a benefit of the drug.

Did you get another dog? There are a lot that need a good home if you didn't.

I feel for your loss and thank you for sharing the information.

directly to Merial so they can add it to their database of reported possible side effects. Also the EPA, which regulates pesticides.

I responded to #41 per your request.

whereby it COULD, please feel free to chime in.

Mast cell tumors are full of mast cells which are part of the immune system and involved in mediating hypersensitivity reactions. I can see where a dog with a mastocytoma might have a wigged-out immune system BECAUSE of the tumor. In cats we see a hypereosinophilic syndrome that behaves like a malignancy sometimes (I saw a case years ago). Immune system tissues can grow out of control like any other tissues and become cancerous.

But no, having an allergy does not cause cancer. DNA mutation causes cancer.

I've used Frontline, but not regularly.

I've never seen or heard of these symptoms.

Sorry, dude, hope you figure this one out.

NYC_SKP