Protecting your pet from fleas and ticks is an important part of caring for your pet responsibly. Although there are many brands of over-the-counter flea and tick products available at supermarkets and pet supply stores, it is critical to read their labels, and consult with your veterinarian, before using them on your companion. These products may contain ingredients that could harm pets and children.

In November 2000, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report called Poisons on Pets: Health Hazards from Flea and Tick Products. The report demonstrated a link between chemicals commonly used in flea and tick products and serious health problems.

The Chemicals

The ingredients to be wary of are organophosphate insecticides (OPs) and carbamates, both of which are found in various flea and tick products. A product contains an OP if the ingredient list contains chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon, or malathion. If the ingredient list includes carbaryl or propoxur, the product contains a carbamate. According to the NRDC, the potential dangers posed by these products are greatest for children and pets. There is reason to be concerned about long-term, cumulative exposures as well as combined exposures from the use of other products containing OPs and carbamates.

The Products

The NRDC’s report lists flea- and tick-control products marketed under the following major brand names that have been found to contain OPs: Alco, Americare, Beaphar, Double Duty, Ford’s Freedom Five, Happy Jack, Hartz, Hopkins, Kill-Ko, Protection, Rabon, Riverdale, Sergeant’s, Unicorn, Vet-Kem, Victory, and Zema. To protect their pets and children, consumers should consult with a veterinarian before purchasing over-the-counter (OTC) products.

The Effects

According to the NRDC, there are studies that show OPs and carbamates can harm the nervous system. Children can be especially vulnerable because their nervous systems are still developing. For pets, the data is limited, but according to NRDC, many companion animals appear to have been injured or killed through exposure to pet products containing OPs. Cats are particularly vulnerable, since they often lack enzymes for metabolizing or detoxifying OPs and can ingest OPs by licking their fur.

What about the EPA?

Each year, millions of Americans purchase over-the-counter flea and tick products believing that they couldn’t be sold unless they were proven safe. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not begin to review pet products for safety until 1996. There is a substantial backlog of products waiting to be tested, so many pet products containing potentially harmful pesticides still make their way onto store shelves.

Last year, after reaching an agreement with manufacturers, the EPA announced that the OP chlorpyrifos—also known as Dursban—would be on a fast track for a phase-out. A second OP, diazinon, is also on the way out. An agreement between the EPA and manufacturers set the phase out at December 2002 for indoor-use products (including flea and tick products) and December 2003 for all lawn, garden, and turf products.

Reducing the Risks

The HSUS recommends the following precautions be taken to reduce the risks to pets and humans during the flea season:

Use alternatives to pesticides to control fleas and ticks: Comb your pet regularly with a flea comb, vacuum frequently and dispose of the bags immediately after use, mow areas of the lawn where your dog spends time, wash pet bedding weekly, and wash your pet with a pesticide-free pet shampoo. In addition, to protect cats from fleas and ticks, as well as a host of other outdoor hazards, cats should be kept indoors at all times.

Always consult a veterinarian before buying or using any flea or tick control product on your pet.

Never use flea and tick products designed for dogs on your cat, or vice versa.

Remember never to apply pesticides to very young, elderly, pregnant, or sick animals unless directed to do so by a veterinarian.

Always read the ingredients, instructions, and warnings on the package thoroughly.

Avoid OP-based products by looking for any of these active ingredients: chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon and malathion. Avoid products with carbamates by looking for the chemical names carbaryl and propoxur on the label.

Consider using a product with insect-growth regulators (IGRs), which are not pesticides. These will prevent the next generation of fleas but will not kill insects already on your pet. Common and effective IGR products include those made with lufenuron (found in Program® and Sentinel® and available by prescription), methoprene (in Precor®), and pyriproxyfen (in Nylar® and EcoKyl®).

You might want to consider several relatively new topical products, available through veterinarians, that are insecticides designed to have fewer toxic effects on the nervous systems of mammals: imidacloprid (found in Advantage®), fipronil (in Frontline® or Top Spot®), and selamectin (in Revolution™).

All information from http://www.hsus.org

I’ve been using food grade diatomaceous Earth on my cats for about a month and they seem to be just fine.  I have been flea combing them about once a week just to check but so far they are clear.  My cats don’t go out further than a little deck on my apartment.  I started using the DE after reading on other forums about cats and dogs having terrible reactions, sometimes fatal, to products such as Advantage & Frontline.  Another huge advantage for me is I bought a container of DE from Amazon.com for around $15.00 and it will easily last me a year. 

Diatomaceous Earth

A truly safe and effective organic pesticide

D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) is fossilized remains of microscopic shells created by one celled organisms of algae like plants called Diatoms. D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) has many protective uses, from use on household pets to spraying field crops, to stored grain, livestock or pet feed. Freshwater, food grade D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) can be used for internal parasites by placing in daily feed ration or external parasites when used as a natural topical dusting powder. Completely harmless to all animals, fish, birds, and the environment, it can be sprinkled on the animal, the bedding or around the kennel. About the only negative to D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) is when used outside it must be reapplied after a rain. D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) makes an extremely uncomfortable environment for any insect or arthropod that it comes in contract with.

Unlike persistent chemicals pesticides that can be harmful to your pet and the environment, D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) is an ORGANIC mechanical pesticide that treats infestation without harmful side effects. D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) is truly a safe ingredient; bugs can not become immune to D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) because it kills them by PHYSICAL not chemical action. Special processed milling makes D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) into a product graded for particle size which is most effective for killing insects. This process makes it easier and less dusty to use. As the insect comes in contact with the powder, static electricity causes an attraction to the body. Once the powder attaches itself to the insect, the sharp edges of the particles cut through the waxy outer layer of the exoskeleton of the insect and absorb the body fluids therefore killing the parasite. It takes a day or two for the process to take place but the end results is most effective, death by dehydration.

There are 2 types of diatomaceous earth, saltwater and freshwater. This is why it is very important that when using on animals or around livestock that you choose the freshwater, food grade D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth). Freshwater diatomaceous earth is amorphous silica. Saltwater diatomaceous earth, the type used in pool filters, is crystalline silica. Pool filter diatomaceous earth is amorphous silica that has been heat treated forming large lump crystalline silica that makes for better filtering.

NEVER, NEVER USE POOL FILTER DIATOMACEOUS EARTH ON ANIMALS.

It simply won’t be effective and is dangerous because of the many harmful side effects.

D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) is both a short and long-term non-toxic, effective, safe, organic pesticide. D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) has a remarkable repellency factor. As long as it is present, insects tend to stay away, making a serious infestation almost impossible. Also the more D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) is used, the more an environment is created to repel insects. If you use D/Earth (Diatomaceous Earth) on a regular basis your animal both internally and externally will have less and less problems with all types of troublesome parasites.

Just this week, I had a kitten brought to the hospital who was having severe tremors from the application of a dog flea product.  I’m happy to report that after appropriate treatment, he was back to his normal, playful self the next day.

Many cats are not that fortunate.

While it’s possible that a particular dog or cat can have a reaction to any medication, I recommend Revolution or Frontline for very effective flea control.

It’s important when reviewing information contained on the Internet that we separate out confirmed , reliable information from those that are just anecdotes.  We often don’t have the luxury of knowing the entire story posted.

Michele Gaspar,DVM, DABVP (Feline)