Hartz Flea, Tick Drops Generating Thousands Of Complaints

This warning doesn't only go for cats. The workers at Petsmart recommended Hartz for my dog and he had a bad reaction also. I called Hartz' hotline at 2:00 in the afternoon and pressed the number for medical emergencies and received a message that Hartz only operates its customer service lines from 9-5 EST. So if you're on the west coast, don't expect any help from them, just take your pet to the vet like I did. These products should be pulled from the market.

I agree completely. I don't like any of the drops for dogs, cats, or horses. I used the Hartz on my dog and he cried like it was hurting him and not long after he started getting these bumps that were like little tumors. They finally went away after I quit using the drops. Years ago when the oral flea pills first came out, a vet gave me some for a dog that I owned at that time. She hated them and I noticed they burnt my hand when it was slightly damp and I had poured a pill into it, so I quit giving her the pills. A short time later we realized that she was blind and not long after she died. I have always believed that her blindness and death were because of those oral flea pills. Of course the vet said it was just old age but she was only about 6 years old. I also tried the very popular fly drops for horses on my horses and they all hated it, like it was hurting, so I never used it again. So, now I will not use any of the drops on any of my animals again. I have came to the conclusion that these big companies that sell this stuff don't really care about animals at all. They are just in it for the money and they know that most of the time if an animal dies the owner will replace it with another.

My young cat has been on IVs and under medical care for 2 days now and thank God due to a fabulous Doctor in NJ he will live. I used the 5 lbs and under cat flea drops and even only used half of the drops because I dont like chemicals. I purchased the Hartz brand because the pets stores I usually go to that carry natural products were closed and my newly adopted cat was very flea infested. Not only did it not work but a week later he started hanging his head to the side, lost control of half his body, couldnt walk or eat or meow and his eyes were dilated. I brought him to my vet who ran the blood work immediately to find that the toxins were indeed the hartz product. No animal deserves to have such a life threatening product used especially when its just fleas we are trying to control and kill not our pets!!! He might be coming home tonight but he is still not well and will need close monitoring and lots of care if he ever does recover. There should be a warning on the box saying, Hartz kills fleas...and maybe your pet too. Take the chance trust in the hartz product. BAD! It has also cost me a small fortune that I am not able to do right now and am not sure I will even figure that one out.What has to be done had to be done to save my family member. Hartz should never put a product out that risks an animals life. I wish I knew before I bought this product.

valerie wrote:

My young cat has been on IVs and under medical care for 2 days now and thank God due to a fabulous Doctor in NJ he will live. I used the 5 lbs and under cat flea drops and even only used half of the drops because I dont like chemicals. I purchased the Hartz brand because the pets stores I usually go to that carry natural products were closed and my newly adopted cat was very flea infested. Not only did it not work but a week later he started hanging his head to the side, lost control of half his body, couldnt walk or eat or meow and his eyes were dilated. I brought him to my vet who ran the blood work immediately to find that the toxins were indeed the hartz product. No animal deserves to have such a life threatening product used especially when its just fleas we are trying to control and kill not our pets!!! He might be coming home tonight but he is still not well and will need close monitoring and lots of care if he ever does recover. There should be a warning on the box saying, Hartz kills fleas...and maybe your pet too. Take the chance trust in the hartz product. BAD! It has also cost me a small fortune that I am not able to do right now and am not sure I will even figure that one out.What has to be done had to be done to save my family member. Hartz should never put a product out that risks an animals life. I wish I knew before I bought this product.

Valerie,
If it were me, I would send copies of the bills to Hartz, maybe call them first. They just might pay everything. I know that Fort Dodge has paid several horse owners because of what their flu shots have done to horses; so, Hartz may do the same. Flea combs do a great job at removing fleas if a pet only has a few. All of our cats are inside only but still get a few fleas during the summer months, probably brought in from outdoors on us. Flea combs can be found at Wal-Mart or about any pet store. You just need a small container of warm soapy water to drop the fleas in once you catch them on the comb, then just flush them. Once the animals realize you are helping them, they love the combing.

I baught some flea treatment for my kittens,6 of them, and as soon as I put it on them, it wasnt 5 minutes later that they started foaming at the mouth......This product should be taken off the shelf before it kills or harms another animal...if 1 animal dies because of this product, that is 1 TO MANY!!!!!! This company angers me, I thought they got their products straightened out, I see now that I was mistaken....I WILL NOT EVER BUY ANOTHER HARTZ PRODUCT AGAIN AND I WILL MAKE SURE ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS KNOW ABOUT THIS AND ASK THEM TO NOT EVER BUY THIS PRODUCT AGAIN AS WELL...

I used the drops on my 4lb yorkie.. With in 15 minutes she became very anxious, seemed like she lost some of her vision, and did not want to be around anyone, we are now on about the 15th hour and she is still messed up, as she only will walk near the walls and not across the center of rooms(very strange). She barely slept through out the night... I made the correlation the next morning and immediately gave her a bath, probably too late though. She acted this way one other time and I am fairly certain now it was the last time I used the drops but failed to make this link.. I am now certain these drops are responsible. Hartz really needs to do something about this, our little dog is a regular member of our family and we all will be devastated if she dies or is permanently impacted. DON'T TAKE THE CHANCE WITH THESE DROPS.