One tough kitty

Emergency Cat Blogging - more to come shortly.

UPDATE: You will notice Kusaka's little front legs have been shaved. I had a scare with him Sunday. I purchased Hartz 3-1 Flea and Tick Drops and applied the product as instructed. Kusaka immediately had a reaction to it, and began having uncontrollable tremors. I washed him down and rushed him to the vet. They took good care of him, injecting him with an antidote and an I-V (hence the shaved legs) to flush the poison from his system. I was able to bring him home Monday morning. He was fine for a few hours, but then I thought I noticed more tremors, so I rushed him back to the vet. The vet said he didn't see any further tremors and that kitty seemed OK, although he did have a fever, but that was subsiding. He slept a couple of hours Monday night - I'm sure he needed it - and was back to his usual playful self by my bedtime.

The Hartz product I used contains Phenothrin - a pesiticide known (though not by me) to cause reactions in pets, and sometimes fatalities. Both vets I spoke with expressed their concerns with the product. I'm doing some research on it, and so far I've dug up the results of a class-action lawsuit against Hartz as well as several anecdotes regarding the product.

DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT ON YOUR PETS!! If you use flea and tick treatments for your pets, check to see if it contains PHENOTHRIN, and if it does - DON'T USE IT. There are other ways to de-flea your pets - it's not worth the risk or suffering to the animal.