A Warning About Seresto

 If you follow my pet sitting business (Jenn’s Pet TLC, LLC) on Facebook, you may have seen the post on the article from USA Today about the potential dangers of the ever popular Seresto flea collars for dogs and cats. Sadly, these collars have been linked to nearly 1,700 pet deaths, according to the article. While the EPA has issued no warning, it is our duty as pet parents to be our pets best advocate. It’s important to remember when using a flea collar, like Seresto, your pet is being exposed to small doses of pesticides, 24/7, for as long as the pet wears the collar.

Cats are especially sensitive to flea preventatives with many causing seizures and even death. For cats, we recommend using Cheristin. Our cats tolerate it very well as opposed to Advantage or other strong chemical brands.

For dogs, it’s best to talk with your vet as different brands are better for different sizes and ages of dogs.

Equally as important is not to solely go on the cost of the flea/pest preventative for your pet. A cheaper flea preventative could make your pet very sick as the ingredients won’t be as high in quality. According to MedVet.com “Common signs of toxicity from flea products containing organophosphates are diarrhea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, small pupils, muscle tremor, weakness or falling over, and drooling. Organophosphate toxicity can be rapidly fatal, depending on the ingredients and dose the pet is exposed to.”

The more natural route is diatomaceous earth (food grade only!!). There are many pet safe DE products on the market, but how it works is the DE acts like tiny shards of glass with razor sharp edges, when the fleas come in contact with it, it creates tiny scrapes on their body that cause them to dry out and die. Unless the product specifically says so, only spread out your home, not on your pet. Vacuum up the DE after a few days. For more tips, click here. 

To sum up, flea and tick preventatives should not be taken lightly. These are pesticides that we are putting on our pets and we need to ensure the product is safe and will not make them sick.