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Frontline worse than fleas? (a Friday cat-blog warning)

Okay, Googlers of the world, we're gonna make it easy for you: Frontline, cats, skin irritation. The popular and heavily advertised "spot-on" flea killer for cats and dogs warns on its label that it can cause "irritation" at the sight of application. "Irritation" can apparently mean "instant half-inch chemical burn with fur loss." Or at least it did for Lexi the Gorgeous Ragdoll (below).

 

lexiheadshot.jpg It's been years since the cats of the Crazy Stable have had fleas...we've had a few isolated plagues over the years, including a race of superfleas that were impervious to all known interventions. But no sign of any this summer. Last night, however, Lexi leaped up with un-Ragdoll-like celerity as if nipped from below, Spouse and I panicked a bit (even though I couldn't find any evidence of infestation), and just "to be on the safe side," we applied an ampule of the Frontline we bought (and used with no problems) a few years ago.  Minutes later, poor Lex had a raw chemical burn on the back of the neck. (The stuff is applied in a single spot between the shoulder blades, where it ostensibly gets distributed through the animal's coat via the sebaceous glands.)

The damn stuff is waterproof, but it still made sense to wash her immediately and at least remove some of the oily spot; turns out the most benefit was in washing away some of her skin's own oils, which disperse it. I was afraid her entire skin might get irritated. Fortunately, no sign of that yet--but a quick Internet search on Frontline made me very angry about not being a smarter, more skeptical cat mommy.

The active ingredient in Frontline is fipronil, a relatively new insecticide developed by Rhone-Poulenc, which turns out to be the same neurotoxin agent used in Combat. The Net pet boards turn up plenty of reports, not just of irritation and outright burns and fur loss in both cats and dogs, but of even scarier systemic adverse events like convulsions and other neurological problems, and even some animals' deaths. Used monthly year-round on a pet in my household (as if!), the stuff would also worry me for its association with cancer and reproductive problems in test animals.  It's notable that all these anecdotes and warnings were reported by pet owners, not by vets (who make a good deal selling this and other such products and are undoubtedly the heaviest targets of promotion by companies).

But honestly, despite the company's safety claims, does it make sense that a potent insecticide, applied directly to an animal's delicate skin, where it can be licked and ingested, would be "safe"? After all the work I've done for the pharmaceutical industry's promotional tentacles, I was sort of flabbergasted at my level of trust.

Poor Lexi has dried off after her bath; the Frontline has left an oily mini-Mohawk around the bald raw spot, but removing more of it would require alcohol, which would sting like mad, so I'm going to leave her alone. No convulsions, thank God, unless you count her gymnastics trying to escape from the bathtub. (This was her first immersion bath--as we wrestled 16 lbs. of chubby frantic feline, she kept looking at us with those huge blue eyes, like, "Are you out of  your freaking humanoid MINDS?")

 Sorry to present a downer for Catblogging Friday, but I'm peeved that I unwittingly hurt my girl without fair warning that it could happen. I'm gonna call Merial today and blast them. Meanwhile, this article (from a hyper-"green" magazine called Whole Dog Journal, yet seemingly well-researched)  gives more details.  The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Committee in 2003 reconsidered its approval of fipronil, as a possible "undue hazard" to animals and humans.  (Hope those links work okay.)

I guess all this proves the point of a recent Pew survey on the blogosphere, which showed that  "people are talking about the subjects that matter in their personal lives," according to Chris Anderson, the editor-in-chief of Wired and presumably a man who Knows Such Things. Anderson,  a marketing oracle, observes in the New York Times, "It's narrow, niche subjects. It's a granularity of media that we in the commercial media could not scale down to."

And I say: Hey, granulate this.

Posted on Friday, August 4, 2006 at 09:40AM by Registered CommenterBrenda from Brooklyn | Comments37 Comments

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Reader Comments (37)

Wondering if anyone has noticed a difference in male and female reactions. My males all seem fine. Both females lost hair, had burns, and now have scabs and constant itching. Also, have used Frontline in the past, even last year, and never had these reactions on these same cats. Maybe they've changed the formula?
May 4, 2013 at 12:48PM | Unregistered CommenterShannon
I put frontline on my new kitten and she quickly became lethargic. Within half an hour, she was in a coma. I bathed her and carried her around in my clothes to try and keep her warm as tiny, wet, unconscious kitties don’t retain body heat very well. She survived, but after such an extreme reaction, I wasn’t expecting her to.

I found your article here while googling to see if I could find any other cases of the same. I did find instances of cats dying and dogs falling into comas. I assume most cats probably secret themselves away and die quietly, so most owners never notice they went into a coma first.

Four months later, my kitten is active, healthy and happy. There hasn’t been any lasting damage, but it’s worth noting there are worse reactions that burns and owners need to keep a very close eye on pets when using any medications or topical treatments, particularly for the first time.
May 28, 2013 at 11:56PM | Unregistered CommenterTalitha Kalago
I continue to be amazed, years after writing this post, at the number of people who find the blog having googled "Frontline burned cat" or other such search terms. Thank you to everyone who has added their experience to the comments thread and please continue to feel welcome to share your observations with other pet lovers.
May 29, 2013 at 02:30AM | Unregistered CommenterBrenda from Flatbush
It is good that you post your experience. Here is my 2 cents worth. It is unfortunate that your cat cannot tolerate the product. You should not be angry, rather disappointed. The tiniest mutation in the DNA of an organism can cause a reaction that no other cat/person will experience and these can be simply unpredictable. If by repeated reporting of problems by others makes this condition predictable thanks to your reporting, something else worthy of deeper investigation may result in a warning for you(oops others) to consider for future consumers. I do hope the label requested you test a drop somewhere on your cat for a reaction, like is customary for topical medications. If not you do have a right in my opinion to be more angry. In a way this may indicate that you need to use extreme care with products on your cat in the future because it may be marginally more susceptible to allergic reactions than the the testing that is done to determine this effect in the product development. I believe they try to be as comprehensive as possible in looking for adverse reactions, so please use extra caution with your special cat.
September 10, 2013 at 10:37AM | Unregistered CommenterKen Moffitt
I have been applying Frontline to my cats for years and one of my cats is suffering from pemphigus foliaceus , I cannot be sure that Fipronil in my poor cats bloodstream has caused this condition,which has caused years of itchy , scabby crusting all over his coat and inside his ears, but I strongly suspect that there is a connection, He has been on Prednisolone for ages and I think this is also damaging his health, he used to have a lovely healthy coat and he now has a sparse scabby look about him , he also is nervous and I can only imagine the discomfort he feels.

I have suggested to Merial that furthur research should be done about the use of Fipronil on cats and dogs , I will post their response when and if I get one .
October 11, 2013 at 05:38AM | Unregistered CommenterLynne Winfield
Anyone know how to wash Frontline Plus off of a cat? Had to put it on a stray cat I'd like to bring in but is quarantined as a result of fleas. But I want to get any residues off him before he comes in. Any suggestions? I can't find any information on how the stuff actually finally gets off the animal once you stop applying it.
November 19, 2013 at 10:47PM | Unregistered CommenterLisa
We applied Frontline to both of our cats last night. This morning, we found one of them dead. Before this he was happy and healthy, his normal self. There were no other health concerns our problems, the only difference was the Frontline that we used for the first time.
November 20, 2013 at 08:16AM | Unregistered CommenterDi
Its still happening! Bought frontline recently, have used it in the past never had a problem. We put it on all five of our cats. our tabby is the oldest about 9 years old and is the only one who had this reaction where the area that the medicine was applied to is completely bald. Never thought flea medication could burn a car that bad.
February 10, 2014 at 08:21PM | Unregistered CommenterVicki
i have just used advocate on my lovely red point british short hair. and his fur is falling out and he has a large burn mark on his neck. i have shampood him to try and remove it from his fur but it looks red and sore and now there is a open wound were the advocate was. does any body know of a way to treat flees without useing advocate or any chemicals products as i can not put him throu this again.
July 13, 2014 at 05:20PM | Unregistered Commentermargaret
i have used frontline on my dog in the past never had a problem till this year his skin is all red itches like crazy started trembling like he's cold losing hair as well afraid to put anything on it the sore spots that is people are saying apple cider vinegar but won't that burn where raw spots are
September 18, 2014 at 11:09PM | Unregistered Commenterjulie latham
I used Frontline on my cat, applied exactly as directed on the pack. Within minutes he was uneasy and one eye showed a red ring around the iris. Much to my relief this disappeared within half an hour, but the following morning he was dragging his right hind leg and the red ring around the iris had returned to reappear intermittently for longer periods over the next few months. The vet at first refused to accept that this and the subsequent rapid decline suffered by Barney could have been caused by Frontline. If I had known then what this superb, gentle natured cat was to go through I would have asked the vet to put him to sleep immediately.

Both hind legs became paralysed; both eyes suffered from the intermittent red rings; a bald patch appeared on the back of his neck where the drops had been applied; tremors started; terrible diarrhoea began but he always tried to drag himself to the nearby litter tray; he lost all energy. The current vet, and two others I took him to in desperation, eventually admitted the cause was Frontline and there was no hope that Barney could ever get better. His nervous system had been destroyed.
December 6, 2014 at 01:22PM | Unregistered CommenterChris James
I feed a colony of about 11 cats. 1 was sick or may have been starving to death, I give them a ton of food, but its a runt and I dont think the others were letting her eat. took her to the vet for tests and he said nothing major, gave her an antibiotic and he also said she had fleas. she didnt get any better and after a week I put some front line on her. She had front line last year and I think she was fine. This time she got a small bald spot where I applied it and over the next few days the hair got thinner out to about 6 inches. Anyway I had not had any issues in the past nor have I seen a single flea this year. But I was wondering if the front line just is inconsistent. I bought a ton of the stuff last year on amazon, enough for a couple years, I noticed the amount in the sealed package had gotten smaller. I notice because I always empty the front line into a test tube size glass with a screw on cap, then apply it with a eye dropper that has measurement marking on the side. I dosed her less than 50 ml which is less than the normal dose, but she is really skinny (5 lbs) and maybe it was still too much for such a small cat or maybe there was evaporation and somehow got stronger except it was sealed, but the volume in each tube is inconsistent, maybe I need to look at the expiration date. anyway I am keeping her indoors, feeding her lots of fresh meat and cat food and she is looking way better.
January 16, 2015 at 09:32PM | Unregistered CommenterJeff
I used frontline tritak on my male cat. immediately he ran in the corner began foaming/drooling at the mouth, acting very strange. then today I notice a very large bald spot where I applied this toxic chemical. I will NEVER use this again. I only hope this doesn't cause long-term affects. I feel so badly I didn't do better research.
March 21, 2015 at 08:49PM | Unregistered Commentertraci ann
This week I applied frontline to my cats and one adult male now has a large burn and loss of hair on the application spot. I have applied frontline for several years without a problem. Like Chris James, I bought a supply online to last me for a year and I wonder if there has been some change to the formula. I am very hesitant to use it on my cats ever again|
May 4, 2015 at 12:58PM | Unregistered CommenterWilma
My 55# bloodhound mix just got a dose of tritak two days ago. She has hardly moved since then, and has been trembling off and on. she is occasionally getting up to go outside. Her appetite has gone way down (and this dog will do just about anything for food) and she is drinking less than normal. This is the second time we have given her this medication...the first time she had slight body tremors for a day, then appeared fine. This time I'm worried. There is a slew of anecdotal evidence that small dogs, with light colored coats have body tremors upon being dosed with tritak, but our long lanky hound is having the same reactions I've read in these other accounts. We are done with this product. Conversely, my 35# cattle dog mix is doing just fine and received his dose at the same time.
December 31, 2015 at 06:07PM | Unregistered CommenterJeff
Fortunately my three have suffered very minor reactions since application 24 hours ago: red skin, itching, and lethargy in my 3.5 yr old male, his fur is mostly white so the redness was easy to spot, and at least itching/irritation in my 8 month old male and 9 month old female. They definitely don't want to be combed where it was applied. They got Advantage at the end of November with no adverse effects, but it killed very few fleas, and only for the 36 hours or so, so we tried the Frontline this time. Usually I wouldn't even do flea treatment; our street hasn't had any fleas in 15 years or so, but I think we picked these up at the vet and the fleas were infected with tapeworms so all three are getting treated for the worms soon too. You have to eliminate the fleas first so they don't get reinfected by ingesting an infected flea. I'm unhappy that they are having a reaction, but relieved that they don't have any serious problems like many of you have.
If you can bathe your animal and are looking for a non-toxic solution you can shampoo your pet with Dawn dish soap. It will kill the fleas. As for treating carpets you can sprinkle on Borax (20 Mule Team) found in the laundry area and vacuum after 24 hours; it also works on ants. The borax dehydrates the fleas and the soap may do the same. I honestly hope this is the last time I will have to spot treat my kitties. Best of luck to you all!
January 9, 2016 at 06:32PM | Unregistered CommenterNora
A 15 year old male shorthair cat. Applied frontline Plus for the first time . No hair loss but his behavior started changing in a few days. Licking forelegs, huddling outside on the porch all day, wanting to be in high places in the house. After almost two weeks, he is huddled down in the basement all day and night. Still eating well but he's "out of it". He purrs when being stroked but I feel so sick inside for doing this to him.
I don't know what will happen next.
April 23, 2017 at 08:46AM | Unregistered CommenterWal

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