We almost lost a ferret who had an anaphalytic (sp?) reaction after
receiving a dose of Advantage (to the back of his neck).  Advantage was
given Thursday morning.  Two hours later we noticed that he was extremely
agitated, bitting and clawing at his cage door and bleeding from his
mouth and paws.  Nose, gums and paw pads were bright red.
 
Vet instructions were to give an injection of benadryl and within 10
minutes his color and activity was back to normal.  We then bathed him to
get the rest of the Advantage residue off.  Since then he's had another 6
episodes into Friday, not quite as bad as the first, but we're constantly
checking him so that we are probably catching these episodes sooner than
we caught the first one.
 
The only reactions to Advantage that I recall have been skin irritation.
Has anyone else, see this type of reaction to Advantage?  It's been such
a good, quick and I thought safe way to eliminate fleas, that I hate to
stop using/recommending it unless there's been other episodes like this
one.
 
Sandi
 
Best Little Rabbit, Rodent & Ferret House
a non-profit animal shelter
14317 Lake City Way NE
Seattle, WA 98125
(206)365-9105
Open 6 days/week (closed Tue) or visit our on-line store at:
http://www.rabbitrodentferret.org
[Posted in FML issue 4430]