Recently, Susie Sherman wrote: Subject: Florida ferrets vs fleas
>As I told Barbara in private email, I won't use Hartz products on my pets.
>I have heard too many stories about poisoning.  I also personally saw a
>ferret come into the rescue that had been treated with Hartz products and a
>couple of months later developed health problems which necessitated the
>removal of a kidney.
>
>I know it is pure heresay and I have no solid proof linking the two, but I
>figure why risk it when there are several good products available that are
>being used on ferrets without causing problems?...
 
This is no hearsay: 60 Minutes did a piece (expose', actually) on Hartz
products several years ago.  As part of that, they included a home video a
family made of their dying kitty, who had been treated with Hartz Flea &
Tick Spray.  It tore my heart out; the father kept petting the kitty and
saying "you're the best kitty ever, just the best little kitty in the
world." My husband, kids and I were sobbing when it was over and made each
other a promise we'd never, ever use anything made by that company again --
and that we'd spread the word, as well.
 
More than 50 cats died from it AFTER it had been cruelly tested on lab
animals (mice, rats and kitties) and put out on the market anyway.  Hartz
knew their product was deadly if used "improperly" (as they termed it in the
lawsuits that followed).  As a result of the 60 Minutes show, they pulled
Hartz Flea & Tick Spray off the shelves for a few months and rewrote the
instructions.  AND THAT'S ALL THEY DID!!  The same damned product is still
out there, just as deadly as it was before.
 
>Good luck as we batten down the hatches against what should be one hell of
>a flea season - what with no winter to speak of this year!!
 
We buy our flea/tick collars from our vet.  So far, Shredni, our little
albino ferret, hasn't been hit with either problem (we live in Wisconsin,
though, so I'm always checking).  We let him out in the early evening to
play in the grass -- we always supervise him closely, but what can you do
about avoiding fleas and ticks?
 
Good luck this summer to all those owned by ferrets.
 
-- Rainey & Stormin'
[Posted in FML issue 1911]