Avoiding Permethrin Poisoning in Cats

When I was a little girl, my family had a cat named Suki. I loved the animal shelter more than I did visiting the zoo, and I picked Suki out myself.

Suki (left) and Ming (right), the first cats of my childhood. Photo courtesy Hank Weisman.

Back in the 80s, we didn’t have spot-on flea treatments or any of the other advances in flea control we do today. What we had were flea collars and flea dips you had to bathe your dog or cat in. We also had whole-house foggers that would spew chemicals into the furthest corners of your home, hoping to kill off all of the fleas.

Living in north Florida, we didn’t have the kind of harsh winter that killed off all the fleas like you get in some parts of the country, so fleas were a real problem. When Suki and our dog at the time had a persistent flea infestation, they were both subjected to frequently repeated flea dips to try to get it under control.

One Sunday morning when I was eleven years old, Suki threw up her breakfast. That’s not so unusual for a cat. But what was unusual was that a while later she started convulsing and wouldn’t stop. It went on and on, and it was terrible.

My mother sent my sister and me off to Sunday school with a carpool ride, and she went to the vet. I couldn’t concentrate on anything anyone was saying that morning. I just wanted to know how my beloved cat was. Suki never came home, and I never saw her again even to say goodbye.

Fast forward 30 years or so, and I read a description of permethrin poisoning in cats from flea products. It brought the awful scene from that Sunday morning flooding back. I had the sinking realization permethrin, found in flea dips, had killed Suki.

Permethrin Toxicity

Many flea solutions contain the pyrethrins, an insecticide with an active ingredient permethrin. This is a synthetic form of a naturally occurring extract from the Tanacetum cinerariifolium flower, part of the chrysanthemum family.

Tanacetum cinerariifolium flower. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

But instead of being a flower, permethrin is a neurotoxicant. It kills fleas by over-exciting their nerves.

Unfortunately, cats are especially sensitive to permeterhins because they can’t metabolize them quickly enough. As a result, permethrin is the most common cause of poisoning of cats in the US. They can cause neurological symptoms like tremors, seizures, and hypersalivation. In some cases, they can even cause death.

Permethrin has been eliminated from most products labeled for cats, though you may still find it today as an ingredient in flea dips labeled for use for both cats and dogs. Products are allowed to be labeled for use in cats when they contain low levels of permethrin. To be safe, always use a product specifically labeled as safe for cats, and avoid pyrethrin and permethrin ingredients.

Cats can be exposed to permethrin by being given a flea product labeled for dogs, or by spending time in close contact with a dog who has had a topical flea product applied. They can also be exposed to it when it is used in insectisides for the garden.

There is no antidote for permethrin/pyrethrin poisoning in cats. Treatment is limited to removing as much of the toxin from the skin as possible to prevent absorbing more and to supportive care.

Questionable Internet Flea Treatment Advice

Today, with the convenience of the internet, it’s easy to reach out to others who love the same things we do for advice and support. As a result, I am often among groups of animal lovers online. Far too often, I see people giving the advice that you can save money on cat flea control by buying a big dog flea medication then splitting the dose up among many cats.

Spot-on flea treamtent. Photo credit: depositphotos/Thamkc

When I see this, I try to warn that it is dangerous, pointing out permethrin poisoning is a risk if you don’t know what is in the dog flea treatment. Answers have ranged from “I’m in rescue and I know what I’m doing” to “I have done it plenty of times and nothing bad has ever happened.” I don’t want to argue with people on the internet, but I don’t want to stand by and watch cats be killed like my Suki, either.

Recently, I have started leaving Facebook groups when this issue comes up because I don’t have the heart to have the same argument over and over again. Even if the person who asked the question reads my warning, the next person who skims past trying to find a quick answer won’t, and I can’t stand to see the tragic results show up in the group later.

A Safer Flea Treatment Plan

If you need to use a flea product for your cat, consider a bath with a few drops of Dawn dish soap, which is often used on kittens too young for flea chemicals. If you use a chemical flea treatment, make sure it’s a flea product labeled for cats and doesn’t contain permethrin. If you are at all unsure about the product, ask your veterinarian about their experience with it.

Also, make sure you know how much your cat weighs. Flea treatment is generally applied by weight, and you can overdose a cat if you guess their weight wrong. Your vet will be happy to set up a weigh-in for your cat if you don’t have an appropriate scale, possibly even at no charge.

Keep your cat safe and happy this flea season!

Research and further reading

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Toxicosis in cats erroneously treated with 45 to 65% permethrin products.
Journal of Feline Medical Surgery, Feline permethrin toxicity: retrospective study of 42 cases.

Triple Vet Visit

Both Pierre and Newton went to visit the vet the same day last week. Pierre was scheduled for his six month senior exam, and Newton was scheduled for a dental cleaning.

One of the fun things about going to our vet is seeing the names of the other cats who are coming in that day. I want to meet the person who named their cat Xanax. Not to mention Kittenator!

Pierre got examined first thing. He was such a good boy for his weigh in.

I had been worried that he may have lost weight, but it was only a fraction of an ounce. If he hadn’t had to skip breakfast because of Newton’s dental, he probably would have weighed more than during his last visit.

He was really patient for the rest of his exam, too.

Pierre: It would be okay if we just skipped this part, though. I’m perfect!

While getting Newton’s paperwork in order for his dental procedure, I let him out of his carrier for a few minutes. He took the opportunity to check on his brother.

Newton: What are you in for?

Usually, when Newton is loose in the exam room, he is running all over, and he is especially trying to get out the back door to the procedure area. It was interesting to see him choosing to stay close to Pierre, instead.

Newton: Don’t worry, I know the way out. It’s that door. My girlfriend lives back there.

Pierre: I’m fine right here, thanks.

Newton’s dental went fine, and he has nice, clean teeth now.

When it was time to pick him up, I brought Cupcake with me for a weigh-in. People have been asking me how much she weighs recently, and I didn’t know, so this was an opportunity to find out. She weighs almost 8 lbs now!

She considered climbing up onto Dr. Avok’s shoulder until she realized “You aren’t my human!”

This was the first time I had three cats to the vet on the same day, and it’s good to know it’s possible to accomplish, even though I don’t plan to do it again any time soon.

Hyperthyroidism and Your Cat

Another friend of ours just had a cat diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and I wanted to share an overview of the things I shared with her. Having had four hyperthyroid cats in our family, this is something I’m familiar with.

What is hyperthyroidism?

Hyperthyroidism is a hormone disorder in cats, where the thyroid gland produces too much of the thyroid hormone. Cats with hyperthyroidism often lose weight, seem restless or even hyperactive. Some hyperthyroid cats can even seem aggressive.

What you can’t see from the outside is that a hyperthyroid cat’s body has to work a lot harder with all these extra thyroid hormones telling it to go, go, go. That makes the condition hard on a cat’s heart and kidneys.

The thing your vet often doesn’t say is that all hyperthyroid cats have a tumor, usually benign, in their thyroid causing it to overproduce. I had four hyperthyroid cats, including one that went through radioactive iodine treatment, and no one vet said the word tumor to me! This experience doesn’t seem unusual, and as far as I can tell, some vets leave that detail out to keep explanations simple.

What causes hyperthyroidism?

This is a question under much debate. In humans, hyperthyroidism is often caused by the autoimmune disorder Grave’s Disease or by iodine insufficiency. It’s not clear what causes it in cats. It is possible that flame retardants in our furniture and sofas may contribute to this condition in cats. There is also a theory that PBDEs and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), found in the fish ingredients in cat foods, may be to blame.

How is feline hyperthyroidism treated?

There are four ways you can treat a hyperthyroid cat:

Anti-thyroid medication
Radioactive iodine (I-131) treatment
Surgical thyroidectomy
Prescription food

Anti-thyroid medication

The most common form of treatment is an anti-thyroid drug. This prevents the peroxidase enzyme and iodine in your cat’s system from being used by the thyroid gland to create as much thyroid hormone. Since this treatment reduces the amount of thyroid hormone based on the amount of the drug taken, there is often a period of trial and error to get it adjusted so that it does its job without going too far and making the cat hypothyroid, which can cause other health issues.

This treatment also does not address the underlying issue that there is a tumor in the thyroid gland which will continue to grow. Over time, the thyroid gland can become significantly enlarged, or the tumor itself can change from benign to cancerous.

Radioactive iodine (I-131) treatment

Today, treatment with radioactive iodine (I-131) is considered the treatment of choice for hyperthyroidism in cats. Since iodine is required for the thyroid gland to function correctly and generate thyroid hormones, a radioactive form of iodine that can destroy thyroid cells is used to treat the overactive thyroid. While the thyroid gland stores iodine, no other parts of the cat do, so the treatment is localized and focused to the problem gland. The tumor is destroyed, and the cat is cured of hyperthyroidism.

This kind of treatment is not invasive, but it is performed on an inpatient basis at a specialty veterinarian because of the need for the facility to have special licenses to handle the nuclear material. They generally keep a cat from 3 to 7 days while most of the radiation is emitted from the cat’s body.

I-131 treatment isn’t perfect. A small percentage of cats require a second round of treatment when the first isn’t fully effective. Additionally, despite the dose of radioactive iodine used for treatment being less than it was five years ago, there is a possibility of a cat becoming hypothyroid and being unable to create enough thyroid hormone on his own. Many cats who are hypothyroid look great and don’t show any signs of low thyroid. If they do, your vet will advise supplementing with a hormone replacement.

Surgical thyroidectomy

Before I-131 treatment was available, the removal of the thyroid gland by surgery was a treatment employed by veterinarians. Usually, both lobes of the thyroid gland are removed, since otherwise the disease usually recurs within a few years.

This is not considered the favored course of treatment, because it is a long surgery, and patients with hyperthyroidism are often senior or geriatric cats who often also have issues with their heart or kidneys that make extended anesthesia risky. Because this treatment removes both lobes of the thyroid, cats must be supplemented with thyroid hormone for the rest of their lives, which is not ideal.

This treatment is no longer in very much in the US, and some veterinary schools have even stopped teaching students how to perform it.

Prescription food

A newer form of managing hyperthyroidism is through a cat’s diet. Prescription anti-thryoid diets are available that don’t contain iodine. Without iodine, the thyroid doesn’t have all of the necessary ingredients to generate the thyroid hormone, so it can’t overproduce it.

This food is controversial, since it does nothing to treat or remove the tumor causing the hyperthyroidism. In order to remove the iodine, most of the protein is removed, as well, and much of the protein is provided from non-animal sources. Although the thyroid overproduction is controlled, muscle wasting continues because when the cat’s diet is too low in protein, the body starts to consume its own muscles for an energy source.

Another problem with this approach is a practical one. Cats don’t like this food. In a cat food manufacturer study, 225 cats began the trial, and after only two weeks, only 60 cats remained because the others rejected the food. Yet to work, a cat has to eat this food and only this food, with no treats or other snacks to prevent any iodine entering the cat’s diet from other food sources. This kind of discipline is hard to make possible, especially in a multi-cat home.

Every cat is different

What’s right for your hyperthyroid cat may be different than mine. What was right for one of my cats wasn’t the same for the next of my hyperthyroid cats. Your vet will guide you through the pros and cons of different treatment options.

The main thing to remember is that as scary as it is to hear that your cat has hyperthyroidism, there are lots of options for helping your cat feel better.

Research and further reading:

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, Hyperthyroidism in cats: what’s causing this epidemic of thyroid disease and can we prevent it?
Environmental Science & Technology, Higher PBDE Serum Concentrations May Be Associated with Feline Hyperthyroidism in Swedish Cats
NAVC Conference 2017, Hyperthyroid Diagnosis and Treatment
American Thyroid Association, Radioactive Iodine
Insights into Veterinary Endocrinology, The Best Diet to Feed Hyperthyroid Cats

Why Cats Visit the Vet Less Often than Dogs

What is it with people who will take their dog to the vet but won’t take their cat?

Last weekend, when I was sitting at the coffee shop with Cupcake, a man came to sit at the next table with this dog. After Cupcake asked the dog not to get all the way up in her face, the man struck up a conversation, first telling me he was waiting for a first date to arrive. Then he wanted to talk about dogs and cats.

Surprisingly, one of the first questions he asked was, “Do you take that cat to the vet?”

I thought he might be worried that Cupcake was carrying something she could transmit to this dog, and I said, “Of course I do. And she is on flea control.”

“Why? I don’t take my cat at home like I take him.” He gestured to his dog. “My cat is fourteen, and it’s not like he’s sick.”

“How can you tell? A lot of cat ailments start in ways you can’t see until they are really advanced. Like kidney disease. And at your cat’s age, you really need to be concerned about kidneys.”

The man didn’t look convinced. “I’ve always fed him good food. He eats something that is gentle for his system.”

I continued to try to explain it to him. “With your dog going outside, you probably need flea control for your cat.”

“My yard has a really good fence,” he told me.

I stopped arguing. Soon after, the man’s date arrived. As I sat at the next table with Cupcake, he tried to impress his date by telling her date all about the large house in Connecticut just outside New York City he had sold to move to Florida and buy a house outright as well as put his two children through college debt-free.

black and white tuxedo kitten watches dog at coffee shop patio

Cupcake kept an eye on the dog and his date while the man went inside to buy her a cappuccino.

I have no idea whether all of this talk about money impressed his date, but it underscored for me that money wasn’t the reason he was not taking his cat to the vet. He really didn’t believe it was necessary for his cat to see the vet the way his dog did.

Cats Not Visiting the Vet is a Real Problem

This guy at the coffee shop wasn’t alone. Nationally, vets see 5 dogs for every cat, even though there are 85.8 million pet cats and 77.8 million pet dogs.

Cats aren’t getting the same level of care that dogs do. That isn’t fair!

Large with little cat. Image credit: depositphotos/lollok

A survey found that the older cats are, the less likely they are to go to the vet unless they seem to be sick. It sounds like they talked to more people who shared the attitudes of the guy I met on the coffee shop patio.

This is worrisome, since cats are really good at hiding illness in its early stages. Less frequent vet visits as a cat reaches an age where ailments are actually more likely mean those issues will go undiscovered and untreated longer. Annual blood work can catch issues with a cat’s thyroid, liver, or kidneys before they have done silent, irreversible damage.

What’s keeping cats from vet visits?

Most people think their cat hates going to the vet, and they’re probably right. In fact, 38% of cat guardians get stressed just thinking about taking their cat to the vet. No wonder cats aren’t getting to the vet more often!

There are simple things you can do to make the whole situation less stressful on your cat as well as yourself. For instance, if kitty hides when you bring her carrier out of storage, there’s a way to make this easier on everyone.

gray cat in green and gray carrier. photo credit: depositphotos/eAlisa

Cat in carrier. Photo credit: depositphotos/eAlisa

A carrier that only shows up when it’s time to go to the vet is frightening, but a carrier that is part of the usual living room landscape and serves as a place to nap on a regular basis isn’t scary at all. Any carrier can tuck under an end table and have a cozy blanket to make an everyday retreat for a cat so that it’s a familiar place when it’s time to go to the vet or anywhere else.

For high strung cats who are really afraid of the whole vet visit process, you can talk to your vet about giving your cat a dose of gabapentin at home before her appointment so help relieve her anxiety. Vets have seen lots of reluctant cats, and they have helpful suggestions for many situations.

What about the guy who took his dog to the vet but not his cat?

I wish I could say that the guy at the coffee shop had an epiphany and realized he needed to take his senior cat to the vet for the first time since kittenhood. But the truth is, once his date showed up, he only had eyes for her, so I don’t know how that story ended.

I like to think that maybe he’ll take his cat to the vet a little sooner than he would have otherwise after our conversation. I hope I made a difference for his cat, who deserves vet care just as much as his dog does.

Research and further reading:

Banfield, 2016 State of Pet Health Report
American Pet Products Association 2015-2016 National Pet Owners Survey
Royal Canin Survey of Cat and Dog Owners
Catalyst Council, Stats on Cats

Avoiding Permethrin Poisoning in Cats

Permethrin Toxicity

Questionable Internet Flea Treatment Advice

A Safer Flea Treatment Plan

Triple Vet Visit

Hyperthyroidism and Your Cat

What is hyperthyroidism?

What causes hyperthyroidism?

How is feline hyperthyroidism treated?

Anti-thyroid medication

Radioactive iodine (I-131) treatment

Surgical thyroidectomy

Prescription food

Every cat is different

Why Cats Visit the Vet Less Often than Dogs

Cats Not Visiting the Vet is a Real Problem

What’s keeping cats from vet visits?

What about the guy who took his dog to the vet but not his cat?

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