Popular flea collar linked to almost 1,700 pet deaths. The EPA has issued no warning.
Rhonda Bomwell had never used a flea and tick collar before. Pierre, her 9-year-old Papillon service dog, was mostly an indoor animal.
Still, her veterinarian recommended she purchase one, so Bomwell went to the pet store near her home in Somerset, New Jersey, and selected Bayer’s Seresto collar.
A day later, on June 2, 2020, Pierre had a seizure, collapsing while Bomwell was making dinner. Lying on his back, the dog stopped breathing and his eyes rolled back.
Bomwell tried giving him CPR. Then she called the police. An officer helped her lift the dog into her car, and she rushed him to the hospital. Pierre died before he could receive medical treatment. Bomwell didn’t think to take off Pierre’s collar.
“I just didn’t put it together,” she said.
Bomwell isn’t alone. Seresto, one of the most popular flea and tick collars in the country, has been linked to hundreds of pet deaths, tens of thousands of injured animals and hundreds of harmed humans, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency documents show.
Yet the EPA has done nothing to inform the public of the risks.
Seresto, developed by Bayer and now sold by Elanco, works by releasing small amounts of pesticide onto the animal for months at a time. The pesticide is supposed to kill fleas, ticks and other pests but be safe for cats and dogs.
Since Seresto flea and tick collars were introduced in 2012, the EPA has received incident reports of at least 1,698 related pet deaths. Overall, through June 2020, the agency has received more than 75,000 incident reports related to the collars, including nearly 1,000 involving human harm.
Domestic Animal - Moderate, Minor and Unknown
40,087
Domestic Animal - Minor
21,439
Domestic Animal - Moderate
7,743
Domestic Animal - Major
3,767
Domestic Animal - Fatality
1,698
Human
907
Chart: Johnathan Hettinger/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting Source: EPA Documents Get the data
The company sold its animal health division to Elanco Animal Health, a former subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Co., for $7.6 billion in 2019. The deal was finalized in 2020. As part of the deal, Bayer received $2.3 billion in Elanco stock, which the company said it would sell over time.
More here:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/03/02/seresto-dog-cat-collars-found-harm-pets-humans-epa-records-show/4574753001/
Seresto Incidents
**********
As some may or may not remember, I lost my cat due to these products several years ago. My other two cats were also sickened, one has brain damage from these products. I still have two cases open with the company that makes the product that sickened/killed my cats. I have never received any restitution or acknowledgement for what has occurred.
I am glad to know that this topic is finally getting some press although the deaths of 1,700+ pets and human harm is a horrific price to pay. 
The bottom line is don't use these toxic products on your pets please!
Thank you for reading this.
Cross-posted in the Pets Group
= new reply since forum marked as read
Knowledge is POWER.
Do not ever forget that.
It is up to us, the consumers of this garbage.
DO NOT BUY IT!!!!!
I got nowhere as the FDA does not regulate these products because they are not consumable.
As for the EPA, where the fuck did they go?
Do they even exist?
And PETA, tried them too -- another big zero.
Three come to mind straight off -- lavender, cedar and peppermint to name a few.
There are many others as well. 
The FDA continues to monitor adverse drug event reports for these products and encourages pet owners and veterinarians to report adverse drug events. You can do this by reporting to the drugs’ manufacturers, who are required to report this information to the FDA, or by submitting a report directly to the FDA.
To report suspected adverse drug events for these products and/or obtain a copy of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) or for technical assistance, contact the appropriate manufacturers at the following phone numbers:
Merck Animal Health (Bravecto): 800-224-5318
Elanco Animal Health (Credelio): 888-545-5973
Boehringer Ingelheim (Nexgard): 888-637-4251
Zoetis (Simparica, Revolution Plus): 888-963-8471
If you prefer to report directly to the FDA, or want additional information about adverse drug experience reporting for animal drugs, see How to Report Animal Drug Side Effects and Product Problems.
I have cases on file with one of the companies listed.
They haven't done a thing but tell me to 'eff off in a not very nice way. Their "veterinarians" are all shills for big pharma.
Grim reality at best.
More here:
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/cvm-updates/animal-drug-safety-communication-fda-alerts-pet-owners-and-veterinarians-about-potential-neurologic
My cat died of neurological toxicity. She was blind and unable to walk her last few days with me. My other two cats that were also sickened stuck by her side in 12 hour shifts as she died. Both of them were poisoned as well but were younger tom cats at that time. She was 10 years old and didn't have the stamina to fight it off.
I damn near cracked up when this was going on.
Maybe a few around here remember this. I was a god awful mess at that time, inconsolable.
that was (still is actually)
thank you for posting this information
To this very day they ignore me, consider me to be 
They frequently have their "sales". I drive by the place and see them on their sign.
Buy 2 collars and get one free, etc.
Makes one want to stone the sign!
I am so sorry to read abt. your late cat.
I do understand.
I do know the pain.
I am responsible.
You are responsible.
THE VET IS RESPONSIBLE.
BIG PHARMA KNOWS!
and 
at the same time.
There was another woman here on the DU at the time this happened to my cat and she'd lost all three of her cats. They were thoroughbreds. She spent almost a year's salary trying to save them and trusting the vets that RX'd the poison.
You aren't alone.
I'm sure that most of the deaths are not counted, just as mine are not counted! 
The only thing one can do is spread the word. I have contacted the press numerous times. ONE person followed-up of the dozens I called, ONE.
NONE of this ugly anti-flea crap is safe, NONE OF IT.
Btw, it’s actually heart worm not flea and ticks meds but the DU law of uncredentialed experts still applies.
My cats no longer go outside. I use a flea comb on them.
One of them (the one with the brain damage) actually prefers being combed to eating!
One sees how much he likes it, the others follow suit and they wait their turn every day. (yeah!)
Being they do not go outside and I comb them every day, I do not have fleas.
In the olden days we used to bathe infested animals with flea shampoo. It was not something we did often, and we always had the flea combs in hand.
They certainly do not advertise the side-effects!
I remember getting into it with one of their vets.
I said that it states that it may cause a problem that there is a synonym for.
I pointed this out to them and advised them to purchase a thesaurus!
They say my situation was a rare occurrence and to get over it.
Get over it?
Three sick cats and one dead one?
Re: Using dog products on cats ...
I've seen people recommend that you buy another type and stretch it out for months at a time. This may work to kill fleas but why don't they mention this as well.
There are far too many why don't they do this statements out there.
Mine is, "Why don't they flat out ban all of these toxic poisons that a making animals sick and die?".
You get ignored real fast!
Seems that the ones sold in grocery stores (like Hartz) are particularly toxic.
The bottom line is do not use these products.
Thanks for bringing this up! It happens a lot because they are pricey products and people are trying to save money. They cannot afford to go to a vet every few weeks (like I did for awhile when using the Comfortis pills). I had to as you couldn't get one of those pills down my cat's throat for anything so I had to take her in.
I should also state that she was not being treated for fleas, it was being given to her for a flea allergy supposedly and her skin was severely irritated was the claim. I was a total 
on this thing as it was all new to me at that time. Now I know.
them by a factor of 10 to arrive at anything close to the real number of deaths.
N/T !!
