Aim to stop permethrin poisioning of felines from dog flea treatments
An international charity has announced it will be working with the Pet Industry Federation as it steps up its campaign to reduce the number of cats killed by dog flea products.
Some dog flea treatments contain a chemical called permethrin, which although safe for dogs, can be fatal for cats.
International Cat Care (ICC) is calling for better regulation of permethrin based products so they are not so readily available.
It says that in some cases dog owners have put canine products on their cats, believing them safe. But in felines, permethrin can lead to convulsions and often death. Some cats have even been poisoned after coming into contact with a recently treated family dog, ICC reports.
A petition launched in August 2013 by ICC gained close to 1,700 signatures. As a result some national pet supply chains put a prompt on their tills reminding staff to check with customers buying permethrin based dog treatments, that they are aware of the dangers to cats.
The campaign also targeted online sellers, asking them to print warnings with permethrin based treatments.
A spokeswoman for ICC said: "We are going to actively promote the campaign and petition again this year. We will be working with the Pet Industry Federation and other organisations to reduce the number of cats poisoned by permethrin."
Details of the campaign can be found at www.icatcare.org/permethrin
The petition can be found here.
Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.
