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DO NOT buy Hartz UltraGuard or Sergeant’s Gold Flea/Tick control for your pets

I applied SERGEANT'S GOLD SQUEEZE-ON to my cats about 24 hours ago from the time of this writing, and here's my report, which I'm posting after finding countless horror stories about the side effects of this and other similar products on the internet concerning this and similar over-the-counter flea control products, such as those marketed by Hartz under the UltraGuard brand.

FIRST, BEFORE I GET STARTED: if your cat or dog is foaming at the mouth, vomiting, or stumbling more than a little bit, or exhibiting any other weird/aberrant/abhorrent behaviors, STOP RIGHT NOW, TURN OFF THE COMPUTER, AND GET YOUR PET[S] TO A QUALIFIED VETERINARIAN IMMEDIATELY. FULL STOP.

THE EARLIER A VET GETS THEIR HANDS ON YOUR PET AND CAN BEGIN TREATMENT, THE MORE LIKELY YOUR PET IS TO SURVIVE. YOU CAN COUNT ON A BILL IN EXCESS OF $1000; SAVE YOUR SERGEANT'S GOLD OR OTHER PRODUCT PACKAGING BECAUSE THERE MAY OR MAY NOT BE A COMPANY POLICY WITH REGARDS TO REFUNDS AND/OR DAMAGES IN THE CASE OF THE DEATH OF YOUR PET THAT THEY WILL WELSH ON IF YOU CANNOT PROVE YOU BOUGHT IT.

That said, here's my experience in detail...

As of this writing, it appears I was lucky; my cats have had bad reactions, but look like they're going to be OK. Your results may vary, and while only a small percentage of pets seem to have truly bad reactions, that's still far too many given the long and well-documented history of such adverse reactions. There will be website links at the end of this report at which you may read more Hartz UltraGuard and Sergeant's Gold horror stories, as well as get natural alternatives that may work for you, depending on how pervasive/persistent fleas are in your area.

I applied this product to my pets about 24 hours ago. They immediately started itching and scratching to an extreme degree; I took this to be a sign that the product was working, and the fleas were just going nuts on account of, well, dying.

As day wore into night, both cats were eating less than normal and acting very lethargic. And still itching like crazy. Still further into the night, the cats started trying to get my attention by meowing, and repeatedly jumping on me and showing degraded coordination while doing so.

I started researching this on the internet, and was ALARMED at what I found. THESE PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF CATS AND DOGS ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES. So much so, in fact, that in Hartz's case, they "re-formulated" their original pyrethrin formula with a VERY similar, but less-potent pyrethroid chemical, cynically trying to lower the number of deaths below some arbitrary cost threshold of consumer liability, rather than removing the products from the market altogether, as would be the responsible approach.

I immediately bathed my cats; twelve hours later, they were improving, but still showing symptoms, so I've just bathed them again. They are slowly returning to normal, but the one cat (white fur, fair skin) has reddened noticeably beneath where the Sergeant's Gold Squeeze-On was applied. He is the one that is most symptomatic, and is still showing decreased physical coordination.

Make sure your pets have plenty of water, and a warm place that feels safe to them to dry off after their bath. And, again, if your pet[s] are showing symptoms markedly worse than mine, or as described above, stop right now and get your pets to a vet. The clock's already ticking. If you have not applied this product to your pets yet, DON'T. IT IS A POISON. Finally, DEFINITELY DO NOT use the "canine" formulation on your cats, or even vice-versa.

FRONTLINE PLUS, whose active ingredient is Fipronil, is well-regarded and better-tested, since in many jurisdictions, it is a prescription medication available only from licensed veterinarians. If you can't obtain any from a veterinarian for any reason, you can order it at 1800PetMeds.com.

The Hartz Mountain and Sergeant's companies have evidently decided, after consulting their spreadsheets, that they're below some arbitrary percentage on their accounting spreadsheets to where they can afford to pay off selected cases, and hide behind company policies and a small army of "damage controllers" that seem to frequently patrol the internet and pretend to "respond" to pet owners' concerns. You can see on this link just how cynical Sergeant's is about it, deploying a stock-photo veterinarian to provide calm reassurance. Don't buy into it. There's a lengthy history of pet deaths behind these two companies. You may learn more about this history at www.HartzVictims.org.

Finally, depending on how pervasive/persistent fleas are in your area or region, here is a list of natural, organic remedies that may work for you.

RELATED KEYWORDS: Sargeant's Gold, Sargeant's Silver, Sergeant's Silver, UltraGuard