I have been a pet owner my whole life and had always had great success using one flea product on all my pets. I had been told that I could use a small dose of flea product meant for my dog on my cats (generally Frontline and Advantage*), and this had always worked quite well. Unfortunately, I recently grabbed a different brand meant for dogs and used a small dose on my four cats. A few hours later my kitty Poof was having seizures. I quickly washed all my cats, but it was too late as they were now all having seizures.

After each cat seized about two times and had multiple baths, I called ACCES, a BluePearl Veterinary Partners Hospital, and they advised me to bring them all in at once. I was so very scared and heartsick because of my mistake.

Two of our cats, Nova and Kiese, were assessed and sent home in stable condition, but Poof and Cyclops needed to be hospitalized for further treatment. Unfortunately the total costs for the care and hospitalization was beyond what my family could afford. The ACCES team reached out to Frankie’s Friends to see if they could help our family and our beloved pets.

Since both Poof and Cyclops had a good prognosis, Frankie’s Friends agreed to assist with the remaining costs. I think I cried for about an hour with relief, gratitude and grief (for doing this to my kitties in the first place.) I am not sure how I would have found the money to pay for the treatment for my four sick kitties. Luckily, the staff and doctors at ACCES, with help from Frankie’s Friends, blew my mind and made their treatment possible.

Now that Poof and Cyclops are doing well and safely home, we wanted to use this opportunity to share our story. Having learned the hard way about the proper pet-specific use of flea products, we wanted to remind everyone how important it is to only use those products specifically made for cats on cats and conversely products for dogs on dogs.

This mistake made me feel like the worst pet parent on the planet, but the team at ACCES comforted me and let me know I was not alone. That this was a common mistake. They cared for my pets better than I ever could have hoped for and they also saved my bacon and helped me find a way to help pay for it. I learned to read labels and that there are angels out there and I found a whole office full of them.

THANK YOU!