The Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety warns cat owners against using permethrin-containing tick remedies. Because if a cat receives a medicine with this active ingredient, it can lead to severe poisoning.
The Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) warns cat owners in particular against using permethrin-containing tick products. If a cat gets a drug with this active ingredient, it can lead to serious, and in the worst case fatal, poisoning, the Federal Office wrote in a statement.
Veterinary medicines with the active ingredient are used in dogs against external parasites such as fleas and ticks. However, cats should never come into contact with the agent, veterinarian Katrin Kirsch warned: "Not everyone is aware that cats lack an enzyme that breaks down this active ingredient." According to the Federal Office, more than 200 such poisonings in cats were reported between 2011 and 2021.
While dogs tolerate the drugs well, cats could experience cramps, signs of paralysis, increased salivation, vomiting, diarrhea and breathing difficulties, which could even lead to death. In households in which dogs and cats live in particular, there is an increased risk of poisoning through contact between the animals if the dogs have been treated with permethrin, Kirsch warned.
If the above symptoms occur after the cat has accidentally come into contact with permethrin or after accidentally misusing a drug containing permethrin, a veterinarian should be consulted immediately. If necessary, the doctor will initiate preventive measures, treat the cat symptomatically and, in severe cases, carry out the necessary emergency measures.
In addition, suspected adverse drug reactions should be reported to the BVL by the pet owner or the treating veterinarian. This information helps the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety to initiate suitable risk minimization measures within the framework of pharmacovigilance - the monitoring of the safety of medicinal products.
