Dear Steve, I'm writing you after a long night of worrying and wondering about my pet.  Well two hours ago I received the phone call to inform me that my precious cat has taken a turn for the worst.  To end his suffering I requested that he be put to sleep. This nightmare started when I decided to put the Scatchex color -full flea and tick collar on him.  I put this collar on him and with in an hour he began to act weird like he couldn't see and rubbing his face.  Worried, I removed the collar and washed his eyes out with water and around his neck.  He became very agitated so I left him in the bathroom so that he could rest a bit.  I proceeded to call the company Combe inc. number on the back of the box.  I reached a person and told her my problem and advised her of what I had done.  She said that I should just watch him overnight and call the company back in the morning.  I checked on my cat every 5-10 mins after the call and after about a half of an hour it was obvious to me that he was not improving.  In fact he had begun to have seizures and drooling.  Freighted I called a local vet and rushed him into the pet hospital.  The vet said that I did the right thing and brought him in right away, and this was the worst poisoning reaction that she had ever seen.  The vet did try to save my cat, with an IV, valium shots, warm bath, and also gave him the antidote recommended by poison control.  All of these things were unsuccessful.  $350 plus or minus, (I haven't gotten the final bill yet) latter and I have nothing but the flea collar that killed my cat. I guess I'm writing you because I've seen a little of what your about by surfing the net this morning and I'm just a little confused as to where I should go from here.  Someone has to be responsible for my cat, my costs, my pain and the pain and confusion of my children.  I will need to know explain to them how a flea collar killed their companion. If you have any advice or recommendations on what I should do or who I should contact I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much for your time Gina

Response:

Dear Derek and Gina - First, I have sent your letter to several friends and have asked them to help - hopefully they may contact you direct. You need to find a lawyer who has some experience in pesticide/contamination cases.  If you call my offiice this morning @ 616-677-1261 and ask them to fax or mail you some data on Dursban.  This letter should  also be sent to the EPA.  

Please keep in touch regarding your progress.  Get well!   Steve.

Another Response:

That is so sad, I emailed her, with my concern about children.
My son has been exposed to things in the grass and now he stays away from grass and pets. It's so bad here that we're moving.
http://www.scratchex.com/
They didn't have much info on their site.
Are you in Michigan? I was there in the 70's with the several
thousand dead cows, I was eating and the fish from lake Michigan.
Yikes!
No wonder my daughter has hypothyroid.
Be well,
Beth

Thank you Steve for Your reply.  I’m feeling a little better today I think a goodnights rest has helped.  I have spoken to the Combe inc. (the makers of the collar) and they have asked for an autopsy at their expense.  They have also said that they would pay for my Vet bill that has the final total of $633.70.  Nothing has been discussed beyond this.  The pet store that I bought the collar from has told me if they can help me in anyway that they would be glad to.  I guess in about 1-2 weeks we will know for sure the cause of death.  I just can't imagine how it could have been anything but the collar.  I will call your office to obtain the info on Dursban and I will forward my letter to the EPA as you have suggested.  My family is feeling the loss of our pet and it will be awhile before we will be back to normal again.  Do you have any suggestions on a lawyer??? I spoke to a civil Lawyer out of our local phone book and he wasn't much help he thought that as long as the company was agreeing to help me out that I would not need a lawyer. But I feel that I don't know what my legal rights are as a consumer of this product and I'm confused over what the dollar value of losing my pet is.  How do you place a figure on something that is part of your family??  I can break it down to the cost of food, litter, neuter, shots etc...., but he was worth more than that to us.  And he can't just be replaced with another cat, in fact I don't know if I’ll ever be able to get another cat. Anyways thank you again for your time. Gina