Dear Sir:
When considering “rule outs” for severe seizure-like behavior in cats, clinicians should consider exposure to the over-the-counter topical flea product Zodiac Spot-On. Our clinic has encountered 2 cases of cats having seizures after exposure to the product.
In October 2000, a cat presented after rubbing up against a dog that had just been treated with Zodiac. Just recently, we had a cat that presented with similar symptoms after being treated with the feline product 2 days before. He had also been treated in the previous 2 months without incident. The drugs normally used to control seizures (valium, phenobarbital) do not work in this situation.
The treatment that we have found to be effective is methocarbamol (Robaxin, 500 mg; Whitehall-Robins, Mississauga, Ontario), 75-100 mg/kg bodyweight (BW), dissolved and administered in a saline enema, and then repeated 20-30 min later at 1/3 to 1/2 of the original dose. The maximum dose is 300 mg/kg BW/d. The treatment can be repeated on subsequent days.
It appears that most clinicians are not aware of this problem, so I thought that publication of our experiences might be helpful.