Is Permethrin flea products (cats) toxic to cats?
Also known as: pyrethroid / dog spot-on treatment / mosquito repellent
🚑 What to do right after ingestion
Wash the applied area with dish soap and warm water (cats lick it off), then go for sedation and supportive care immediately. Cats must only ever receive cat-labeled products.
Toxicity notes
A cat's liver cannot metabolize permethrins. Applying a dog spot-on to a cat — or a cat licking it off the dog — causes severe tremors and seizures within hours. One of the most classic cat poisonings.
Poisoning symptoms
- • Muscle tremors
- • Seizures
- • Drooling
- • Ear twitching
- • High temperature, then paralysis
Symptoms can be delayed (e.g. onion/garlic-induced hemolysis may take days) — a pet looking fine right now is no reason to relax.
FAQ
How much causes poisoning?
A cat's liver cannot metabolize permethrins. Applying a dog spot-on to a cat — or a cat licking it off the dog — causes severe tremors and seizures within hours. One of the most classic cat poisonings.
Can I make my pet vomit at home?
Home-induced vomiting is not advised: corrosive cleaners, sharp bones or existing neurological signs make it dangerous, and improper technique risks aspiration pneumonia. Vomiting should be induced by a vet with proper drugs at the right moment — most effective within 1-2 hours. So “head to the clinic as soon as you know” beats “try to induce vomiting first”.
Even without symptoms, use the symptom checker to review what to watch for
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