Reviews needed: Any bad experiences using the Seresto flea collar for cats?

The Seresto flea collar has only been on the market for a few years now. It’s manufactured by Bayer. I saw the post below on Facebook and wanted to share and ask cat owners who have used this product to give an honest review.

photo courtesy of Brianna

Apparently, there are a lot of problems. Google “Seresto flea collar problems” and take your pick of discussions. To be fair, some people are very happy and say they haven’t seen a flea since using the collar.

Brianna, a cat owner, posted the following on her Facebook wall a few days ago

“I AM FUMING.

Do not use Seresto flea collars on your pets. We got them for each fur baby one week ago when we noticed Aomori had a few fleas. To be safe, we got one for all of them.

We noticed Aomori wasn’t eating like normal and throwing up…we chalked it up to stress from the move. Well, last night Aomori was restless and walking in circles, drinking a lot of water, itching like crazy. This morning she had hives all over her. We could see them through her fur!

We took her to the vet and they said it was probably just an allergic reaction. By the time she was at the vet the hives had gone down. We figured being that this weather is very different than IL, she was just not used to it.
Now tonight Hookah was throwing up and we find this on her. A CHEMICAL BURN.

The worst thing to do is google it but I freaked out!! This has happened to SO many animals. I am so thankful Hookah is not as bad as the ones we saw online. Please, please, please research everything you use for your fur babies!! We did not research very well or we wouldn’t have ever used this product!!

We washed it off of her, now we have to hope it doesn’t get infected.”

photo courtesy of Brianna

The Seresto website states

“Possible through Bayer’s unique expertise in the fields of Material Science, Crop Science and Consumer Care; Ensures controlled, “low-dose release of its two active ingredients over 8 months, giving your cat the continuous protection she needs.

Seresto ^® contains two active ingredients: imidacloprid which kills adult fleas, flea larvae and lice and flumethrin, which repels and kills adult ticks, larvae and nymphs.

Sound off in the comment section as to how well you like the Seresto collar and if you’ve had any problems.

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Comments

Reviews needed: Any bad experiences using the Seresto flea collar for cats? — 12 Comments

Ella Faulkner on October 11, 2021 at 7:44 am said:
I have 2 cats and had a massive problem with fleas tried everything! Dont like the idea of collars but eventually i got the seresto flea collar. And it seemed to work straight away Miracle! Was really happy until I notice one of my cats kept trying to lock at it. Amd found red raw sores around her neck. Heart breaking 💔. The other cat seems fine.
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- Michael Broad on October 11, 2021 at 11:13 am said:
  Thanks Ella for your feedback. It is hard to see. I sincerely hope your cat is well now. These flea treatments can be dangerous. A lot of people don’t realise.
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Michelle on June 26, 2021 at 7:52 pm said:
After a few days of wearing the collar noticed cat was scratching her neck more than ever. Today noticed a flash of pink as she turned her head so I took it off – the fur is missing and skin is raw underneath. This is unbelievable. Wish I’d seen all these complaints before buying the Seresto collar!
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- Michael Broad on June 26, 2021 at 8:21 pm said:
  Thanks for sharing Michelle. God, it looks awful. Sometimes these flea collars do real damage. I have seen quite a few photos like this one. Good luck to you both.
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Betsy on December 1, 2020 at 6:42 pm said:
Unable to contact seresto customer care team because their phone number is incomplete.
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Betsy Harris on December 1, 2020 at 6:02 pm said:
Seresto collar Chemical burn on my dog.
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Cat's Meow on March 13, 2018 at 2:06 am said:
I have not used the collar on my cats, mainly because they are inside only and don’t get any fleas. My vet recommended them for my dogs several years ago. I am thrilled with the results!
After reading the article and looking at the pictures, I can’t help but wonder if maybe the collars are too tight? (NOT pointing any fingers!!!) Not so much that they present choking hazards, but regular-collar tightness. The vet showed me to have them very loose, providing the regular collar doesn’t go underneath them. Since we live out in the country and the dogs only go out under supervision (no fencing), we don’t use the regular collars unless we take the dogs somewhere away from home.
No matter what, these collars are definitely not for all animals. I am so sorry that the kitties in the article, as well as the many others, are having such a bad time. Their owners may want to try Advantage for Cats. I have used it in the past and it works very well. Just don’t use the ones for dogs as the cats will react badly to the dog’s ingredients.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
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AbbyandSadiesMom/USA on March 11, 2018 at 2:49 pm said:
As a general rule, our shelter (and me) never suggest using a collar for the potential choking hazard as well as chemical burns on the animal (cat in this instance) and allergic reaction primarily in the neck area. We’ve found that products like revolution are best. Personally, I order Stronghold (online), which is the UK version of Revolution. The difference is the packaging, period.
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WarmFuzzy's Inc on March 11, 2018 at 8:34 am said:
We have several cats that we can’t use topicals on. We had tried the FrontLines, Revolution & Advantage for the others but they just didn’t seem to be working like they had in the past. We opted to try the Seresto collar on the dog & several cats that have severe allergic reaction to fleas & the topical applications. The collar does seem to be working without any adverse affects. It just isn’t something we can afford to use on all the cats.
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- Michael Broad on March 11, 2018 at 12:33 pm said:
  Thanks for sharing.
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Susan Gort on March 11, 2018 at 2:14 am said:
I have not used a flea/tick anything on my babies since I almost lost my beloved Siamese to whatever was in the collar. Granted, that was 50 years ago, but I still would NOT use any flea/tick anything .
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doris henderson on March 11, 2018 at 12:00 am said:
I have never used a Seresto flea collar on a cat. Would never use ANY collar on one of mine for fear they would get hung on something and choke themselves. My husband has used the Seresto collar on his hound dog, Chelsea for the past 16 months. It has worked well and she has had no problems
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