aj is spending the night at the vet. he’s probably scared to be alone and locked in a cage, and i’m scared to death. when i took him in, they put him ahead of everyone else because they were in a hurry to get his vital signs. the vet says his heart is beating very rapidly, and his pupils were incredibly dilated. he got several shots to sedate him and slow his heartbeat, and he’s staying for observation tonight.

why did all this happen? because of the grand old company called hartz. last weekend we used hartz flea and tick drops on the three cats, and last night we used the 2 in 1 flea and tick cat spray. when dizzy started getting sick we called the emergency animal clinic. bathe them immediately, the clinic workers told us. that stuff is deadly.

we bathed them, and julius and dizzy seemed fine. but all day today aj has been sitting in one place and staring. he never acknowledged me when i called him. he never came upstairs. he didn’t eat. he didn’t drink. he didn’t play. he just sat and stared. it was very odd and very scary.

after researching the products online i discovered the drops i used on aj are being discontinued. hartz now admits it causes horrible things to happen to cats, and they’re discontinuing it march 31, 2006. excuse me? you’re saying that this can be fatal for a cat and you’re going to wait a year to remove the product? i don’t think so.

the vet says he thinks aj will be ok, but i must admit that saying “i think he’ll be ok” isn’t very comforting to me considering i had a family pet put to sleep on saturday. i’m on edge, and i’ll be on edge all night. julius is missing his brother too.

so tomorrow after my 2 p.m. meeting i get to pick my little guy up. i hope he’s better. and hartz will be getting a phone call from me, and i plan to go to the walmart we bought the spray at and give the manager there a piece of my mind. while i’m at it, i’ll probably have a chat with the manager of the kroger i bought the drops at, since they’re being discontinued and all.

i understand these people have no consciousness and no heart, but something needs to be said. for me and for all the other cat owners who have purchases these products.