Ventura woman calls for flea med recall after 2 of her cats almost died due to mix-up

VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) -- A woman in Ventura said a flea medication she's been using for years was improperly packaged and almost resulted in the death of two of her precious cats.

Erin Deborba loves her three felines, but this last week two of her pets, Hercules and Pandora, spent four days in the ICU.

"(Hercules and Pandora) could hardly walk," she said. "They were very lethargic. Their pupils were completely dilated. They were seizing."

The cats had been exposed to the wrong medication, which is no fault of Deborba's, she said. She also doesn't blame Target, where she bought the meds.

She claims the Pet Armor Plus that she's been using for years wasn't packaged correctly. Instead of flea medication for cats, she said the vials were filled with flea and tick medication meant for dogs.

Veterinary staff confirmed the amount of toxins in the vials were deadly.

"It's mind-blowing. I trusted this company for a very long time, and I didn't think that that sort of thing could happen, especially with drugs and medication with how strict regulations are," Deborba said.

Deborba said her third cat, Jasmine, also got sick but fared better than the other two because of her longer hair.

The cat owner has now racked up nearly $6,000 in vet bills and said Pet Armor's parent company isn't helping.

A company spokesperson told Eyewitness News the business is addressing the concerns.

"We take consumer concerns seriously and have been in contact with this consumer and her veterinarian to better understand her experience...We look forward to receiving additional information from her and her veterinarian, in order to continue our standard investigation process," the spokesperson said.

But Deborba is calling it injustice and asking for a recall of the medication, which has not been issued.

"Really, all I want is I want them to take responsibility for their actions. I want them to understand that I'm not the only person out there that could be dealing with something like this," she said.