# Bob Martin products



## witchyone (Dec 16, 2011)

Have heard a lot of bad reports about Bob Martin products causing illness in pets. What I cant understand is why are they licensed to produce flea and worming treatments and its still stocked on shelves for unsuspecting pet owners to administer to a beloved pet ?


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## chichi (Apr 22, 2012)

I havent heard about BM causing illness but I know their flea and worming products are supposed to be totally useless. Cant understand why anyone would buy flea or worming products that havent been advised by their Vet (buy mine online but discussed with Vet the best products to use) and I am pretty sure no Vet would recommend BM.


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## Josie Ent (Jul 17, 2013)

Hi I work in a vets and a lady brought her cat in a few days ago it had a bob Martin flee collar on and had been treated with BM flee spot on the cat was very ill and unfortunately had to be put to sleep. Has far as I know the bob Martin flee collars are banned in France and other European countries, I don't know why they would still be available in this country PLEASE DON'T USE THEM. We have all so had very poorly puppies in with worms cos their owners had been using BM worming tablets and they just hadn't worked!!!


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## Dante (Feb 21, 2011)

I noticed a while back that Asda are now also selling Bob Martin wet cat food pouches... That seemed very random to me!


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

I would never use any of these products on my boys..For me it just shouts out cheap rubbish...Its so cheap...for gods sake..if you are going to use supermarket stuff in your heart you must know it cant be good for your cats...I pay alot of money for worming and fleas stuff from my vet even so I wont give it to them every month..so scared of all the toxins..my cats are like my kids..woudl I flood them with rubbish no I wouldnt!


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## maisiecat (Jul 27, 2011)

Bob Martin also produce silica litter which is potentially harmful if inhaled.

The problem is that people don't know about all these poisons and will buy them because they think they are safe.


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## Kyria (Oct 29, 2011)

That is very true..If I didnt come on the petforum I would also probably buy it..The ordinary Joe Bloggs wouldnt know how bad it is for their cats..so glad I found Pet Forums.


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## witchyone (Dec 16, 2011)

maisiecat said:


> Bob Martin also produce silica litter which is potentially harmful if inhaled.
> 
> The problem is that people don't know about all these poisons and will buy them because they think they are safe.


I got some cat litter the other day and saw another type on the shelf. Had a look at it and saw that it was produced by Bob Martin so put it back. I would never use any of their stuff on my girls.


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## BobMartin (Aug 27, 2013)

Hi, Im posting here on behalf of Bob Martin. It has come to our attention that some pet owners are experiencing issues when treating their pets with our flea treatments. Nothing is more important to us than animal health and we work to ensure our products are fully tested to meet the strict standards of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. All of our treatments must pass scientific tests in order to be sold however in rare cases, as with all medications, side effects can happen. If you are aware of any adverse reactions to our products please do contact us on 0844 748 0108 so that we can investigate. We take every possible reaction to our products extremely seriously and would really like to know more details and contact your vet to find our all medical details. Thanks.


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## Josie Ent (Jul 17, 2013)

BobMartin said:


> Hi, Im posting here on behalf of Bob Martin. It has come to our attention that some pet owners are experiencing issues when treating their pets with our flea treatments. Nothing is more important to us than animal health and we work to ensure our products are fully tested to meet the strict standards of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. All of our treatments must pass scientific tests in order to be sold however in rare cases, as with all medications, side effects can happen. If you are aware of any adverse reactions to our products please do contact us on 0844 748 0108 so that we can investigate. We take every possible reaction to our products extremely seriously and would really like to know more details and contact your vet to find our all medical details. Thanks.


Why are some of your products banned in Europe but are still available in the UK!!!


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## Tanji (Jul 17, 2013)

Call for Britain to ban popular pet flea collars over 'poison threat' discovered in France | Mail Online

Not just a danger to pets it seems


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## fierceabby (May 16, 2011)

I think it's pretty disgusting that Bob Martin products are still for sale given the huge numbers of fatalities and illnesses that have been reported on the internet, the petitions etc etc 
I begged my nan not to buy it but as it was on the shelf she said 'It can't be dangerous or they wouldn't be selling it'. Only by using my smartphone in store to show her the countless accounts from pet owners about it's effect did I change her mind on buying it. 
I would rather stick pins in my eyes than buy BobMartin products for my pets.

If BM truly DID take these reports seriously they would RECALL all products, stop accusing cat owners of using dog products on their pets, and take note of what is said here - on the plethora of petitions to ban it.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...artin+petition&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official


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## cats galore (Jul 17, 2012)

did you know that Bob Martin have a range out named PESTROY. these are spot ons for dogs and cats but you will only know they are a Bob Martin products by reading the tiny print on the back of the packaging. these are selling in home bargains and other shops. be warned and always check what you are buying

http://[URL=http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/bsjlmb/media/KGrHqRHJCYFI0RYKTgqBSSKumwdw60_57_zps0be92fbb.jpg.html]


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## tincan (Aug 30, 2012)

cats galore said:


> did you know that Bob Martin have a range out named PESTROY. these are spot ons for dogs and cats but you will only know they are a Bob Martin products by reading the tiny print on the back of the packaging. these are selling in home bargains and other shops. be warned and always check what you are buying
> 
> http://[URL=http://s1240.photobucket.com/user/bsjlmb/media/KGrHqRHJCYFI0RYKTgqBSSKumwdw60_57_zps0be92fbb.jpg.html]


What a horrid name  they should drop the P and replace it with a D would be much more appropriate as far as that company goes ....

Thanks for sharing that CG


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## LOOPYLORO (Oct 22, 2013)

My good friend is a veterinary nurse and warned me about Bob Martin products. She has had several people come in to the vets where she works with pets having seizures after using Bob Martin worming treatment. 

I'd also like to know why the products are not banned in the UK

Lisa
X


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## StormyThai (Sep 11, 2013)

BobMartin said:


> Hi, Im posting here on behalf of Bob Martin. It has come to our attention that some pet owners are experiencing issues when treating their pets with our flea treatments. Nothing is more important to us than animal health and we work to ensure our products are fully tested to meet the strict standards of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. All of our treatments must pass scientific tests in order to be sold however in *rare cases*, as with all medications, side effects can happen. If you are aware of any adverse reactions to our products please do contact us on 0844 748 0108 so that we can investigate. We take every possible reaction to our products extremely seriously and would really like to know more details and contact your vet to find our all medical details. Thanks.


BOB MARTIN CAT SPOT ON KILLS THE CATS BEFORE THE FLEAS | eBay



> "I took my cat fifi to the vets today as she has been unwell since coming into season on friday, The vet took one look at her and said she was very sick but couldnt figure out what it was that was wrong. she has been off her food and shaking, constipated to the point of screaming and obviously yowling as she is in season.
> 
> After asking me a load of questions and jogging my memory it now seems she is sick due to this bob martin flea treatment, apparently it acts by attacking the nervous system of the fleas but sometimes it attacks the cats too. I am now needing to wait till the morning to see if she is going to get better or die. she has been sedated, given an antibitotic, painkillers and put on IV fluids. I am so upset and have no idea what Im going to say to my girls if she doesnt survive. According to the vets they are trying to get this product off the market as they have seen a lot of cats die after application.
> 
> ...





> If you are reading this because your cat it reacting WASH YOUR CAT IMMEDIATELY and take it to your nearest emergency vets. My cat came very close to death, foaming at the mouth shaking and twitching. Iif we had not washed her she would not have made the journey. It is very important that if the affects are bad that after washing her/him you go to the vets for more washes. The worst side affect is the fits, IF YOUR CAT IS FITTING TAKE THEM TO THE VETS.I have set up a facebook group to spread the word, please feel free to join and share with friends. It is called Bob Martin product information share, catchy x





> We have two siamese cats, who spend 99 percent of they're time indoors. We noticed our older siamese, back twitching, we checked her fur, couldn't see any fleas but to be on the safe side we thought we would give them both flea treatment as a precaution. we bought bob martin spot on from our local supermarket. Complied with the instructions on the pack. The younger one shes fine but the older one shes in a bad way. We've had many trips to the vets, on the first visit we explained the problem and that we had given her a flea treatment. Before we could say anything else our vet said did you use bob martin spot on. we looked at each other bemused. She explained that she has wanted bob martin spot on banned for a long time. That the product can cause death in cats and dogs. We were so shocked. Our older cat has large areas where her fur has fallen out, large angry weeping and bloody scabs. It looks like her skin has been burn't. We've tried all kinds of treatments to try and give her some relief. We're nearly 4 months down the line now, we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. We've got to bath her a couple of times a week using a mild antibacterial soap then apply a antibacterial cream we got from the vet.
> Since this has happened we have read lots of bad and upsetting reviews from other pet owners. Some even loosing their pets to this deadly product. She used to be a very social lap cat, but now spends most of her time hiding away not wanting anyone to touch her. We've phoned bob martin to tell them the problem we and other pet owners have had. They said that they sell a lot of this product and have never heard of any bad reviews. This is a lie. They seem more interested in the revenue they get for this product and not the welfare of these poor dogs and cats and there owners. I hope this is a warning to anyone out there, the symptons these poor pets get are so upsetting. Compared with others we were one of the lucky ones. This can be devestating.





> Sadly as we could not purchase a flea collar we used Bob Martin spot On on our dog- he is 7 years old and has enjoyed perfect health until now - within 24 hours he was foaming at the mouth and trembling. We immediately bathed him in case he was having an allergic reaction to the spot on Bob Martin treatment. He is now - two months on - having seizures and fits, losing control of his bowl and bladder. It is quite horrible and I would not want any other dog owner to have this experience.





> I've always used Frontline on my cats but wasn't able to get any at the point when my 18-month-old cat was due for her flea treatment. Thinking all the spot-on treatments were much the same, I picked up some Bob Martins instead and, following the instructions, applied it to the back of her neck.The next day, the area where I'd applied it was raw and bloody. It's now a week later and the area is no longer bleeding but is still raw and hairless.This stuff is dangerous and shouldn't be allowed on the shelves.





> I used Bob Martin Spot On Flea Treatment on my as cat and he began scratching furioulsy over the next few weeks. I thought he might need another treatment but his condition worsened after a second aplication. I then noticed a bald patch between his shoulder blades where the solution had been applied. On checking various forums I was absolutely horrified to discover endless reports of animals that have died as a result of using this product. There are no warnings on the product about this. Please contact trading standards on 08454 040506 to report. This product must be taken off the shelf. You must also complain to store purchased from to stop them srocking the product.





> I have just come back from the vets after having to have my 14 week old kitten put to sleep. I bought the product to help protect him from fleas and also put Bob Martins Carpet Powder down. He died of anaemia, the vet said because of fleas, he had not been himself since having the Spot On and I'm sure it brought his immune system down so that the fleas took a hold of him. We tried everything to get rid of them but he was too underweight for frontline so I purchased Bob Martin's, I thought this would be safe as its sold in Pets at Home and Asda but as soon as I put it on he started foaming at the mouth and was very low afterwards so took him to the vet thinking they would get rid of the fleas but instead put him down.





> DO NOT USE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i sprayed my cat with ''Bob Martin silent flea spray'' Lucky for me it wasn't silent at all and she ran a mile after 4 sprays (think it recomended something stupid like 16) The next morning I came down stairs expecting to be greated by Minnie...... not one sound.... 4x sick & 4x runny poop! she wouldn't eating or drinking and kept being sick. After reading this forum I saw that people had washed their cats. We gave our rather unhappy cat a bath, after i wrapped her in a towel and she went to sleep. She is now 100000% better. My advise is to wash this terrible deadly product off and tell all your friends etc how dangerous it is!!!! I believe this forum saved my cat! Thank you. I will be reporting to trading standards!


I think my (and the rest of the worlds) definition of rare is a tad different to yours :sneaky2:

Those reviews are only from the first page of google, I could go on and find many, many more if you wish :nonod:

Rather than trying to brush everything under the carpet and have damage limitaion on pet forums, how about you face up to the fact that your product kills and either fix it or withdraw until you have a product that doesn't cause this level of damage...

Rare side effects I can deal with, this is blatant denial from a company that many pet owners trust due to your clever marketing....

There is no point in telling people to go to their vets to talk about your product as the vast majority will warn them away, but by the time your customers seek vet advise it is too late 

Doubt this post will get any answers for BM, you can't even get any sense when you talk to them on the phone so doubt they will be better in this setting


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Just one crappy standard customer services reply in August from the 'great' Bob Martin on this thread says it all :devil:
I am fortunate enough to know their products are lethal and have never used them and have always advised F&F not to either. Others are not so lucky and assume a branded product readily available on the shelf in a shop is safe.
I would like to think that a poor bereaved pet owner out there will take BM to the cleaners in the courts but I guess that's a pipe dream.

I am guessing you have no answers to all the bad press BM? Suddenly gone quiet have we? :

I wonder if they have a Facebook page.... a little more public than here and might get a response... will take a look.


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## StormyThai (Sep 11, 2013)

moggie14 said:


> Just one crappy standard customer services reply in August from the 'great' Bob Martin on this thread says it all :devil:
> I am fortunate enough to know their products are lethal and have never used them and have always advised F&F not to either. Others are not so lucky and assume a branded product readily available on the shelf in a shop is safe.
> I would like to think that a poor bereaved pet owner out there will take BM to the cleaners in the courts but I guess that's a pipe dream.
> 
> ...


https://www.facebook.com/BobMartinUK

ETA: oppps, I may have just posted on their page


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Lol you beat me to it StormyThai  I have just added a nice blunt question to their FB page, be surprised if I get any response tho 
Em


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## CoCoTrio (Jan 3, 2013)

An investigative journalist with an interest in consumer affairs should get hold of this and do a proper job of sorting out the facts and asking some serious questions, and get some independent lab tests on BM products. 

It'd be interesting to compare the customers' experiences to any lab findings and to get the company's answers to questions arising. The publicity would be excellent, one way or another.


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## Staysee (Oct 19, 2009)

Would rather pay triple or quadrouple the cost of bob martin to get a flea/worming treatment that works and wont harm my cat and thats straight through my vets. Money isnt an object when it comes to my cats wellbeing.


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Well I got a response so I guess that's something 
Apparently Bob Martin are going to address what we have put on the forum, could be interesting 

https://www.facebook.com/BobMartinUK

Em


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## mr c w kneller (Sep 24, 2019)

These Bob Martin products have still been causing illness & death to animals till this date.
How are these products still on the shelves?
Watchdog need to investigate why?
The company Bob Martin don't care enough ! Otherwise this still wouldn't be happening.
24th September 2019.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

mr c w kneller said:


> These Bob Martin products have still been causing illness & death to animals till this date.
> How are these products still on the shelves?
> Watchdog need to investigate why?
> The company Bob Martin don't care enough ! Otherwise this still wouldn't be happening.
> 24th September 2019.


I have not read any recent reports of BM products causing illness or death to pets. Some of the ingredients were changed a few years ago.

Please can you say where you have seen such reports.


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## mr c w kneller (Sep 24, 2019)

chillminx said:


> I have not read any recent reports of BM products causing illness or death to pets. Some of the ingredients were changed a few years ago.
> 
> Please can you say where you have seen such reports.


There has been many reports from various people on Facebook pages.
There are many posts from pages that help animals that are missing.
& people usually post other issues on these sites & I've noticed Bob Martin's products coming up quite often with bad reviews that danger animals.


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## mr c w kneller (Sep 24, 2019)

One product. Sure I can find more.


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## SILVERKINGS (Jun 17, 2019)

I wouldn’t touch any bob martins products a lady I knew gave her Frenchie a bob martins product and it had a fit, nothing wrong with him before he took the product he had to go to emergency vet


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## Tigermoon (Apr 2, 2013)

I'm not being funny, but if you look on Facebook you'll find posts about illness and death being caused by anything and everything you care to name. Much of it is fake news spread by those who don't bother to check the facts for themselves.

I wouldn't use an over-the-counter product like this anyway simply due to the basic fact it almost certainly doesn't work. If you want results, you go to your vet.


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## ExD (Jul 1, 2016)

Now I'm terrified.
Grabbed a box of BM's pouches from the supermarket some months ago and my picky cats went wild for it. I was thrilled because I'd been struggling for ages to find something they would eat. They've been eating it happily ever since.
Its now gone in the bin.
But they still turn their noses up at Royal Canin and Whiskers. 
Are you all SURE about this? I don't mean to doubt anyone so please don't be offended, but is there any proof? Surely BM wouldn't purposely poison animals?


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## buffie (May 31, 2010)

ExD said:


> Now I'm terrified.
> Grabbed a box of BM's pouches from the supermarket some months ago and my picky cats went wild for it. I was thrilled because I'd been struggling for ages to find something they would eat. They've been eating it happily ever since.
> Its now gone in the bin.
> But they still turn their noses up at Royal Canin and Whiskers.
> Are you all SURE about this? I don't mean to doubt anyone so please don't be offended, but is there any proof? Surely BM wouldn't purposely poison animals?


I wouldn't worry too much about food etc it is their flea/worming stuff that has being questioned in the past , at least as far as I'm aware it is.


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## Jesthar (May 16, 2011)

ExD said:


> Now I'm terrified.
> Grabbed a box of BM's pouches from the supermarket some months ago and my picky cats went wild for it. I was thrilled because I'd been struggling for ages to find something they would eat. They've been eating it happily ever since.
> Its now gone in the bin.
> But they still turn their noses up at Royal Canin and Whiskers.
> Are you all SURE about this? I don't mean to doubt anyone so please don't be offended, but is there any proof? Surely BM wouldn't purposely poison animals?


Haven't seen any reports about the food causing issues. It's usually been the flea treaments in cases I've read about.


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## SILVERKINGS (Jun 17, 2019)

Tigermoon said:


> I'm not being funny, but if you look on Facebook you'll find posts about illness and death being caused by anything and everything you care to name. Much of it is fake news spread by those who don't bother to check the facts for themselves.
> 
> I wouldn't use an over-the-counter product like this anyway simply due to the basic fact it almost certainly doesn't work. If you want results, you go to your vet.


Yes I agree i wouldn't go to use any over the counter products never mind bob martins, if my precious fur babies need anything it's the vets every time


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

mr c w kneller said:


> One product. Sure I can find more.


The active ingredient in Bob Martin Clear Flea and Tick treatment is dimethicone, which is also used in some pet shampoos and other grooming products. I can't find any reports of studies that found dimethicone to be toxic to cats.

It's not a product I would use on my cats, because I wouldn't expect it to be effective at preventing fleas or ticks.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

SILVERKINGS said:


> Yes I agree i wouldn't go to use any over the counter products never mind bob martins, if my precious fur babies need anything it's the vets every time


Some OTC veterinary products are fine e.g. Advantage flea treatment. Vets sell it but the cost of buying it from the vet will be much higher than ordering it online from a pet pharmacy.


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## Jesthar (May 16, 2011)

chillminx said:


> The active ingredient in this product is dimethicone, which is also used in some pet shampoos and other grooming products. I can't find any reports of studies that found dimethicone to be toxic to cats.


I think the main problem used to be that people bought the flea treatment to use on cats back in the days when it contained permethrin and the packaging had no obvious warning. That in itself possibly wouldn't have earned them quite as bad a reputation as they have if it hadn't taken the a LONG time to do anything about it (it took them until 2014, despite incidents going on for several years).

Although reading the reviews of their latest spot ons doesn't fill me with confidence, either - many reports of cats and dogs suffering from severe itching and bald patches after application.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

The BM flea treatment for dogs used to contain permethrin. But there was misuse by some owners who completely ignored the safety warnings on the packet and used the product to treat their cats. 

Or in dog + cat households, some owners were not separating their dog(s) from their cat(s) for the required length of time, after the dog(s) had been treated with the product.

https://petsci.co.uk/health-care/bob-martin-permethrin-poisoning-cats/

I am not a user of BM products but am glad they removed the permethrin from their flea product for dogs.


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## ExD (Jul 1, 2016)

Phew. I was rather expecting to be told I was a wicked cat Mum, buying cheap food for my babies and putting their lives at risk. Bob Martins has been around for a long time so I considered them to be a trusted supplier and when you have two hungry cats who turn their noses up at the food you offer, you're glad and thankful to get them eating something at all.
All the same, I think I'll wean them off it if I can.
My vet treats them both for worms and fleas on a regular basis, as outdoor cats and semi-feral at that, they are rather susceptible to these problems


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