Cure for Hartz Milk Replacement formula

I’m so sorry to hear that. I was blaming myself as well and no matter how much vet was telling us that its not our fault I was still felling so guilty and helpless.
I know that time if the only thing that will heal but I still want to tell you how sorry I am for what happened to you and your little one.
It hurts but we are not helpless!!!
We can prevent this from happening to others just by sharing. Share all the info you come across about this product with other, people at the store that about to buy Hartz product, blogs, animal shelter and vet clinics. You’ll be surprised how many vets are not aware of this.
Word of mouth is very powerful tool. And every time your input saves a kitten it will be in the honor of your little one.
My deepest sympathy for your loss.
Sincerely,
kittensrule

Hartz Milk replacement (with Taurine bar code # 3270098623 purchased in July 2010) contains NO milk
Ingredients:Animal Fat and Vegetable Fat(Preserved with BHA and BHT), Dried Whey Protein Concentrate, Sodium Caseinate, Dried Whey Product, Lecithin, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol(Source of Vitamin D3), a-Tocopherol Acetate, Ascorbic Acid(Source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Mono and Diglycerides of Vegetable Oil, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Artificial Flavor, Taurine.
Crude Protein(minimum) 30%, Crude Fat (minimum) 40%

VPL Nutrulall-C kitten balanced milk replacer (from the Vet)
Ingredients: Nonfat Dry Milk, Corn Oil, Protein Isolate, Sodium Caseinate, Corn Syrup Solids, Maltodextrin, Calcium Carbonate, Carrageenan, Dried Milk Protein, Magnesium Phosphate, Chorine Chloride, Sodium Ascorbate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Dipotassium phosphate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Acetate, Mono-Diglycerides, Niacinamide, Zinc Oxide, L-Arginine, DL-Methionine, Cupric Sulfate, Calcium Panthothenate, L-Taurine, Manganese Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrocloride(Vitamin B6), Thiamine Hydrochloride, Wheat Starch, Riboflavin, Menadione, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Vitamin A Palmitate, Sodium Selenite, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Cholecalciferol(Vitamin D3), BHT and Propyl Gallate(preservatives)
Crude Protein(min) 33.5% Crude Fat(min) 18%

Facts on WHEY(whey protein): “whey makes you dehydrated if you do not consume enough water as whey requires more water than most things to digest (more water in additional to what you mix it up with) and increase the work done by your liver, which increases your bodies need for water. Thus if you become dehydrated, one of the long term (after several days of dehydration) side effects is constipation. You may not even realize that you are dehydrated”.
This info intended for a 180 lbs man I wounder what is strictly whey base Hartz milk replacement does to tiny kitten’s liver and kidneys.

Sterilizing bottles got nothing to do with poisoning of Fat Mike. Him and his sister were old enough to drink out the bowl. The difference is that his sister is very picky when it comes to food and her intake of Hartz milk replacement was about a 1/4 of what Mike consumed.
I thought my original story may be too long so I edited it and didn’t include all the details. Fat Mike end up at the vet twice in 24 hours.
He had lots of Hartz milk replacement and felt ill. All the symptoms as in original story (he could not walk, pupils were very dilated, he would crawl and fall on his side growling in pain, his stomach was very swollen). When we got to the vet my only thought was that he overate and overeating is what he was treated for (medicine to throw up, shot of Benedryl, stomach cleaning). We left him at the vet for about 4 hours and when we returned he was as playful as he was before.
“Ok” I thought to myself I’m going to limit what he eats since he “overate” and end up at the vet. I cut out almost all can food him and his sister was getting and had Mike mostly on Hartz milk replacement. I brought him home at 5am and was giving him “milk” throughout the day with one exception at noon when he had a little can food. At about 4pm that day his sister throw up white mass (milk replacement) and I thought may be she overate as well!!!??? In about an 1 1/2 hours I went to check on kittens and found Fat Mike feeling even worse then the day before. This time he looked like he had no chance of surviving at all. All the symptoms were the same.
At that moment when I was cuddling him it all came together. Swollen stomach, inability to poop, his sister throwing up “milk”.
At the vet there was a different doctor this time and vet didn’t really wanted to treat Fat Mike since he looked almost dead. I begged him to do the same procedure as a female doctor did (less then 24 ago) and he agreed to give it a try. They gave Fat Mike medicine to throw up and Mike thew up this time, they gave him shot of Benedryl. This time doctor decided not just clean his stomach but pump it with saline solution.
Vet was shocked how that hopeless animal literally came to life after they pumped his stomach until all that milk replacement came out.
Hartz Milk Replacement KILLS!!! And Fat Mike’s story is a proof.

I appreciate the input on this product. It puts some recent events into a new light for me. I had 3 very small kittens wander up to my door a few months ago. They looked sick, no mom in sight, and their eyes were crusted shut. I cleaned them up, treated their eyes and used gourmet-style cat food processed in a blender to feed them (for lack of having formula on-hand). The store was out of kitten formula so I continued using moist cat food until I could get some. Eye infections persisted so the vet started them on antibiotics. I also added this Hartz Taurine formula in hopes to give them some extra kitten nutrients. The vet said it was fine and should help rebuild their antibodies. The combination seemed to weaken them and the eye infections would not go away. When I stopped the milk replacement, the antibiotics worked as they should within 2 days. After the antibiotics were finished, I gave them more milk replacement in the evenings before bed to use up the container. Within a week they were less active and became very VERY thirsty. They were drinking excessive amounts of water from every bowl they could find. Vets warned me against dehydration being symptoms of FIV at their age and I was worried about re-homing them. They were still eating mashed cat food and drinking water, which now…I think is the ONLY thing that saved them. When I discontinued the milk replacement, their thirst regulated in about 3 days and their overall health was much more active. They have never tested positive for anything but I worried they may still have a viral infection, so I decided to give them a permanent home with us. Now I am realizing their treatment was delayed because of this formula. At the time, I didn’t suspect it but they were considerably worse during the times they were drinking this milk replacement formula. I am lucky I stopped using it when I did and that it did not kill them while their bodies were stripped from antibiotics. Now they are about 4 months old and healthy, active, constant companions. But this is only half the reason I am here.

The reason I just found this forum is because I have a new litter of babies given to me by the neighbor. They were very small and the mom abandoned them. I trusted the brand I used in the past…who wouldn’t? I gave them the same Hartz replacement formula. I noticed that all 5 got bloated bellies within 24 hours of using the formula. I assumed they just ate too much. Earlier this afternoon, all were active and playful. All 5 were fine and less than 6 hours later 3 are literally catatonic and struggling to hang on. I have NEVER seen a healthy animal go downhill so quickly. I have worked around exotic and domestic animals my entire life and I knew it had to be related to the formula in some way. Healthy animals don’t get this sick…this fast…in a pet-safe environment with fairly experienced people looking after them. I started looking it up because I expected a product recall or something. The symptoms described by everyone else is what I have seen in both sets of kittens (completely different cats and separated by several months). The recent litter is too young for solid food or water, so they have only been fed THIS product approximately 4-5 times before getting deathly ill. I checked the ingredients and I have the same type with the Taurine barcode. We were told to induce vomiting before bringing them in to the vet. I was afraid because they were so listless, but it did help the smallest one. She is up and walking around but her eyes are still heavily dilated. Since she can’t see she is stressed on top of feeling sick. I noticed all three had a firm ‘mass’ in the lower left area of their bellies (almost near the groin area about the size of a jelly bean). I am not a vet but I thought it was an odd coincidence. The vet said the other two will probably not make it through the night but we are hopeful. When we took them in, they both appeared ‘gone’ already. You had to really feel for a slight heart beat and labored breathing. I just hope they pull through but they are quite young and this is a lot for them to fight at this age.

To say I am mad is an understatement. I’m convinced this product is not safe after seeing this in two litters. DO NOT feed this to your baby kittens. Spare yourself the heartbreak of watching them suffer or the guilt you feel later for having given it to them. The little scratches from playing this morning have barely healed on me and yet they are laying there struggling to survive tonight. This is NOT normal and this should NOT be happening. I only wish I would have seen this before tonight. No kitten deserves this from the ones they trust to provide for them.