The kitten I came upon was vivacious and energetic as well as happy and loving. I fed her cow’s milk and as expected she got diarrhea. I needed something, though. I knew I had to get a formula, so I went to Wal-Mart and bought Hartz’s formula. I didn’t know any better. Over time the time span of four days, my kitten started having disturbing symptoms. I did not connect them to the formula until it was too late. The first night she threw up, which I just attributed to tummy upset. The next few days I started noticing that when I would feed her, a half hour or so later she would start acting odd. Day two, after a feeding she just went in a corner and started meowing loudly. She also would stare off into space and circle around in her litter box and just fade off. When she would re-animate, she started acting very restless as if she was looking for something. She started just hiding behind things, as if she was sick. She didn’t do that when “normal”. The third day, I had to take her to the vet because I thought something else was wrong. On this day, she was doing the trance thing and was very restless alternating with near paralyzation over and over. I noticed she also had bad gas. The vet put her in an incubator with oxygen and gave her fluids. She somehow miraculously popped out of it after a few hours (digestion time, hmm?). The next day, the symptoms returned after feeding. I put her in a box with blankets because she kept doing the weird trance thing and was obviously distressed. She just stood in the corner with her head against the walls, like she couldn’t move. Her tail was twitching oddly and near the end before she lost consciousness, she was mewing loudly. She never did this before. Obviously, this time her reaction was so severe that I had to put her to sleep. My last memory of her, besides standing in a corner unresponsive, was of her lying in an incubator, totally dead to the world. Thanks for killing my kitten, Hartz. Please, everyone, do NOT give your kitten this poison. Get KMR.
10 Comments Received
October 28th, 2012 @7:31 pm
My kitten was doing fine untill 3 days into feeding hartz milk replacement. Now she is dyherorated and not drinking bottle has has iv fuilds under the skin but still not drinking…
October 31st, 2012 @12:42 am
You should have kept that formula and have it tested because I’ve used it with good results even though I try hard to stay away from Hartz products as I’ve lost many pets to Hartz products like wormers or flea products, including collars – NEVER USE THOSE. Unfortunately no other company puts out kitten milk replacer, so it’s either use it or make your own from raw GOAT milk. Never use cow milk ! Not even for adult cats. But always make it weaker then instructions say or it’s too concentrated for a kitten. Water things down for a kitten. I suspect you made it too concentrated as per your mentioning digestive problems. I water things way down for the young ones.
October 31st, 2012 @8:43 am
I’m sorry for your loss
October 31st, 2012 @8:59 am
There actually is a far superior milk substitute by PetAg called KMR. You can get it at Petco, Fleet Farm, etc. http://www.petco.com/product/109177/PetAg-KMR-Milk-Replacer-Food-Supplements-for-Kittens-And-Small-Animals-Powder.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch I did not realize that the Hartz formula was so far off in formulation and ingredients from it, otherwise I would have made haste and gotten it. I also did not know about goat’s milk until it was too late. I would have done anything for my little Pumpkin, but it was just too late before I realized what was going on. Three vets visits, four restless nights, countless feedings (with a possible poison)…I think she just became too weak and dehydrated by Friday because she wasn’t getting nutrition.
@Esther-did you try the Karo syrup/honey trick? Give them a little bit on their lips or tongue and it gives them a blood sugar boost and generally makes them hungry again.
October 31st, 2012 @9:04 am
What I wanna know is why thus company is still in business? And not held accountable for all the deaths it has caused!!!!
November 2nd, 2012 @6:23 am
My friend, I am sorry for you loss. I know of this site because I had a similar experience. It was only the epiphany of thinking that the shitty KMR I was feeding my litter caused the problems I had (just like yours) that made me snap up and stop feeding them Hartz. I found this site. My story is already on here from a year ago, and it IS possible to save them by dropping Hartz’ product and feeding them real KMR from Petco or something. I shared my story here to save people like you from the same fate but obviously, like me, you have to know this place exists first. A catch 22. Do me a favor and carry the mission like I do. Warn people. No, I don’t know why these poisoners are still in business. Out of a litter of 5, I had one ‘go down’. She was my epiphany. I managed to save her by cutting off the ‘Hartz KMR’ but to this day, that child is not right. She’s just not right. Her name is Jesse James and she’s mentally damaged in an indescribable way, but she’s alive because I was alert enough to ‘Google’ her problem and found this web site. It IS possible to save them by switching them off of this poison but you get what is left over and it’s not all that pretty. Jesse is ‘weird’. To this day. The other 4 are ok, but it was just one or two days on “Hartz KMR”. It just hit Jesse harder. I’m so very sorry for your loss. I really am. I shared my story on here last year to try to spare people the same pain, but like you, you had to know this site existed in order to be able to react. If I have anything else to say to anyone else who has this problem, drop Hartz ANYTHING. Put your kittens back on KMR from Petco (sorry, don’t remember the producer but it costs about 25 bucks a container) and NEVER EVER USE ANYTHING BY THESE EVIL BASTARD POISONERS. I’m really sorry for you and your kittens. I actually thought my story would stop these evil bastards from killing kittens. It didn’t. You are not the first. Or the tenth. Neither was I. But thank you for sharing your story and please, please, please spread the word.
November 2nd, 2012 @7:12 am
PetAG. That’s the brand. That stuff is OK. Hartz is poison. No, I don’t work for PetAG. It’s just what saved my little babies. Hartz is pure shit. Pardon my language.
November 2nd, 2012 @7:16 am
I keep going over and over this in my head about what I should have and could have done differently, but it’s too late. She should have had a chance. She would have if I had been giving her good nutrition. She needed it so bad. I made the mistake of thinking Hartz was comparable to KMR. The only reason I bought that poison was because it was at Wal-Mart, the closest place to get that kind of stuff. I would have rushed to Petco had I known the truth. I was willing to spend all my time and money on her, and in the end she died because of $10 formula.
When it came to the choice of euthanizing her or putting her in intensive care, I had a feeling that if my precious, cute little baby kitten pulled through, she would be mentally damaged afterwards. That is a major part of why I chose to put her to sleep. The vet said she only had about 10% chance of survival anyways at that point. I didn’t want her to suffer anymore. The damage was done. If you feed a kitten crap, it’s going to die or “not be right”. Just like humans. The sad thing is, companies are doing this to us, too. Infants, kids, and even adults. Look at all the autism, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc. It’s too bad that none of us really realize how bad it is until we are taken advantage of and are suffering. And even then, a lot of people don’t realize it….
December 10th, 2012 @2:46 pm
I’m so very sorry!
Yes, I’ve used Pet Ag with great results. It’s the only brand I use, now, but I’ve discovered that there are a couple of others.
I have three cans of liquid KMR, Hartz brand, which I will never use. I cannot give it away in good conscience. I guess I’ll just flush it! Or wait – I’ll keep it so it can be tested, if we ever get some scientific people on our team who can analyze it for poisons.
In fact – I advise people to keep remnants of the products you’ve used just for this purpose.
Alice J
February 21st, 2013 @8:48 pm
i am sorry to hear of any of these sad outcomes with your kittens but i dont really think its the milk replacer. we have a now cat of almost 18months and i still give her the hartz milk replacer because she loves it so much and begs for it nightly. its her routine i guess. i only came on this site to find out what it might have in it that makes my cat act like she is on speed just after finishing it. she has since she was three weeks old when we got her. its crazy, its like instant speed. has anyone experienced this burst of energy?
Leave A Reply