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Science Diet

Pat of South San Francisco, CA September 2, 2009

I bought a 20 lb. bag of Science Diet original dry cat food. One cat was vomiting and diarrhea and is still not well, another cat with diarrhea. The other cats are just laying around listless and have lack of appetite. The cats were picking at the food, and soon none of the cats would eat it at all.

I returned the food to Pet Club and bought another of the same food with a different lot number. The cats won't eat that one either. I've been using this food for years too. I told Pet Club not to put the returned food in the donation cat bins. Something has definitely changed. Vomiting, diarrhea, staring into space, depressed, lack of appetite, and won't look up at me.

Jodi of Alvin, TX August 18, 2009

My cat was diagnosed with pancreatitis in March 2009. Although we tried all the sensitive stomach foods the vet prescribed, the only foods that didn't cause vomiting were Science Diet original dry formula and canned Meow Mix tuna and shrimp. Since Science Diet is supposed be better than Meow Mix, we've been feeding that for several months without any vomiting.

In July 2009, we purchased another small bag of Science Diet and within 5 minutes of eating, my cat was vomiting. Thinking she had a pancreatis attack, we withheld food for 24 hours, as recommended by our vet. Withholding food for so long is extremely stressful on our baby and watching her starve is agonizing. She began vomiting soon after eating more Science Diet.

Thinking maybe the bag had gone rancid, we purchased another bag with the same results. Every time she vomits, we have to withhold food for 24 hours to "reset" the pancreas. For the past two months, our cat has had recurring episodes of vomiting with Science Diet. She has not had any episodes of vomiting with Meow Mix.

I suspect there is something wrong with the food, at the manufacturer's level, and strongly encourage a recall. We will no longer feed this food to our cat. After reading all the recent complaints on your website about Science Diet, my suspicions that the food is foul are confirmed.

Veterinarian visits and fees; watching my cat go through unnecessary starvation; I am an attorney and realize there is little I can do -- I just want the general public to know there may be something wrong with Science Diet.

Judy of Rives Junction, MI August 11, 2009

I am involvd in pet welfare and a long time dog mom--we always have more than one dog in our house. My heart goes out to everyone experiencing problems with any pet product because we trust that companies police their own products. I know what I went through after that one incident since I fed one of the foods in one of the recalls.

I would like to thank this site for the accounts on Science Diet. Our recently adopted puppy who got sick (not related but i will look into this now) was fed some Science Diet puppy while housed at the vets. I don't use the product but to everyone who is concerned about their dogs health, please check out the following publications:

Whole Dog Journal - this is like a Consumer Reports for dogs. I have saved more money and learned more about our dog's health than anywhere else. They rate the top 10 dry and canned and frozen foods every year. They accept no advertising so there is no conflict of interest. The lives of our dogs have changed so much for the better since I began reading this magazine.

Someone told me that vets like to push Science Diet because the company helps them through vet school--I don't know if this is true or not. Second thing that has been very helpful to me is a book called The Nature of Animal Healing by Dr. Martin Goldstein. When you find out what is put in alot of dog food it will make you sick (not referring to Science Diet but many of the store brands). Some of the good brands that have appeared in the top 10 dog foods are Innova, Natural Balance, Evo, Wysong, Newman's, etc. They are mostly at pet stores or online. Newman's I have seen at Target stores.

An excellent report done by I believe it was the Animal Protection Institute explained all the stuff not considered fit for human consumption (like tumors cut off) that is put into alot of the store brand dog food. Again, not referring to Science Diet. I know little about them. The greatest gift you can give to your canine friend is not the fun "gifts" we think of, but rather the gift of knowledge about their health and safety. I hope this helps you folks out--I usually don't post online, no time but wanted to get this info out to you. I now am a much more informed canine consumer!

M of Roselle, NJ July 31, 2009

My oldest cat was poisoned after eating Science Diet Savory Cuts in 2007 when pet food was tainted with melamine. Although she managed to survive that ordeal her digestive system never returned completely to normal and she would have problems with vomiting and diarrhea and constipation. The vet put her on Hills id Feline Prescription Diet for about a year after which time the vet recommended trying her on Science Diet. I was very skeptical about ever buying Science Diet again but the vet indicated that not only now was it safe but it was a very good quality food.

For over a year everything was ok until the morning of June 15, 2009 after she ate from a newly opened can of Science Diet Indoor Chicken and within 30 minutes of eating it started vomiting all over the kitchen floor. Even though I immediately threw the food out, by the time I got home from work there was ALOT more vomit and quarter sized spots of bright red blood on the kitchen floor. She was extremely sick, lethargic and dehydrated. I rushed her to the vet and she had to be euthanized.

I advised Science Diet of these details and the serial number from THE CAN but never heard anything back from them. Apparently Science Diet is having a big problem again and it is not being reported. This is a sin.

michelle of piscataway, NJ July 28, 2009

i have tried so many things for my dog and finally went to science diet r/d canned. it worked fine the first time around. he LOVES the food !! this morning i opened a can and it kinda scared me !! the bottom side of the lid had a white, spongy film on it. the complete "casing" of the dog food ( sometimes comes out like a "jelly roll" ) had the same white spongy film all around it. the smell was HORRIBLE! like it had gone bad. around the bottom, on the paper of the can, was a dry "ring" of what looked like previous wetness.

i opened another can to compare it to see if maybe, since it was early morning, i was not quite awake but no... the dog food slipped out just fine and smelled like how it's suppose to smell. my dog has had so many problems with his health, the LAST thing i can afford is another vet bill from him getting sick!

i plan to contact my vet and science diet directly about this. oh, and the can came from a SEALED CASE. so far, no other cans have the same problem. how could this be? i'm packing it up to SHOW the vet and i took pictures that i'm going to email to the company!

Brandy of Durand, IL July 27, 2009

We bought Science Diet for Large Puppies from Petsmart, the same foord we have been feeding our puppy for the past 7 months. Opened the new bag bought in July 2009 and our golden had horrible uncontollable diahrea with lots of mucus that night and next day. We Stopped feeding her the dog food for a few days and made rice and chicken. She returned to normal and then we fed her the Science Diet food again thinking something else caused the illness, and now again immediately after eating the Science diet she is back to having horrible diahrea. I have searched the web sites and have not found any indication of a recall. However based on the statements I have read here I believe it is the food and will not be feeind her Science Diet any longer!

CHRISTINE of TACOMA, WA July 17, 2009

My dog has been eating Science Diet J/D prescription dog food for several years and has never had a problem but in June 2009 he started not wanting to eat it. I thought his mouth was hurting him and took him to the vet but nothing was wrong. Then in July he started vomiting every day and wouldn't eat it. I discovered that it must be the food because he will eat Iam's. I have seen many postings online of dogs who started having problems with Science Diet in May/June of 2009. There is no recall, but there must be something wrong with the food if lots of people are having the same problem.

Larry of Crystal Lake, IL June 26, 2009

Our Golden Retriever was 11 years old and in good shape for his age. We have always used Science Diet Sensitive Stomach. He did vomit from time to time but I thought it was from the kids getting him excited after he ate. I am not sure on the exact dates, but sometime in late May of 2009 the neighbor's 12 year black lab past away. They had left over Science Diet and offered it to us since they knew we used the same brand. I thought it was sensitive stomach but found out later it was the vegetarian type. I mixed it in with the current batch. Our dog did not like it and did vomit. I thought he was just being picky. I ended up throwing it all away becuase it was too much of pain to pick out the new food. Even after I bought a new bag he would not eat and quickly went down hill. The vet said he contracted a auto immune disease. We tried to put him on medicine but it did not work. We had to put him down on June 15, 2009. I did not make the connection until I was telling a friend about the situation. I contacted the neighbor and found out their lab had the same symptoms before she past away.

Kimber of Port St. Lucie, FL June 24, 2009

I woke up to find my mom's 17-year-old dog had vomited in her crate, which is unusual (despite her age, she had just gone to the vet last week and has a clear bill of health) but I chalked it up to an upset stomach. Today my chihuahua (who shares the same bag of food with my mom's dog and Yorkie) threw up multiple times. I couldn't pinpoint the reason. Just a few moments ago, my mom's dog threw up again. This is a large amount of vomit, not just a bit of spit up. My Yorkie hasn't thrown up to my knowledge, he could have gone out to the yard. I am discontinuing use for good. I've used Science Diet for years without a problem. My mom's dog does not need the added stress of vomiting up her food; we were using the Adult Small Bites for her in particular.

Helen of Boca Raton, FL June 22, 2009

I have used Science Diet for over 5 years. Never a problem. Must be a bad batch, purchased April 18, started using June. All 3 dogs throwing up, diareah, sick. Not all 3 got sick at once, so it was hard to figure out what was making them ill. Finally googled and found all the similar comments from other dog owners.

There is no recall from Science Diet, but I have discontinued use. I will be feeding them rice and chicken, homemade, for a week till they are better.

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