Complain about a product or service

Hills Pet Foods

Teresa of Cedar Rapids, IA July 1, 2009

I purchased 2 large bags of Adult Maitnenace large breed dog food made by Science Diet from Edgewood animal hospital in April of 2009. Our dog had previously been on their large breed puppy formula. We slowly mixed it and converted him to the adult formula. He slowly backed off from eating and stopped eating completely by the end of May. He was also vomiting, having very soft stools, having terrible smelling gas, and lost a lot of weight. We took him to 4 different vets with 3 of them being at the very vet clinic we bought the food from. After mutiple tests and procedures they believed it to be a food allergy.

We switched him to another brand and he started to eat again, but slowly over time. He has gained a couple of pounds now but is still underweight. I then gave the dog food to my mother for her dog. After 2 days of eating the food her dog began vomiting, bloated up and having loose stools. She took the dog to the vet and they told her to toss the food and to put him on another dog food as well. I believe now that my dog does not have food allergies, but that the food itself had to have been tainted with something. I still have samples of the dog food on hand for testing if anyone will do it. I have notified the FDA, Science Diet, and the 2 local vet clinics.

Heidi of Onverwacht, South Africa May 29, 2009

My cat of 9 years contracted a skin allergy in December 2008 (possibly from being allergic to Whiskas). He has been in and out of the vet since, as he seems to have a food allergy of which we are still trying to pin point which foods- I know lamb is a culprit. However, he was on the Hills light (chicken flavour) which did not help with the allergies. We then tried the d/d diet which meant he threw up almost every day, the last week of the food, it WAS every day. His vet suggested I try IAMS, and he seems okay on it, though it has only been 10 days. Because he swallows the small pellets instead of chewing, I asked my vet if there was a Hills product with bigger pellets so that he can chew his food and seem less hungry.

The d/d diet had big pellets and he seemed to get fuller quicker and not be hungry all the time. She suggested I try the t/d diet. It lasted two days and he was throwing up on it. Plain and simple: my cat seems allergic to Hills products. Oh, every time he ate the d/d and t/d, it was with long teeth and no enjoyment whats so ever. It has been a waste of time and money for me trying these products. Not to mention the emotional trauma both my cat and I have had to suffer (with the food and constantly going to the vet).

James of Gainesville, GA May 27, 2009

My cat has been on Hill's Prescription M/D cat food since 2004 with a brief disruption when the food was recalled in 2007 but other than that short time frame, my cat has eaten nothing but this food (dry food). He is an indoor cat and very well loved and taken care of with annual visits to the vet and clean blood test results. He is currently 9 yrs old going on 10. A few weeks ago we purchased a new bag from our vet and about a week after feeding him this food, he stopped eating, lost weight, was shedding, and very tired. I took him to the vet thinking he was just sick and they told me he had acute kidney failure.

They then transferred us immediately to the emergency animal hospital and he stayed there from Friday night until Monday night on constant antibiotics, IV, and still was not eating but his toxin levels improved by Monday. I then took him home Monday night and returned to the vet on Tuesday morning where he was checked out again and they gave me fluids to give him under his skin b/c his toxin levels were still very high. My vet thought we were going to have to put him to sleep. I took off the week from work and used the long holiday weekend to monitor his every move--writing down each time he would eat, urinate, drink water, etc..He seemed to get a little better and then stopped eating again. We had to go back on Memorial Day to the emergency hospital but to our relief, they did blood work and it was back to normal. He was not eating so we had to get a stimulate prescription which seemed to help and now he is doing much better but I am only feeding him the cheap grocery store food b/c I know that the Hill's food caused this.

We gave the bag of food to my vet to get tested but they sent it to Hill's to test. We finally received a phone call from a "Katie" at Hill's just to tell us that she cannot discuss the Hill's M/d product with us and we would need to contact their attorney's in Philadelphia, PA. Since I am not an attorney, I do not feel comfortable contacting them without having representation of my own so I am interested in being part of a class action lawsuit if there is one of I am going to contact a attorney locally since my vet bill are reaching over 2000, not to mention my extreme emotional distress of the thought of losing my baby, and my time I had to take from work to nurse him back to health.

Nicole of Saint Petersburg, FL April 27, 2009

Two months ago my 2 year old kitty Roxy passed away from pancreatitis. She was presented with symptoms of jaundice to the vet on February 4th and on February 13th she passed away during exploratory surgery. She was first diagnosed with liver flukes and began in-hospital treatment, she seemed to be doing better and was released to come home February 7th. By February 11th her jaundice had not cleared up so she was admitted back into the hospital and the veterinarian stepping in for my regular vet, suggested that I take her to a specialist for an ultrasound. I did and they discovered enlarged lymph nodes surrounding the pancreas. The cytology report came back negative for cancer cells so I breathed a sigh of relief.

It was soon cut short by the surgeon that said that surgery would be in order to resolve the blockage in the gall bladder. Surgery was scheduled for the 13th and the morning of I was contacted by the surgeon who explained that her pancreas was hemouraging and that it be best that she not suffer the painful post-op from surgery. He later mentioned that he had never seen a pancreas that diseased in such a young cat.

I was devistated and searched for answers. She has NEVER eaten any other food than Hills Science Diet at my house and while at the vet, she was fed some form of a Hills product. I never would have even considered it to be the food since it is recommended and sold by my vet, but now I am hearing of all the conglomerate companies cutting corners and using euthanized animals from vets and testing labs in their products and disguising it as "animal by-products". The book that I discovered clearly states that Hills is guilty of this practice and when I examined the ingredient list, there it was. Not to mention all of the product re-calls the past few years.

I'm not sure if the food caused Roxy's death, and I am not sure of I will ever know. I still have some of the food she consumed before her untimely death and would welcome the testing by the FDA. If I could save another pet owner and their beloved fur child from the pain that I have suffered, then it would be a great thing.

Leann of Santee, CA October 12, 2008

I decided to tell my story about losing my siamese cat at 18 1/2 years. Due to some slight kidney damage from a prescription many years prior, the vet recommended Science Diet K/D for my cat and not knowing any better, I switched him over to that product. He didn't particularly like it but the vet was insistant to the point that if I didn't use it my cat would die.

I raised him since he was a tiny baby, he had been with me through thick and thin and was my dearest little buddy. I was willing to do almost anything to make his life better. What I saw over the next few months was a progressive decline, which the vet attributed to kidney disease. Then we had to start iv fluids and my little guy was very patient and dealt with it. About five months later, he died a horrible death, screaming in pain and vomiting blood.

It was only during the huge recall that I realized that the k/d formula probably contributed hugely to his death. It's been three years and I'm completely in tears while relaying this, I unwittingly poisoned my cat and still miss him terribly. I finally found another sweet cat to fill the hole in my heart and feed her a natural diet, she is thriving and full of energy.

Carol of Thornton, TX September 15, 2008

My pomeranian had been eating Hill's Prescription Diet U/D for the past 2 or 3 years as a result of a bladder stone formation and subsequent surgery in July 2006. After reading all of the stories about others with similar circumstances with toxic dog food I am submitting this complaint. She was an elderly dog 13 years, which died after hospitalization at my veterinary on August 31, 2008.

She developed extremely high liver enzymes with vomitting, lethargy, jaundice and seizures. My veterinarian tried all he could to save her but could not. He did not do an autopsy or biopsy but did suspect cancer of the liver. I do understand she was elderly, but she could have been poisoned by something in that food. I watched her like a hawk and know she did not eat anything else. I had noticed her in the last month vomitting but since she pretty much had a history of vomitting maybe once every two months, more or less, I really didn't think it was anything serious until that Sunday morning.

I have incurred a bill with my veternarian but do not know the total at this date. I have lost my precious companion, best friend and am suffering from extreme depression.

The little girl that used to sit with me in my recliner is not here anymore and now I refuse to sit in the chair. I am devistated. I hope you don't think I am crazy but if you have ever had a little dog that depended on you and trusted you to feed her what you thought was the best or only food you could feed her and lose her as a result of someone else's negligence you will understand. The food also cost 22.00 a case which would last a month.

Rebecca of Campbell, CA May 27, 2008

In October of 2006, my vet suggested that I switch both of my cats from Friskies canned food to Science Diet or IAMS. I bought both brands, because the cats liked certain flavors. In March, 2007, my male cat became extremely lethargic, and started losing weight. I took him to the vet, where they did blood tests, and that same night, came home from work to find him lying on the floor in the living room, surrounded by pools of vomit.

I rushed him to the emergency vet clinic, where they began running tests, giving him fluids and trying to find out what the problem was. After a couple of hours, the vet said I should go home, they would call me if there was a problem. I wasn't home more than 45 minutes, when the vet's office called to say that my little boy had died.

They found that he was suffering from massive kidney failure, and could not explain why. A week later, my female cat stopped eating, and began acting just like her brother. I took her to the vet, where once again, I was told she was suffering from kidney failure. She hung on for three more days, but couldn't or wouldn't eat, and became progressively weaker. Finally, the vet said it would be best to put her to sleep. My heart is broken; I have not gotten any more pets, even though I've never lived a day without pets.

I tried to find out how to get Hill's or IAMS to at least compensate me for the vet bills and cremation, but was told that I couldn't prove it was their food at fault, and they couldn't help me. I need to find out how to become a part of the class action lawsuit again these companies. It won't bring my babies back, but at least they have to pay for their care.

The vet bills from the emergency and regular vet's offices came to over 1000, and the cremations came to 500.

Jean of Downey, CA March 23, 2008

I have a concern about Science Diet canned cat food. Please note that the food in question was not part of a recall and I had the food tested by an independent lab to find out if it was contaminated with melamine and it's analogs. The test sample results indicated that the melamine was below the minimum detection levels. I am concerned that there may be other contaminants in the food which may have resulted in the death of 2 of my cats. The lab only tested for the contaminants I specified.

I rescued a stray cat who was very thin. I took him to my vet who did complete blood work, tested for FIV/FeLV and performed a general exam. The cat was found to be in good health, except for a slightly elevated pancreatic function. I fed the cat, Mickey, Friskies canned food which caused loose stools. A few days later I switched to Science Diet canned food and the problem cleared up. 2 weeks later Mickey died from an unknown cause. At first I thought that there was an undetected health problem which caused his death. While Mickey was alive, I also started feeding another cat, Mario, Science Diet canned food. I had Mario for almost 15 years. He was in good health, except for a case of stomatitis (an inflammation of the mouth) At first Mario thrived on the Science Diet, but after a week of eating this food he died. Neither cat was in perfect health, but neither had life-threatening conditions. Both cats died in about 12 hours after the symptoms became apparent: loss of appetite, increased thirst, extreme lethargy. Perhaps this was simply a bizarre coincidence, but I'm not convinced that the food was not a factor. My other cat also a senior, was not fed Science Diet and remains healthy.

What I would like to find out is whether or not other people have had similar problems with non-recalled Science Diet canned cat food. If the food is causing the death of pets, then I would like to take some legal action, but not for my own gain. I would just like these pet food companies to be held accountable and to do whatever it takes to insure the safety of their products.

Gail of Brigantine, NJ January 23, 2008

I fed my cat about 15 lbs of the recalled Hills MD. I filled out a report and submitted bills to Hills with vet bills. In return I received a 2.00 coupon. It turns out my cat has kidney damage and high protein levels. I will pursue this as the bills continue to mount.

Kidney damage and high protein levels.

John C. Hurley of Winter Garden, FL January 16, 2008

Hills prescription pet food is a scam. The food itself has been overall good, but the prescription aspect is ridiculous. I have to order it through my vet, or have an additional office visit at Petsmart every year in order to get the prescription. There are no controlled substances in the product. It's just food. It's a scam by the manufacturer to control the distribution and price. I will find another manufacturer.

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