Complain about a product or service

Hills Pet Foods

Rebecca of Campbell CA (05/27/08)
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 (03/23/08)
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 (01/23/08)
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 of Winter Garden FL (01/16/08)
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.

Marilyn of Lakewood OH (12/14/07)
The inside edge of the Hills Canine K/D can has black slimy stuff . I have been using this product for 18 months, and it was fine until now. On 2 separate occasions I talked to consumer representatives who explained that the dog food was interacting with the metal because the lining of the can had not been properly sealed. But it was still safe to give to my dog. Hills is not fixing the problem (different dated cans continue to have this problem), and I would like pet owners to be informed.

Spirit of Fairfax CA (04/22/07)

In the fall I wrote to Hills Prescription Diet regarding their MD wet and dry food. I could see my cats reacting to it and I wondered if they had changed the formula. I wrote to them and asked them if they were using any new or inferior ingredients. They wrote back assuring me everything was top quality. Now I find out it was not.

This is very frustrating as my vet insisted I feed them this very expensive food as they were overweight. I think this is a real scam and that they have done a remarkable sales job on the vets who are heavily pushing this MD food as Atkins for cats but it a lot of money for garbage. I wish I had stuck to my guns and just kept my cats off the food and hadn’t bowed to pressure from my vet who thought he was doing what was best.

Erin of Collegeville PA (04/01/07)
I called to get information on the recall of hills science diet food, as my cat is on Hills science diet K/D wet and dry. She has gotten sick over the past few weeks and has been diagnoed with kidney failure. She has been on IV fluids, but is continually getting worse. When I first called hills, they assured me their food was o.k. This time, the man I spoke to was named Joe. He was very ignorant, beligerent and gave me a hard time about getting the information on the food. He said they have over 150 formulas and cannot give the information out on which ones are a problem. He told me it was my responsibility to read the bag and figure it out for myself.

This is a prescription food given out by veterinarians only and I cannot believe that this man handled this in such a way. I think other pet owners should be aware of this problem, as they trust their vets.......

My pet is very ill, on IV fluids and has incurred a difficult recovery. It does not look like this will be something she will survive. The vet bills have been astronomical, but that is the least important of losing my companion.......that has no price. Consumers beware-hills science diet is not concerned about your pet!

Tj of Mission KS (03/23/07)
Per the information provided on the pet food recall the first time I checked the list of affected products I did not see any Science Diet items listed. I then noticed another article that mentioned there were some Hills Science Diet products listed. Because all three of my cats had been presenting unusual vomiting symtoms, I checked Hill's web site and discoved the product IDs they listed as part of the recall were only off my cans by one numeral. I sent them an email on their site to let them know about my concerns to which the automated response mentioned Hills had not been notified of any illnesses associated with their product - although that is exactly what I was doing.

Therefore I feel I need to spread the word that there are very likely far more animals affected by the tainted food which may be more widespread than is being admitted to by the industry. This is the email I sent to Hills through their web site:

I have been a regular user of Science Diet products for both our dogs and cats for approximately 20 years and have never experienced a problem with the products until this last month. I usually purchase the canned product in Savory Juices for my cats but for the first time I decided to try something different and purchased two cases of the Savory Cuts in February from our local Petsmart in Overland Park, Kansas. My cats have not liked the Savory Cuts and don't finish their servings as is their usual practice so I was not planning on purchasing that type again.

They have been vomiting frequently since I began feeding them the Savory Cuts but I have been switching between the Savory Cut and Savory Juice canned varieties all month since they didn’t really like the Savory Cuts and I always add dry Hairball Control to the wet food. I didn't associate the vomiting with the food since it seemed to happen later in the day and there would only be a few bits of food in it and nothing else. I kept trying to find out if they were getting into something or if they had some type of 'cat flu' since they rarely ever even have hairballs (thanks to the Hairball Control). When I realized Science Diet was one of the brands affected by the contamination issue I checked the remaining cans I still have. I wanted to let you know the Chicken Dinner in Gravy for Mature Adults I have is not an exact match to the numbers listed on your web site but I think it is also tainted and would really hate to see any other cats affected by this lot.

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