Reports of Illness/Deaths suspected from Non-Recalled Hill's Science Diet foods

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I've put the Hill's Prescription and Hill's Science Diet information into this separate post, as we now have THREE different foods from this company that tested postive for toxins in private tests. See items in red below.

Science Diet Light Canned Dog Food - Cyanuric Acid (details here and here)
Science Diet Light Dry Cat Food - Cyanuric Acid and Acetaminophen (details here and here)
Science Diet Sensitive Stomach Dry Cat Food - Acetaminophen (details here and here)

I have seen hundreds of reports of pets who got sick or died - from eating (mostly dry) food that has not been recalled - posted on various sites online. Many of us have been told by FDA officials that they have also received numerous reports of other unrecalled foods causing illness. However, the foods which people keep complaining about have not been recalled. So I'll be doing what I can to 'shine a light' on these reports and complaints, in the fervent hope that as more people become aware of the problem it will be addressed.

These foods need to be thoroughly tested for all possible contaminants (Melamine and the Melamine Compounds including Cyanuric Acid, as well as excess Vitamin D, Aflatoxin, Aminopterin and Acetominophen) - and the results must be made public.

Recently, there was an article about Nutro dry foods (see here), and an entry about Iams (see here). Other brands are here. Reports/comments for those brands are listed in those posts.

This post is for Hill's Prescription and Science Diet foods that people have been reporting. I've been reading these online for many weeks now, and since it seems like many people only look on one or two sites for their information, I'm posting them here to increase awareness, and so that the full scope of the issue is understood better. There are foods out there that still need to be recalled!

These are just a few of the comments that other people have posted online, on other websites, forums and blogs. I am providing links to them so you can check them out for yourself. In most cases I have posted a portion of the comment and you can click the link to read the rest. I've tried to include links from different sites - in most cases there are multiple stories on the same site.

Note that I've left the Quote Marks off to make it easier to read. Everything under a link is from the original poster. Where there is a '...' it means I've edited some of the post. Again, click the links to see the full post.

Disclaimer: These are reports by people like yourself who posted online (or emailed me) that they believe a certain food made their pets sick. This information is simply for you to use as part of making an educated difference about what products you purchase - both for yourself and your pet. None of these foods have been recalled, and the problems reported may have nothing to do with the current round of recalls! If your pet has eaten any of these foods and got sick, please report it to the company and FDA! Some people have been told that the FDA will only test additional foods when they receive enough complaints about it. So if you have a complaint, please contact your local FDA office. http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html

And please, feel free to add your own story in the comment section, or email me with it. (I still have a bunch of emails to work my way through, so it might take me a while to respond but I will get back to you.)

I will post any additional private test results of these foods if/when they become available.


Hill’s Prescription dry c/d Dry Cat Food
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2007/04/03/pet-food-recall-we-read-the-news-today-oh-boy/#comment-22678Our cat died after eating Hill’s Prescription dry c/d which contains corn gluten

http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2007/04/02/pet-food-recall-cheap-leashes-and-picking-pet-foods/#comment-21462
I also have a cat who went into unexplained acute renal failure in February, on a diet of dry Hill’s C/D (she was healthy and ate the C/D only because it was prescribed for her brother and two vets assured me that it was fine for her also. ...

Hills Prescription s/d Cat Food
http://cats.about.com/b/a/257812.htm#comment-10886
My cat died and I’m sure it was due to Prescription Diet S/D. This product has not be recalled but ... had all the symptoms - jaundiced gums, vomiting, fatigue, frequent urination, extreme thirst. The vet had no idea what was wrong as this all occurred on March 12th, before we really knew about the problems with food. ...

Hill's Prescription z/d Cat Food
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2007/06/01/friday-night-follies-fda-food-safety-and-more/#comment-76743
I had 3 cats die between last year and just before the recall. I think Hills Z/D is what killed them. Some of my cats wouldn’t touch it. some ate it.

Hill's Prescription i/d Cat Food (added 6-9 1pm, brought up from the comments on previous post)
My cat was eating Prescription Diet i/d exclusively and when I opened and started a new bag of it in late March, he became sick. He died on April 02,2007 and I am absolutely positive that the Prescription i/d killed him -- it contains "corn gluten". He was poisioned to death!!!!!


Hills Prescription Diet ID Dry Dog
http://www.itchmo.com/read/several-unconfirmed-reports-of-iams-dry-food-causing-illness_20070323#comment-699
My schnauzer and westie have been sick every time I bring home a bag of dry Science Diet ID from the vet sinece last June. ... It was particularly bad in November thru January requiring a couple of emergency room visits as well as sub-q fluids and and shots for nausea and vomiting. Vet thought my schnauzer had Pancreatitis. She does have a very sensitive stomach and is prone to GI bleed if her diet is not maintained, but the episides almost monthly came after each new bag was opened for her and my westie. .... I have mentioned it to my vet repeatedly. all he says is to phone Hill’s. Did that too. All they did was send me a five dollar coupon toward my next purchase.


Science Diet Indoor Dry Cat Food
http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?ThreadID=232979>1=9145&BoardsParam=Page%3D17
We lost our sweet 9 year-old cat last week of acute kidney failure. She ate dry food only ( science diet, indoor cat... ... She had never been sick before. Our nightmare included hospitalization, iv antibiotics and a week of home-administered ringer's lactate infusions, before she succumbed. ...

Science Diet Light Dry Cat Food
http://www.gothamist.com/2007/03/17/pet_food_recall.php#comment-1057854
I put ...our twelve-year old black cat to sleep on Monday, March 19, 2007. He and another cat only ate Hills Science Diet light dry food. ... He had kidney failure and was severely dehydrated. ... I emailed Hills about my ...to have it on record. I have not received a returned phone call from the Texas FDA yet. ...

Science Diet Light Dry Cat Food (Added 6-9)
This food tested positive for Cyanuric Acid and Acetaminophen after a sample from an open bag was sent to a private lab. See here for details

Science Diet Hairball Light Formula Dry Cat Food
http://www.gothamist.com/2007/03/17/pet_food_recall.php#comment-1064711
My cat became extremely sick about three weeks ago. He stopped eating, but we thought it was because he was upset with our move...After a week I took him to the vet. He is only 6 and up to this point has always been in perfect health. He was suffering from severe Renal Failure. ... We had been feeding him Hill's Science Diet Hairball Light Formula...

Science Diet Sensitive Stomach Dry Cat Food (Added 6-9)
This food tested positive in private tests for acetaminophen. See here for details.

Science Diet Dry Dog Food
http://www.itchmo.com/read/several-unconfirmed-reports-of-iams-dry-food-causing-illness_20070323#comment-606
I have fed my dog Science Diet Dry Dog Food for 7 years. I bought a new bag at ... and when I opened the bag it had a strange smell and the food looked darker then usual. I gave it to my dog and she ate some and that night she started vomiting. She was sick for two days, and would not eat any more of the food.

http://www.itchmo.com/read/several-unconfirmed-reports-of-iams-dry-food-causing-illness_20070323#comment-656
I stopped feeding Science Diet Dry Food. Since I bought a bag Jan? Feb?my dog hasn’t wanted to eat it ,the few times he did he would lay spread out on his tummy as if he had a tummy ache.

Science Diet Light Canned Dog Food (added 6-12)
This food tested positive for Cyanuric Acid after an unopened can was sent to a private lab. Read more here.

Read more on Hill's here (including correspondence with other pet owners in the response section) Added 6-4 9am
http://catmanager.wordpress.com/2007/03/27/mail-from-hills/