nightmare with Hills over new L/D canned food

[swampmaxmum]

Helen - I have pm'd you and a huge thank you from me and the furry one.

Yes, Desley (booktigger?! a literary feline?) The point I made with Hills was that it was totally unacceptable to change the diet of cats that are really ill especially as not only do ill cats get really fussy and set in their ways, but liver disease patients feel sick a lot and have a tendency to vomit easily so once you have a food that works etc etc. The even trickier bit is that they have to eat in order to stay alive too - just a few days off food for a liver patient is very serious. Hills do seem oblivious though and say that they are not budging from their decision.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Fingers crossed you can find enough, I can't believe that a company like Hills would say that a cat would just eat it eventually, prescription diets are for poorly animals, so even less likely to do it than a healthy cat. I think the prescription diets do have to have some kind of control on them - when Snowy had k/d, it had to all go on her file how much we had and when, but I think it is only from the point of making sure that people dont give their poorly pets the wrong food, it's not a prescription per se - but I can understand Helen's vet wanting to make sure that the cat needs it. If I remember on Thurs, I will ask at my vets.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Lets hope that Helens vet can get a good supply of it for you.

I am still apalled at Hills cos this is so important and they should understand that cats dont just change to another flavoured food like that.

I wonder if there is anything peeps on Purrs can do, like all of us emailing Hills? or will that make matters worse, is that possible, I wonder.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Have replied to PM....

[swampmaxmum]

Many thanks everyone for the response. I have pm'd the very kind Tiggy's Mum Helen. thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! One tray is great as it's another 24 days. I have been in touch with Hills, who have not updated their website. They are now claiming the beef food is 'unavailable' ( where is all the old stock then?!). The web suppliers can only access the new pork food. Hills insist that my cat will eat it eventually (er, no, I know him just slightly better than they do). The food we get here is imported from the USA. I think I am on some kind of blacklist for having the temerity to kick up a fuss as another vet tried for me, used my name and got a terse response.
I've paid this company ££££s for their food over many years, so alternate between anger and anxiety on this one.
Swamp is yowling right now as fancies more tonight than his one can ration, bless him.
Swampy has now checked back in and sends his best burmese purr.

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Here is the link to the hills site:  http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/products/product_details_eu.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441760600&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395183417&bmUID=1169582782141&bmLocale=en_GB

http://www.bestpetpharmacy.co.uk/detailed_product.asp?id=13588 sell it

[Kittybabe (Ruth)]

VetUk sells this type online with no prescription.

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=62_66_104&products_id=417 and the pdf link with details says its first ingredient is beef.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I dont know if I am right but for certain of the foods maybe you do. I used to always get Kockas AD from her vet so never had a problem, but I am sure that I saw somewhere that if I bought it online I would need a prescription.

I hope that Swamp is gonna come back and read the replies soon.

So kind of you Helen 

[Tiggy's Mum]

Well that's what the receptionist said...

[Team Svartalfheims]

As it is a prescription food they would need you to fax a prescription over and they will add your cats name to my account and sell it to you that way,

That's utter madness as you do not need a prescription to buy prescription food.

[Tiggy's Mum]

Took Tiggy to the vets tonight for her monthly jab, they didn't have any at my branch but I rang the larger branch and they have 24 cans (a case) of L/D with 'E' on.  As it is a prescription food they would need you to fax a prescription over and they will add your cats name to my account and sell it to you that way, they said that you can pay over the phone with a debit or credit card (£24.50).  I can then collect them for you and post them as long as you were to cover the postage costs.

Let me know if you want to go ahead and I will PM you the vets phone and fax numbers.  They are holding them for me at the moment so if you could let me know either way....

Edited to add:  If it turns out not to require a prescription (having checked the vetuk site I think Charlotte (team svartalfheim) is right) I think a few lines on headed paper from your vet saying that they have advised he be on this food would suffice.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Ok found some details now and the Hills UK site 2007 is still saying that L?D is beef

http://www.prescriptiondiet.com/zSkin_2/products/product_details_eu.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441760600&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395183417&bmUID=1169575091653&bmLocale=en_GB

You need to go into the adobe version and it shows the contents.

This site gives you the websites for Hills and contact numbers

http://www.felinecrf.org/catfood_manufacturers.HTM

I was just wondering whether you have been given an imported version of the L/D or whether Hills have changed its make up, their site does not indicate this.

You prob have done a lot of investigation yourself but just in case, the above may help.

I find it a bit strange that Hills would completely change the formula of a prescription food without publicity through vets at least and I do remember that on Cat Chat we had a russian lady who told us that the standard cat foods we buy over here are not the same in Russia, Poland etc, theres are of a very low quality.

I have seen in my quick searches that many of the Hills foods apparantly cannot be sent outside the UK, which tends to indicate maybe that we are getting something slightly different to other countries.

Please keep us uptodate with this cos many peeps on Purrs use Hills prescription food, so this will be of great interest if they are changing their formula for food.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Is it Saffron, has it changed in last 3 yrs.........my memory completely lost in space I think.

[saffron]

if they wont give you the old food before it all dissapears perhaps you can tell a few of us who to conntact & food details & we all can try & get some for you, that will give you a bit more time to get sorted.
Sorry to say alot of vets & these companies are working hand in hand as with many sistuations in life THE £ SIGN has become the important issue not anybodies pet.

Gill think its a German company now that makes the food

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Just out of curiosity I did a search for Hills cat Food, expecting to come up with a website but after 10 pages, still nothing...........what company makes Hills, please dont say Hills  .

I gave all my Hills ad away so cant look at a can.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I find what you say very disturbing, what does your vet say?

Who have you spoken to at Hills cos you really need to write to the managing director and not by email. I thought, maybe wrongly that Hills must be a good company as so many animals depend on their products , my Kocka did also and without them many cats would not have survived.

I wish I knew the answer to your problem, but doesntbyour vet?

[swampmaxmum]

Hello everyone, I'm pretty desperate. My 15 yr old burmese has cholangiohepatitis and nearly died in October. Since then he's been eating canned L/D from Hills which pretty much stopped his vomiting. He was doing well. When he vomited it, I knew it was time for more blood tests as his ALT was right up again. He's on ursodial liver pills for a bit longer and SAMe (Zentonyl) supplements, but his outlook, health and quality of life all depend on his eating enough every day.

Everything was under control until Hills decided to change the canned L/d diet with no warning. Instead of a reasonably smelly, palatable, soft beef based food it is now a rubbery, odourless pork based food. My cat won't eat it at all & I've tried everything. My well cat won't eat it (he's a dustbin). My burmese has lived on 3 continents and has coped well with food changes so there's no point in Hills insisting that he will eat it eventually. No he won't. I've tried him on other foods for kidney disease (like K/D or VetXX's Specific) and he will eat them, but they often cause him to vomit, plus I can only feed him very small amounts.  He becomes distressed and disoriented when he vomits.

I have called Hills twice and their response was to send me one tray of old stock food each time, but now they say no more, he has to switch. Their decision is putting my cat's life in danger. I am so upset and angry. I asked for the name and contact details for whoever at the Hills corporation is in charge of customer relations and/or 'food science' as well only to be refused.
I don't know what to feed my cat if my last chance saloon fails - my friend in France is going to try to find some there to see if maybe it is still the beef food and then I will try to buy up and courier as many trays as possible, if possible. In the meantime, I have to ration the tray I have left so he is crying and no-one's getting much sleep.

How can they get away with changing the food of such seriously ill and often nauseous cats when there was nothing wrong with the old one. It must be because it's cheaper to produce with pork and my cat is just a statistic to them. He's been my best friend in the world for 15 years. I told them the whole story but they just don't seem to care if their decision makes his life shorter and more traumatic.

Is there anyone else out there who has a liver diseased cat who has the same problem please? Can you ask your vet next time you speak to him or her if they have heard about this and any complaints.