To begin I will give you a bit of history. I have two Persians now 9 years old. They started life out on Go-cat with no problems whatsoever. I would like to state here that my friend has two Persians who are 14 now and they have never eaten anything other than Go-cat or had anything wrong with them.
The trouble started two years ago when at their annual review it was decided their teeth weren't up to much. The smallest one was born without many teeth so was a little deformed, she had to have two more removed. However, the big Persian didn't actually have any teeth out, she had a scale and polish at the princely price of £280!!! I was horrified. The vet told me to go onto Hills tooth kind "Oral"
They loved this, well they would at £16 a bag, they ate as much as the put back in the litter tray.
After a while my large Persian stayed in a cattery, I did warn them that she wasn't very good at cleaning her bottom and since Hills the consistency had become a lot stickier. She came out distraught, wouldn't stop cleaning her bottom until she had no fur on her tail. More trips to the vets more Hills food to try, Hills z/d, Hills i/d, steriods, anti-inflammatory drugs, blood test, stool samples...... £2,000 later and still being told to persevere with Hills. I finally flipped when I realised that the little one had also developed an upset stomach. The general mess and stench around the house was indescribable! I even thought of putting them down or giving them to a rescue home.
But the vets said there is no other food that they can digest as well as Hill i/d and that they both must have inflammatory bowl disease and needed bi-ops. I threw the bag of Hills back at the vets and demanded a refund (£28) which of course took me about 3 phone calls to collect.
In the meantime I did some heavy research over the net and found that Hills, particularly in America had caused this kind of problem in quite a few cats and in fact some of Hills products, vets had discontinued. I also discovered that if a vet promotes Hills, Hills in return heavily sponsor the vet.
My neighbour has two cats with the same vets and they too were first put on Hills Oral and now because of the state of their insides Hills z/d. She has now spent £4,000 on them and we have more or less fallen out over this, but she believes the vet and has the money to spend - which I don't.
I will now finish my review; I tried going back to Go Cat but nothing improved so I took to feeding the cats fish and chicken and they were fine on this but I realised they would not be getting enough protein and vitamins from it. I thought of going the natural food route but it was all too complicated, I work full time and have a dog too.
Word and mouth, reviews in the papers and recommendations by Crufts had been rating a product called PurinaPro Plan Food for both dogs and cats. I went onto their site and saw that they had just brought out a dried brand for delicate stomachs. It is called Purina Pro Plan Delicate and can be brought either over the net or like I did, ordered from your local pet store. A 3kg bag costs about £11.50 and lasts my two cats over a month.
This food saved my cats lives, whereas Hills had nearly ruined it. I really do wish vets would have a more open view on things -but then this proves a point, it is the money that most of them are interested in and Hills have cornered the market.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: It seems to last longer, it is cheaper in the long run and there is no mess or waste Disadvantages: Can have side effects for some cats, cause overweight and kidney problems, expensive
Kirki 18.06.2001 (23.05.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hills Feline
Advantages: complete food, seems well balanced, easy to store and serve Disadvantages: Can be addictive, causing cats who snack to gain weight, High initial outlay.
dave_t 18.02.2001 (17.09.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Hills Feline
Advantages: complete food, seems well balanced, easy to store and serve Disadvantages: Can be addictive, causing cats who snack to gain weight, High initial outlay.
dave_t 18.02.2001 (17.09.2001)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Hills Feline
Advantages: It seems to last longer, it is cheaper in the long run and there is no mess or waste Disadvantages: Can have side effects for some cats, cause overweight and kidney problems, expensive
Kirki 18.06.2001 (23.05.2003)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Hills Feline
May 11th, 2006
very helpful by (100%):
