Science Diet a/d food

Question:

Megan – when is this article from?  It certainly does confirm my suspicions. Susan L.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> [snip]> > You might find this article verrrrrry interesting… > Megan > Premium pet food: Is it science or marketing? > By Tara Parker-Pope > The Wall Street Journal > NEW YORK —  Shopping at a pet store, Meredith Kane grabs a 4-pound bag > of Hill’s Science Diet. At $9, it is nearly double the price of cat food > sold in supermarkets. [snip]> > "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do > nothing." > -Edmund Burke > Learn The TRUTH About Declawing > http://www.stopdeclaw.com > Zuzu’s Cats Photo Album: > http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=244574

Response:

>Megan – when is this article from? It >certainly does confirm my suspicions.

I believe 1997.   Megan "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu’s Cats Photo Album: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=244574

Response:

Yes, with all the todo about Science Diet foods, there are many of us who owe many extra, healthy years to their formulas for different chronic conditions.  I may think there are better foods out there for everyday use, but when I had a cat with CRF I fed him the Hill’s k/d, and he lived happily and healthily for a couple more years.  And I wouldn’t hesitate to buy their special formulas if a cat of mine was diagnosed with a condition their forumlas could help. Tracy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > << Has anyone every looked > into the connection between Hills and vets?  Is Hills the only company that > sells "prescription" food? > Susan L. >> > No, I know Waltham has prescription food sold only at the vet and there are > also others but I can’t remember what right now.  I think it’s like the > relationship between doctors and drug reps…whoever is giving them a good > sales pitch, buying them some gifts, and giving them a kickback is who is > getting the business.  This doesn’t mean I have a problem with Hill’s > prescription diets, though.  My cats have been on a couple of them for years > and doing very well. > Candace > (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) > See my cats at www.gatherround.com > Go to "Find an album." > Password: GlenrosaCats

Response:

<< Has anyone every looked into the connection between Hills and vets?  Is Hills the only company that sells "prescription" food? Susan L. >> No, I know Waltham has prescription food sold only at the vet and there are also others but I can’t remember what right now.  I think it’s like the relationship between doctors and drug reps…whoever is giving them a good sales pitch, buying them some gifts, and giving them a kickback is who is getting the business.  This doesn’t mean I have a problem with Hill’s prescription diets, though.  My cats have been on a couple of them for years and doing very well. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats at www.gatherround.com Go to "Find an album." Password: GlenrosaCats

Response:

>Otoh, I myself don’t have a real problem w/ SD, they’ve come out w/some new >formulas fairly recently, & my cats like it (SD in general) – as well as >Royal Canin.

I don’t like that they use BHA, BHT (chemical preservatives) and Ethoxyquin.

Response:

>Has anyone every looked >into the connection between Hills and vets?

I have heard that Hills makes grants to vet schools. =^..^= Mickey and Meesha: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1278826&a=9501548 Life is a journey, not a guided tour.

Response:

> <<Hill’s Prescription Diets are not available in stores, so it is not the a/d > you saw.>> > Actually, I have seen (and bought) some of the prescription diets at one > non-chain store in Manhattan…. I don’t know why, but they had k/d, a/d and > g/d, and I didn’t need a prescription to buy the k/d — and at a much lower > price than my vet’s office

Well this is a rarity.  In most places you will not find it anywhere you can’t find a vet. Kelly

Response:

>>Has anyone every looked >into the connection between Hills and >vets? >I have heard that Hills makes grants to >vet schools.

You might find this article verrrrrry interesting… Megan Premium pet food: Is it science or marketing? By Tara Parker-Pope The Wall Street Journal NEW YORK —  Shopping at a pet store, Meredith Kane grabs a 4-pound bag of Hill’s Science Diet. At $9, it is nearly double the price of cat food sold in supermarkets. But Kane is unswerving in her devotion to this "designer" brand for her cats, Cecily, Oscar, Kit Kat and A.J. Why? "My vet recommends it," she said. Every year, millions of people spend a total of $9.4 billion on pet food — and many, like Kane, choose brands solely on a veterinarian’s recommendation. At examining tables across the country, more pet doctors lately are trashing trusted brand names such as Purina and Kal-Kan, calling them "junk food," and directing people to shell out an extra $20 or so for a month’s supply of super-premium "high science" foods. The biggest beneficiaries: Hill’s Science Diet lines, made by toothpaste giant Colgate-Palmolive Co., and Eukanuba and Iams brands from Iams Co. of Dayton, Ohio. Sold only through pet stores and veterinary clinics, the designer brands pack more calories per bite and promise higher-quality ingredients based on "pioneering research in animal nutrition" tailored to a pet’s "life stage," or age. The result: Vet suggestions ringing in their ears, many pet owners have switched brands — and the life-stage category has amassed a $2 billion chunk of the market. But few pet owners know just how far premium-market leader Hill’s, which has a pet food plant in Bowling Green, Ky., has gone to sew up the vet endorsements. Borrowing a page from pharmaceuticals companies, which routinely woo doctors to prescribe their drugs, Hill’s has spent a generation cultivating its professional following. It spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year funding university research and nutrition courses at every one of the 27 U.S. veterinary colleges. Once in practice, vets who sell Science Diet and other premium foods directly from their offices pocket profits of as much as 40 percent. "Vets trust them," said Jana Norris, a recent graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. While she was in school, a Hill’s program allowed the struggling student to pay just $3 a bag for a special prescription brand for her cat, Buffalo Jean. It normally runs about $25. She also received a small stipend, courtesy of the Hill’s program, to study orthopedic surgery with a Los Angeles vet. "Hill’s was just always around," she said. A little too much, perhaps, for makers of supermarket brands. During the last five years, Hill’s sales have surged more than 20 percent and now make up an 8 percent share of the market — half that of No. 1 Ralston Purina Co., according to Davenport & Co. in Richmond, Va. For the same period, sales at pet-food giant Ralston grew 11 percent but its market share fell one percentage point; sales at Mars Inc.’s Kal-Kan unit tumbled 28 percent and its share slipped three percentage points. Hill’s marketing strategy is especially potent because pets are among the world’s most loyal consumers. Nabbing Spot early is critical: Once a pet takes to a particular brand, a switch can sometimes cause gastrointestinal troubles; and because a lot of felines are finicky about the look of their vittles, many brands come in distinct shapes, such as X’s and triangles. Since almost everyone asks their vets what to start feeding a new pet, Hill’s cleverly has managed to steer billions its way with that all-important early recommendation. By chasing after the nation’s 126 million cats and dogs through the back doors of vet offices, Hill’s has emerged as a crown jewel at Colgate. Hill’s sales — which last year were nearly $900 million, up from $40 million 15 years ago — reflect the power of word-of-mouth marketing. While some competitors spent $40 million to $90 million each to advertise last year, according to Davenport, Hill’s paid $1.9 million. "The bulk of our expenditure goes to the veterinary community," said John Steel, who just retired as Colgate’s senior vice president of global marketing and sales. The company won’t reveal its marketing and promotions budget. But the reliance on vet endorsements has its critics. "Consumers think they’re getting a better product because veterinarians are recommending it," said Ann Martin, author of a new book, Foods Pets Die For. She notes that many vets are "brainwashed into thinking they have to recommend these commercial foods," having been so heavily exposed to them in vet schools. Added Francis Kallfelz, professor of nutrition at Cornell University’s School of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, N.Y.: "I’ve never seen any research to prove animals fed premium products all their lives have fared better than animals fed standard products." More definitive research would require "a lot of animals and a lot of time," he said, and it is too early to say there is "one best pet food." Despite that, he feeds his golden retriever Hill’s Prescription Diet. Pet-food marketers insist it is science, not salesmanship, that ultimately sways many of the estimated 36,000 small-animal veterinarians in the U.S. At the Hill’s research center in Topeka, Kan., scientists proudly point to Cocoa and Brandy, two 18-month-old Labrador retrievers. Since she was a pup, Cocoa has munched only Hill’s products, while Brandy ate a Brand X food that Hill’s won’t name. Brandy is fat and has a dull coat. Cocoa is bright-eyed and slim, with a lustrous coat. "The products do what we say they do," Wheeler said. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke Learn The TRUTH About Declawing http://www.stopdeclaw.com Zuzu’s Cats Photo Album: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=244574

Response:

One of my cats who was definitely way too pudgy at 13

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