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In recent years, petfood manufacturers have began creating more over-the-counter preventive pet food diets that help cat owners manage their cat's special health condition, says a recent article in Pet Product News International. Previously, cat foods to manage cat health issues, such as allergies, urinary problems, hairballs and diabetes, were only available from a veterinarian, but petfood retailers are now offering special cat diets from grain-free to novel protein-sourced formulas, all without a prescription.
Pet food companies like Halo, Purely for Pets and Wellness have began creating more grain-free diets to respond to consumer demand. These grain-free diets are usually selected for cats with digestive issues or allergies, according to Halo's Donna Spector, DVM, because the formulas usually do not contain grains, like corn or wheat, but instead contain vegetables and meat. Spector says that refined grains like white rice should be avoided in cat food because these overprocessed grains lose much of their nutritional value, and can lead to blood sugar spikes and obesity in cats. Feline allergies may also be caused by the protein sources in traditional petfoods, like chicken, beef and lamb. But, new over-the-counter petfoods, such as those made by Addiction Foods, are formulated by a veterinarian and nutritionist to include unique proteins such as venison, bushtail, kangaroo and rabbit, which are less likely to result in allergies, according to CEO Jerel Kwek.
Another specially formulated cat diet being made more available on retailer shelves, rather than by prescription only, is a high-water content food that can help cats with bladder problems, according to Spector. She also recommends pet owners feed a diet formulated with proper pH levels.
The wider availability of these new cat foods means also that pet food manufacturers and retailers must do a better job of educating consumers about preventive diets, rather than relying on a veterinarian to do so when prescribing the food. David Yaskulka, vice president of marketing communications for Halo, says his company provides an educational website to help retailers understand the special cat diet products they are selling to customers. Petfood retailer Holistic Pet Center says it, too, goes to great lengths to educate consumers on preventative diets for cats by providing these foods with more space and signage in stores, as well as by bringing the special diets to street fairs, business events and other marketing opportunities.
Veterinary clinics across the United States are complaining after accepting offers of free “starter kits” of Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s Prescription Diet y/d Feline Thyroid Health formula, but then being billed for and shipped more pet food that the clinics claim was not ordered. On a message board of the Veterinary Information Network, an online community for veterinary professionals, the veterinarians claim they accepted the free petfood samples, but were unaware that doing so automatically signed them up for paid orders from Hill's, as well. “As far as I know, I never signed any type of documentation that would initiate the auto delivery,” said a veterinarian in Florida, USA, who posted the experience on VIN. “The Hill’s representative did not mention that more food would be ordered and billed.”
Hill’s Pet Nutrition denied using unauthorized automatic ordering to market the product. In a statement to VIN News Service via email, the company said:
“Hill’s intention is to ensure that veterinarians providing starter kits of Prescription Diet y/d have an adequate supply to meet the ongoing feeding needs of pet owners for their cats. Our integrity and our relationship with the veterinarian community are of paramount importance to Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
“Hills does not participate in, nor does it condone, unauthorized automatic shipment programs. We strive to be clear with all our customers about our ordering and delivery process. We regret any confusion and as always, are prepared to honor our generous return policy for veterinary customers.”
“If you’re going to engage in this kind of marketing practice, which can be legitimate, you’ve got to disclose upfront: ‘This is what to expect. This is what we’ll be sending you every month, and what we’ll be billing you.’ You must give full disclosure upfront,” Frank Dorman, Federal Trade Commission spokesman, said.
In a consumer alert titled Free Trials' Aren't Always Free, FTC urges anyone who feels he or she has been wrongly charged for a free trial offer to report it to the agency.
Hyperthyroidism, a common disease of middle-aged and senior cats, is a condition that creates an excess of thyroid hormones causing health issues such as weight loss, heart problems and vomiting. Hill's Prescription Diet y/d Feline Thyroid Health is a new product intended as an alternative solution to managing this condition. Hill's says its Prescription Diet y/d is a daily, low-iodine nutrition solution designed to manage hyperthyroidism in cats. This may be an easier and more cost-effective way for pet owners to treat their cat's thyroid condition, according to Hill's, rather than other treatments like paying for thyroid removal surgery or having to give the cat a daily pill.
Hill’s recently released results from three studies conducted to determine the impact of varying iodine concentrations in cat food. The studies showed the iodine concentrations necessary to normalize a hyperthyroid cat and those needed to ensure normal cats do not become iodine deficient. According to the company, the studies found that when iodine content can be kept below 0.32 ppm, hyperthyroidism in cats can be controlled through nutrition therapy like the prescription cat food. However, the effectiveness of nutritional therapy also depends on the pet owner's compliance in feeding only Hill's Prescription Diet food to their cat, while also not allowing the cat to eat any other products rich in iodine, the company says.
A recent eNewsChannels article aims to clarify three myths for pet owners about prescription diet pet foods.
The first myth is that commercially prepared prescription diets are the only option for pets that require a special diet. Pets that are fed prescription diet petfoods usually must manage a specific health condition. The article says, however, that so long as the health guidelines or restrictions of the pet's veterinarian are followed, homemade food can be prepared or used in combination with a prescription commercial pet food.
Another myth addressed in the article is that some pet owners believe it is OK to feed all pets a prescription diet food that is required only to be fed to one other pet. This is not true, the article says, because the other pets that do not have the same health condition may not receive the proper nutrients from the restricted-ingredient, prescription food.
The last myth is whether a commercially prepared prescription diet food will address all of the nutritional needs of a pet with multiple health problems. Again, it is not necessarily true that a prescription diet food will solve all health problems, the article says. In this case, it is recommended that the pet owner feed a custom-tailored diet that is designed by a veterinarian or nutritionist to address the multiple health concerns.
Hill’s Pet Nutrition has announced a new partnership with Butler Schein Animal Health and Webster Veterinary in an effort to help spread awareness among veterinarians and their healthcare teams about nutritional assessments.
According to reports, only one in 10 pets in the US that need the benefits of a therapeutic petfood are fed one. The biggest opportunity to communicate with pet owners about proper pet nutrition is through increased veterinary and healthcare team recommendations. “Greater coverage and reach will ultimately help increase the number of pets that receive a nutritional recommendation, which will have a tremendously positive impact on their health and wellbeing," said Kostas Kontopanos, president of Hill’s US. “We are very pleased to join forces with two of the largest national veterinary distributors. They will help us better serve our veterinary customers, as well as improve veterinary practice health.”
The partnership will take effect in April with all Hill’s customers in the following states:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Texas
The US Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine recently published statements from CVM Director Dr. Bernadette Dunham that caused enough confusion for the comments to be pulled from the December 15 issue of the Federal Veterinarian.
The confusion came when Dunham addressed the serious nature of therapeutic diets, noting in a Q&A session that petfoods branded as "prescription" or "therapeutic" truly need to come out of a veterinarian's office, released by prescription. “Requiring a valid prescription and restricting the sale of the food through a licensed veterinarian are safeguards against unintended harmful effects," she said. "Because the manufacturer requires a prescription, the food cannot be sold or marketed like the petfood you see in stores.” That statement struck many veterinarians as contrary to their belief that the agency's regulatory purview did not extend beyond legend drugs to include petfoods. It also raised questions concerning whether veterinarians should continue to apply sales tax to therapeutic diets in states that exempt prescription medications.
The confusion incited discussion throughout the veterinary profession, leading Federal Veterinarian to truncate the published responses in the Q&A. "In our attempt to clarify our regulatory authority with regard to therapeutic diets, we unfortunately (and unnecessarily) caused confusion ...," said Laura Alvey, FDA-CVM spokeswoman. "We are looking at ways to provide clearer information."
Procter & Gamble Co. issued a recall of its Iams brand prescription cat food due to possible Salmonella contamination.
The affected product is Iams Veterinary Formula Feline Renal, packaged in 5.5-pound bags. The company did not know exactly how many bags were involved in the recall but said that the product was distributed to veterinary offices throughout the US, according to Jason Taylor, a company spokesman. No illnesses have been reported, the company said in a statement.
