[QUOTE=phesina]KAK, as far as I know, Hills Prescription Z/D is (still) okay. However, here's a perhaps cautionary tale.. last week a local vet called our cat shelter and told us that a cat patient of hers that had just been started on Z/D went into kidney failure.

I don't know if this means that Z/D might be contaminated also or if it was a reaction of this one cat due to other factors. The Hills company has not recalled it, and we have heard of no other incidents anywhere involving Z/D.

However, we aren't taking chances. One of our cats has been on Z/D (both dry and wet) for a long time and has done well with it, but we immediately took her off it and got rid of all our Z/D. She is now getting Royal Canin SO until we know more. Some of the other cats have been getting SO for a while, and while some Royal Canin products have been recalled, SO is still supposedly okay. (And how many times have we thought that about how many foods?)

Thanks for letting me know about this. Starr saw the vet on Sunday and so far the Hills Z/D is safe.

Here's what I saw on Hill's Website:
April 18 - Update: Hill's products not affected by rice protein concentrate recall.
On April 17 the FDA announced a further pet food recall associated with melamine contaminant, reportedly from a supplier of rice protein concentrate. No Hill's products are affected by this recall.

While Hill's uses rice protein concentrate in 4 of its products, we do not use the supplier involved with the recall.

Hill's has tested its ingredients and these tests show no melamine is present in the rice protein concentrate that it uses.

Q. Do any Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. products contain rice protein concentrate?
A. Yes. Four Hill's products contain rice protein concentrate; however, none contain rice protein concentrate from the supplier associated with this recent recall.

The four Hill's products that contain rice protein concentrate AND ARE NOT affected by recent recall announcements:

Prescription Diet ® z/d® Feline Dry
Prescription Diet ® k/d® Canine canned
Science Diet® Lamb Meal and Rice Recipe Puppy Large Breed
Prescription Diet® h/d® Canine Dry
Hill's has tested its ingredients and these tests show no melamine is present in the rice protein concentrate used in our products.


Q. How do you know Hill's rice protein concentrate is safe?
A. Upon immediately learning about the presence of melamine in another supplier's rice protein concentrate, we tested our ingredients and have confirmed that the rice protein concentrate ingredient from Hill's suppliers do not contain melamine.


Q. Where does Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. get its rice protein concentrate?
A. Hill's uses two suppliers, neither of which are involved in this rice protein concentrate recall.


Q. What is rice protein concentrate, and why is it used in pet food?
A. Rice protein concentrate is the product remaining after starch has been washed away from rice. It is a commonly used protein ingredient in various pet food products.