Hill’s Science Diet Cat Food Review
Your veterinarian may recommend Hill’s Science Diet dry food for your cat, and the fact this food is rated the best dry food for cats by the veterinary team at PetMD (by Chewy) will likely reassure you this is the best option for your beloved kitty.
But let’s step back a moment, and consider clear and obvious facts.
- Your cat is a carnivore. Science is clear on this fact, and you already know this, right?
- Hill’s Science Diet dry cat food may list a meat as the first ingredient, but how does it make you feel if the next five or so ingredients aren’t meat, aren’t animal, and aren’t ideal for your carnivorous cat?
In this review I’ll walk you through the ingredients and analysis of one of the Hill’s dry cat food formulas. Armed with this information, I’ll leave it to you to decide if this processed convenience food high in carbohydrates with surprisingly few animal products is what you should feed your cat.
In the spotlight: Hill’s Science Diet Adult Multiple Benefit Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food.
Hill’s Dry Cat Food Review
What the marketing says
We’re all easily led by marketing, and Hill’s are very good at marketing their pet foods.
As an Australian, I confess to buying a shampoo last week simply because it had a kangaroo on it. It later occurred to me it was a lousy shampoo, didn’t have anything to do with Australia, and in hindsight how easily I’d simply been drawn in by the marketing.
With Hill’s dry cat food, the most prominent wording on the packaging is the brand name – MULTIPLE BENEFIT ADULT.
Whoopie do, we want our cat to have multiple benefits, don’t we?
We also see the word SPECIALITY, which has to be good, right?
The formula I’m looking at for this review is Chicken & Rice, but you’ll find out shortly there isn’t as much chicken as you may think, and the formula name seems to neglect many of the main ingredients…
What the ingredients really say
Did you know most pet owners across the world will only read as far as the first ingredient?
Many times I’ve seen advice on choosing a pet food which states “Make sure meat is the first ingredient”.
In truth, this is meaningless, and it’s one of the oldest tricks a pet food company will use to convince you their product is meaty.
Let me explain – Ingredients in a pet food are listed in order of percentage, but we’re not told what those percentages are. Chicken may be the first ingredient in this cat food, for your pet carnivore, but the next ingredients are brewers rice, corn gluten meal, powdered cellulose, whole grain wheat, and wheat gluten.
Do those ingredients sound very carnivore to you?
What if they were all in the same percentage amount? That could mean the chicken is only 1 in 6 of the main ingredients!
What are you really feeding your carnivorous cat, and why is Hill’s dry cat food so highly recommended by veterinarians?
As a pet nutritionist you can understand why I see this convenience product as less than ideal for your cat.
Wheat, of which there are two inclusions in this formula (so potentially more significant than the chicken), I see as being the cause of many dietary issues and sensitivities in pet carnivores (both cats and dogs), and likely a cause of organ disease and premature death. This may sound radical, but perhaps not so much when you consider these to be inappropriate ingredients for the digestive system of your carnivore.
I estimate carbohydrates in this dry cat food to be around 42.5%, and we know carbohydrates aren’t ideal for our cats.
Let’s think about this – 30% protein, 42.5% carbohydrates.
I said there wouldn’t be as much chicken as you may think, and we can prove this by looking at the main ingredients. Brewers rice has some protein, corn gluten meal is stacked with protein, as is wheat gluten.
Give your cat will benefit the most from animal protein, we have to consider a significant amount of protein in this Hill’s formula doesn’t come the chicken, it comes from corn, wheat, and rice!
Why, you may ask?
Corn, wheat, and rice are much cheaper ingredients in a cat food. Or to look at it from our point of view, a better way to profit from us.
Fat – something our cats do benefit from – sits at a low 9.5% (min) which is lower than average for a dry cat food.
You may think it’s great to see chicken liver – an organ rich in beneficial nutrients. But take note of the next word, which is flavor.
Honestly, there isn’t much I can say which is positive about the Hill’s Science Diet dry cat foods. I wouldn’t feed them to my cat, or if I had to I would do my best to limit this as a convenience food in their diet (i.e. by feeding other more appropriate cat foods or fresh foods as well).
I can’t recommend this for your cat. Sorry.
What about Hill’s Science Diet Wet Cat Foods?
When it comes to the wet cat food from Hill’s, such as Hill’s Healthy Cuisine Roasted Chicken & Rice Medley, it has to be said these are more appropriate for your cat.
Chicken broth, chicken, and pork liver as the first three listed ingredients are definitely better for your cat, it’s the carrots and rice which aren’t as ideal.
Then we find wheat yet again, in this case wheat gluten, which makes you question how appropriate this wet cat food is?
When you realise the “HEALTHY CUISINE” part is just marketing, and how much you pay for these cans, it makes you wonder if you can do better?
Ingredients
The ingredients of Hill’s cat food (Specialty Multiple Benefit Adult):
Chicken, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Powdered Cellulose, Whole Grain Wheat, Wheat Gluten, Chicken Fat, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Lactic Acid, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil, Choline Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, Iodized Salt, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors, Beta-Carotene.
Guaranteed Analysis
The guaranteed analysis of Hill’s cat food (Specialty Multiple Benefit Adult):
| Protein | (min) 30% |
| Fat | (min) 9.5% |
| Crude Fibre | (max) 9.5% |
| Carbohydrates * | Estimated 42.5% |
* May be estimated. Read how to calculate carbohydrates in a pet food.
