Product review - Hills Pet Nutrition
**News...
Hills are bringing down the price of 80% of their range on March
1st 2010. It's the first time in their history that price cuts have
been inplemented on such a scale!**
They don't come much bigger than Hills Pet Nutrition, who have
a presence worldwide and have been at the forefont of veterinary
prescription diets for many years. The company was started by veterinary
surgeon Dr Mark Morris.
According to the Hills website Dr. Mark Morris was an exceptional
vet. He believed that we should take pet healthcare as seriously
as our own. That's why he opened the very first vet clinic for family
pets. Before then, vets had mostly treated large farm animals and
working horses and dogs.
Mark Morris saw the link between poor nutrition and illness in
pets, so he developed a pet food that was superior to any other
on the market. The company started small, with Mark and his wife
making the food themselves for their patients.
The
turning point for Dr.Morris came when he met a blind man called
Morris Frank. Frank's much-loved guide dog, Buddy was suffering
from kidney disease and he asked Dr. Morris if he could help him.
Dr Morris knew that because many of the commercial pet foods available
at the time were high in phosporus and protein to make them taste
better, feeding them could harm the kidneys. So, he set about developing
a food that was low in salt yet high in flavour and nutritional
value.
This food became Hill's Prescription Diet k/d™, which went
on to become the first commercially available Hill's pet food.
The Hills Science Diet has been available in pet shops for some
time as their consumer range, but lately Hills have begun to follow
the trend into more 'natural' branded foods, and their 'Nature's
Best' is the result. It had a rocky start a few years ago, but now
they seem to be marketing it a little better.
Looking at the ingredients, it's a perfectly acceptable high quality
premium food, with natural preservatives (although check out the
article on antioxidants
to see how some companies get around this one!)
For some pet owners, Hills are in the same camp as Iams and Eukanuba
in that they conduct experiments on animals. This is not the place
to enter that debate, and there's plenty of info on the web about
it. Here we're just looking at the food and you as a customer have
to weigh up the pros and cons of buying food from a well established
manufacturer against the cost of a bag.
Prices for Hills
Some of the Hills range can be expensive so it's
worth shopping around. For a more complete list of what's available
we recommend shopping at Pet
Supermarket.com or GJW
Titmuss (who do good 2 bag deals
In Feb 2010 you could get a 12kg bag of Hills Science from £29.99
at Pet
Supermarket.com which was the best of the bunch!
Let's have a look at a few of their recipes and you can get an
idea for the sort of ingredients that Hills are using these days.
Hills Nature's Best

Price Check
Pet
Supermarket
GJW
Titmuss (for 2 bag deals)
Price Check
Pet
Supermarket
GJW
Titmuss(for 2 bag deals)
|
Nature's Best™ Canine Adult
Large / Giant
With its unique blend of ingredients and added vitamins and
minerals and nutrients, Hill's Nature's Best™ Canine
Large/Giant is specially formulated to help maintain healthy
joints and muscles in bigger dogs weighing over 25kg when
adult.
Key Benefits
* Provides naturally healthy superior complete nutrition.
* No added artificial preservatives, flavours or colourants.
* An effective antioxidant bundle for a healthy immune system.
Ingredients:
Ground maize, chicken and turkey meal, maize gluten meal,
animal fat, digest, brown rice, vegetable oil, ground barley,
oat groats, flaxseed, dried beet pulp, potassium citrate,
dehydrated carrots, dehydrated peas, tomato pomace, spinach
powder, citrus pulp, grape pomace, salt, L-lysine hydrochloride,
L-carnitine supplement, potassium chloride, iron oxide, calcium
carbonate, L-tryptophan, vitamins and trace elements. Naturally
preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary
extract.
Nature's Best™ Canine Adult Mini/Medium
With it’s unique blend of ingredients and added vitamins
and minerals and nutrients. Hill's Nature's Best™ Canine
Adult Mini/Medium is specially formulated to meet the needs
of dogs weighing under 25kg when adult.
Key Benefits
* Provides naturally healthy superior complete nutrition.
* No added artificial preservatives, flavours or colourants.
* An effective antioxidant bundle for a healthy immune system.
Ingredients:
Ground maize, chicken and turkey meal, maize gluten meal,
animal fat, digest, brown rice, ground barley, oat groats,
vegetable oil, dried beet pulp, dehydrated carrots, dehydrated
peas, tomato pomace, spinach powder, citrus pulp, grape pomace,
potassium citrate, flaxseed, L-lysine hydrochloride, calcium
carbonate, salt, iron oxide, L-tryptophan, vitamins and trace
elements. Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric
acid and rosemary extract.
Protein 18%, Fat 14%, Fibre 4%
|
Hills Science Plan

Price Check
Pet
Supermarket
GJW
Titmuss (for 2 bag deals)
Price Check
Pet
Supermarket
GJW
Titmuss (for 2 bag deals)
|
What they say!
Hill's™ Science Plan™ Canine Adult Advanced Fitness™
with Beef is formulated to support lean muscle and healthy
vital organs. With clinically proven antioxidants, lean proteins
and omega 3's.
Key Benefits
* With high quality proteins to support lean muscle.
* Sustains healthy vital organs with balanced sodium and phosphorus
levels.
* Highly digestible ingredients for optimal nutrient absorption.
* Made with high quality ingredients for great taste. 100%
guaranteed.
Hills Science Plan Adult Dog Beef
With Beef (minimum 14 %): Ground maize, beef and pork greaves
meal, chicken and turkey meal, animal fat, digest, vegetable
oil, potassium citrate, flaxseed, calcium carbonate, salt,
L-lysine hydrochloride, potassium chloride, DL-methionine,
L-tryptophan, L-threonine, vitamins and trace elements. Naturally
preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary
extract.
Hills Science Plan Adult Dog Chicken
Medium with Chicken (minimum Chicken 20%, Chicken and Turkey
combined 30%): Ground maize, chicken and turkey meal, soybean
meal, animal fat, maize gluten meal, digest, flaxseed, vegetable
oil, salt, potassium citrate, L-lysine hydrochloride, calcium
carbonate, potassium chloride, taurine, L-tryptophan, vitamins
and trace elements. Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols,
citric acid and rosemary extract.
Hills Science Plan Adult Dog Lamb & Rice
Lamb & Rice (minimum Lamb 26 %; minimum Rice 4 %): Ground
maize, lamb meal, soybean meal, animal fat, maize gluten meal,
ground rice, digest, vegetable oil, flaxseed, L-lysine hydrochloride,
salt, potassium chloride, DL-methionine, taurine, L-tryptophan,
vitamins and trace elements. Naturally preserved with mixed
tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary extract.
Hills Science Plan Adult Dog Sensitive Skin
Hill's™ Science Plan™ Canine Adult Sensitive
Skin with Chicken is formulated to help avoid dry, flaky and
itchy skin. With clinically proven antioxidants and omega-
3 & 6.
Key Benefits
* Enhanced omega-3 and 6 for healthy skin and coat.
* Nourishes skin and replenishes its natural oils.
* With high quality proteins to support lean muscle.
* Made with high quality ingredients for great taste. 100%
guaranteed
With Chicken (minimum Chicken 23%, Chicken and Turkey combined
31%): Ground rice, ground maize, chicken and turkey meal,
maize gluten meal, dried whole egg, vegetable oil, flaxseed,
digest, animal fat, potassium chloride, DL-methionine, salt,
L-lysine hydrochloride, L-tryptophan, vitamins and trace elements.
Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric acid and
rosemary extract
|
Science Plan™ Kitten Chicken

Price Check
Pet
Supermarket
GJW
Titmuss (for 2 bag deals)
|
Hill's Natures Best™ Kitten
helps give cats up to 12 months of age the best start in life
and helps protect a kittens immune system.
Key Benefits
* Provides naturally healthy superior complete nutrition.
* No added artificial preservatives, flavours or colourants.
* An effective antioxidant bundle for a healthy immune system.
* Great taste, your pet will love it.
Ingredients:
Chicken (minimum Chicken 30 %; minimum Chicken and Turkey
combined 45 %): Chicken and turkey meal, maize gluten meal,
animal fat, brown rice, ground maize, digest, ground barley,
oat groats, fish oil, dried beet pulp, flaxseed, potassium
chloride, dehydrated carrots, dehydrated peas, tomato pomace,
spinach powder, citrus pulp, grape pomace, L-lysine hydrochloride,
salt, DL-methionine, oat fibre, iron oxide, potassium citrate,
taurine, L-tryptophan, vitamins and trace elements. Naturally
preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary
extract.
|
Science Plan for Cats

Price Check
Pet
Supermarket
GJW
Titmuss (for 2 bag deals)
|
Hill's™ Science Plan™
Feline Adult Optimal Care™ Chicken is formulated
to support optimal fitness, with clinically proven antioxidants,
lean proteins and enhanced Omega 3s.
Key Benefits
* Clinically proven antioxidants for a healthy immune system
* Supports gentle, healthy digestion
* Sustains healthy vital organs with balanced mineral levels.
* Made with high quality ingredients for great taste. 100%
guaranteed.
Chicken (minimum Chicken 40%; minimum Chicken and Turkey
combined 60%): Chicken and turkey meal, ground maize, ground
rice, animal fat, maize gluten meal, digest, potassium chloride,
fish oil, salt, taurine, vitamins and trace elements. Naturally
preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary
extract.
Hills Science Plan Adult Indoor Cat Chicken
Chicken (minimum Chicken 40%, Chicken and Turkey combined
53%): Chicken and turkey meal, ground maize, ground rice,
maize gluten meal, cellulose, digest, animal fat, vegetable
oil, potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, L-carnitine supplement,
calcium sulphate, salt, DL-methionine, taurine, vitamins and
trace elements. Naturally preserved with mixed tocopherols,
citric acid and rosemary extract.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 
|
|
|