Hill’s Science Diet or Science Plan Cat Food: A Review

You can’t find Hill’s Science Diet (also called Hill’s Science Plan in the UK) at the grocery store. You need to go to a pet store, tack shop or your veterinarian in order to get it. You’ll see that it’s a bit more expensive than the cat food brands in the grocery store. Why is that? Because there is better quality products in Hill’s Science Diet than in any grocery store brand.

But Will Your Cat Eat It?

Cats tend to know instinctively if a food their more expensive. They usually then stop eating the cheaper food if you should go back to it. But there are always exceptions to this rule. Some cats get very fixated on just one brand of dry food or canned food. Get a small bag or one can of food before committing to huge bags and cases. It’s good to first mix a tiny bit of a new food like Science Diet in with the older food so that the cat not only gets used to the taste, but it’s not a shock to the digestive system.

If your cat won’t eat it after two weeks of trying it, (giving fresh food every day), then perhaps it’s time to call it quits. Many cats, however, do enjoy the taste of Science Diet, especially the dry food. Older cats or cats with teeth problems will have to stick with wet food, or wet and dry mixed together. Some cats will always turn their noses up to any type of Science Diet no matter what you do.

Many Varieties

About twenty years ago, it was pretty easy to select a cat food form the Hill’s Science Diet line up. You had “cat” or “kitten” formulations and that was it. Now, there’s a lot more choices in flavours and choices based upon the specific health requirements of your cat. Varieties of dry, canned and pouch food cater to:

* how old your cat is

* whether your cat lives indoors or out

* if your cat needs to loose weight

* if your cat has hairball problems

* if your cat is neutered

There is also the Hill’s Prescription Diet cat food, which first was only available at veterinarian’s offices, but is now available at some major pet store chains. The canned food has very little water and a lot of food but not a lot of odor. These are catered for cats having specific serious health issues, such as feline lower urinary tract disease, kidney problems or problems with bad teeth. Please ask your veterinarian whether your cat may benefit from switching to these foods because of the expense involved.

Proof In Litter Box

Cats do not have the most efficient digestive systems. Undigested food can help make their stools large and smelly. Hill’s Science Diet is meant to be easier for your cat to digest more easily. So, you cat won’t have as large stool, but it will probably still be as smelly. Hill’s just makes pet food — they don’t perform miracles.

Reference:

• hubpages.com/hub/What_Is_In_My_Pets_Food
• www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=100
• www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/89360