Hill’s Prescription Diet (Dry) Review

Hill’s Prescription Diet dry product range is made up of 24 recipes which are not rated due to their intentional therapeutic design.

This product is tailored to meet a cat’s individual needs, particularly if they have a health condition and need a specialized diet to support therapeutic care.

Although this is a prescription product, our review has nothing to do with the accuracy of claims made by the manufacturer as to the product’s ability to treat or cure a specific health condition.

So, to find out whether or not this product is appropriate for your particular pet, it’s important to consult with your veterinarian.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (kitten), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Ingredients Analysis

Hill’s Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome Stress with Chicken Cat Food (formulated to support digestion).​​ has been chosen as a representative of the range, even though each recipe may be designed for different veterinary conditions.

The first ingredient is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken“.¹

Chicken is naturally rich in the 11 essential amino acids required by a cat to sustain life.

The second ingredient is brewer’s rice. Brewers rice is a cereal grain by-product consisting of the small fragments left over after milling whole rice. Aside from the caloric energy it contains, this item is of only modest nutritional value to a cat.

The third ingredient is corn protein meal, a coarsely ground flour made from dried corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain of only modest nutritional value to a cat. For this reason, we do not consider corn a preferred component in any cat food.

The fourth ingredient is chicken fat, which is obtained from rendering chicken, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.

Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.

The fifth ingredient is wheat gluten, which is the rubbery residue remaining once wheat has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

Compared to meat, glutens are inferior plant-based proteins low in some of the essential amino acids dogs need for life.

This inexpensive plant-based ingredient can significantly boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this cat food.

The sixth ingredient is pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.

Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this cat food.

The seventh ingredient is whole grain corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain. And aside from its energy content, this grain is of only modest nutritional value to a cat.

The eighth ingredient is chicken meal, which is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.

From here the list goes on to include a number of other items. But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of the product.

However this recipe contains dried beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient, a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.

Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.

We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most cat foods is entirely acceptable

Has Hill's cat food been recalled in the past?

Yes, there have been several recalls. Details can be found on the Dog Food Advisor, but in summary:

In 2007, there was an industry-wide recall which impacted Hill’s, due to food being contaminated with melamine. The contamination resulted in severe sickness and death among cats and dogs. 

In 2014, there was another recall of Hill’s dog food, due to potential salmonella contamination.

A year later, Hill’s initiated a market withdrawal which affected several dog food varieties. The recall was a result of labeling issues. 

In late 2019, Hill’s was also forced to recall canned dog food from their Prescription and Science Diet lines. This was a result of unusually high vitamin D content. High vitamin D levels cause blood calcium to rise, resulting in organ failure and possibly death. 

However, this did not just affect Hill’s. About two months later, other pet food brands were recalled over vitamin D-related issues.

You can view a complete list of all cat food recalls since 2021 here.

To stay on top of any cat food product recalls, sign up for our free email alerts, here.

About

Hill’s Pet Nutrition is an international pet food brand that’s known for selling scientifically developed foods.

The company was first founded in 1907 by Burton Hill as a rendering service with a contract to dispose of dead and lame animals in Topeka, Kansas.

It has come a long way since, now employing a team of more than 220 veterinarians, nutritionists, technicians, and food scientists to develop pet foods in the Hill research facility that’s still located in Topeka.