Pets in our lives are far from the last place. Having started an animal at home, people begin to treat it as a member of the family. But, unfortunately, the pet’s life is not as long as its owners would like. However, in many ways, the life expectancy of a furry friend depends on proper care, which includes the selection of good and healthy food.
Currently, the choice of food for cats is very large. The shelves of specialized stores are simply full of various packaging with all kinds of dishes intended for feeding pets. One of the most common ready-made feeds is Hill's cat food. For the most part, reviews about him are positive, since it consists only of high-quality natural products and is really liked by pets.
Hills Feed Types
Hill's feed production is carried out in the USA and the Netherlands. This food is a premium food, as it contains only natural ingredients. The main component is flour from poultry, fish or lamb. The remaining ingredients include dairy products, cereals, soy, fish or animal fat, dried powdered beets or carrots, vitamins and minerals, amino acids. That is, all that is necessary to ensure a healthy and fulfilling life of a cat.
Hill's arsenal has several main lines:
- Science Plan is a diet designed for cats with no health problems. Feed from this series is selected in accordance with the breed of the animal, its lifestyle and taste preferences.
- Prescription Diet - diet foods that are designed for cats with a particular disease.
Each line includes Hill's dry cat food, canned food and spiders. Dry food is compressed dried balls. Canned goods look like paste and are sold in aluminum cans. Spiders are produced as wet pieces of meat in jelly or sauce in portioned packets. The last two items have a particularly attractive aroma and taste for cats. But the experience of cat litter suggests that on an ongoing basis it is better to feed the animal with dry food, and to add wet ones as a treat.
Many owners believe that it is best to feed a healthy pet with medicinal feeds. But this is wrong, since the composition of a therapeutic cat dish can harm the health of the animal.
Hills for healthy cats
For animals without any health problems, Hill's special cat food is produced for daily feeding Science Plan, which includes two types of dry and liquid foods - Nature's Best and Ideal Balance. This is a fairly new and improved series. They are absolutely hypoallergenic, since they do not contain cinnamon, which can cause an undesirable reaction of the pet's body.
The main components of these feeds are chicken or lamb and brown rice. The manufacturer claims that they absolutely do not contain artificial food additives and dyes, soy and wheat flour. Ideal Balance does not contain cereals, which has a very beneficial effect on the digestion of cats, since crops are not a typical food for the cat family.
Hill's cat food includes specially designed and balanced food for different preferences: for kittens, adult and elderly cats, for fluffy and smooth-haired cats, for pregnant and lactating cats, for sterile and active cats and cats.
Hills for cats with health problems
For the treatment of various diseases of cats, Prescription Diet foods have been developed, which have varieties for the treatment of the corresponding disease.
It is most preferable to entrust the choice of food for a problem animal to a veterinarian who must conduct an examination and make the correct diagnosis. Because for each ailment its own Hill's Diet composition has been developed. Cat food can be a medicine or prevention of diseases such as kidney and liver failure, digestive problems, diseases of the genitourinary system.
On each package of food you can find a letter designation that corresponds to a specific problem in the pet's body:
- Hill's s / d and c / d are prescribed for cats with bladder problems.
- Hill's l / d is suitable for pets with liver disease.
- Hill's k / d and u / d make life easier for animals with kidney disease, kidney failure.
- The designations r / d, m / d and w / d help too plump cats lose unwanted excess weight and maintain normal body weight.
- Intestinal problems are effectively eliminated by the food designated i / d.
- a / d is a gentle and restorative food for cats in the postoperative period.
- Hill's z / d helps deal with food allergies.
Thus, choosing the right diet for a patient or an animal prone to a certain disease can significantly alleviate his well-being and prevent the development of the disease.
Calculation of the dose of feeding
In order for Hill's cat food to go to the furry pet only for the benefit, it is necessary to follow the feeding standards that are indicated on each package. First you need to weigh the animal and calculate the condition of its body mass by probing the ribs and abdomen. By the degree of palpation of the ribs, one can judge the insufficient, normal or overweight of the pet.
In addition, you need to regularly weigh the cat in order to adjust the dosage of the feed.
Hills Feed Benefits
What are the benefits of Hill's cat food? Testimonial reviews with experience will help you easily identify them:
- The manufacturer has a fairly wide range that will help the owner individually select a diet for his pet, taking into account his breed, state of health and taste preferences.
- A large line of medicinal feeds that helps to prevent or treat almost any cat disease.
- Feed consists of a carefully calculated balance of natural products, vitamins and trace elements.
- Well-designed packaging allows you to familiarize yourself with the composition of the product and determine its purpose.
- Feed has a relatively low price.
Hills Feed Disadvantages
In addition to the advantages, there are several disadvantages, significant and not very:
- Almost every diet contains vegetable protein (except for Ideal Balance), which is poorly absorbed by the cat's body.
- Significant carbohydrate content in foods.
- Canned food is inferior in quality to dry feed.
Thus, having studied the reviews of the owners of cats and taking into account the number of advantages and disadvantages of the Hill's lines, we can conclude that these feeds are quite popular and of high quality. With the right feeding system for the animal, they will only bring benefits to its health.