Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s Science Diet is a science-focused pet-food brand formulated for the everyday nutritional needs of dogs and cats. It is positioned as Hill’s wellness/lifestage nutrition line, distinct from Hill’s Prescription Diet, which is formulated for specific medical conditions. 1

The roots of Science Diet are closely connected with the history of Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

In 1939, veterinarian Dr. Mark Morris Sr. developed a special food for a guide dog named Buddy, who was suffering from kidney failure. Morris believed nutrition could play an important role in managing the dog’s condition and developed a new food with his wife, Louise, in their kitchen. This became the foundation of Hill’s science-based approach to pet nutrition.

Hill’s subsequently developed veterinary nutritional products, including the renal diet that became Prescription Diet k/d. In 1948, Hill’s describes this product as the first veterinarian-developed pet-food line intended to help manage a specific health condition through nutrition.

Over the following decades, Hill’s expanded beyond therapeutic nutrition into food intended for healthy pets, eventually establishing Science Diet as its everyday wellness-oriented brand.

Today, Hill’s describes its history as more than 75 years of science-led pet nutrition and operates research and nutritional-development programs involving veterinarians, nutritionists and food scientists.

Science Diet is essentially Hill’s everyday nutrition portfolio.

Rather than being primarily designed to treat diagnosed diseases, Science Diet products are formulated around the normal nutritional requirements of healthy pets at different stages of life and with different lifestyle requirements. Hill’s describes Science Diet as providing nutrition for pets of different ages, sizes and nutritional needs.

For example, the range includes products designed for:

• Puppies and kittens
• Adult dogs and cats
• Mature and senior pets
• Small- and large-breed dogs
• Indoor cats
• Weight management
• Sensitive stomach and digestive health
• Skin and coat health
• Oral health
• Mobility
• Certain lifestyle-specific nutritional needs

This makes Science Diet different from Prescription Diet, which is intended for pets with particular medical conditions and is generally used with veterinary guidance.

The defining characteristic of Science Diet is its emphasis on science-led formulation.

Hill’s says its nutritional philosophy combines several areas of research, including:

• Animal nutrition
• Veterinary medicine
• Predictive biology
• Pet microbiome research
• Ingredient and nutrient research
• Palatability research
• Clinical research

Hill’s says it employs more than 220 veterinarians, Ph.D. nutritionists and food scientists across its research and product-development activities. The company also reports that its scientists publish more than 50 research papers and textbook chapters each year.

The basic philosophy is that food should not simply provide calories. Its formulation should provide an appropriate balance of nutrients for the animal’s age, size, physiology and particular nutritional requirements.

Science Diet products are generally organized around three major concepts:

1. Life stage

Nutrition changes as an animal ages.

Science Diet therefore offers different formulations for stages such as puppy/kitten, adult and senior. Hill’s says these foods are specifically designed around nutritional benefits associated with each stage of life. 2

2. Specific nutritional needs

The brand also develops foods for particular everyday nutritional goals.

Examples include digestive health, weight management, mobility, oral health and skin/coat support.

3. Palatability

Science Diet does not treat nutrition and taste as separate concerns. Hill’s conducts palatability testing with dogs and cats at its Pet Nutrition Center to help determine which formulations animals prefer.

Science Diet formulas use combinations of animal proteins, grains, vegetables, fats, fibers, vitamins, minerals and other nutritional ingredients depending on the specific recipe.

Importantly, there is no single “Science Diet ingredient list.” The ingredients vary substantially between products.

For example, one Science Diet dog formula lists chicken, barley, brown rice, chicken fat, oats and chicken meal among its primary ingredients, while a Science Diet indoor-cat formula uses chicken, whole-grain wheat, corn protein meal, powdered cellulose and brown rice.

Hill’s says its ingredient-selection process starts with understanding the nutrients required by dogs and cats and then selecting combinations of ingredients capable of supplying those nutrients.

This is also why comparing two Science Diet products solely by their ingredient lists can be misleading: different formulas have different nutritional objectives.

One of the more prominent recent technologies associated with Science Diet is ActivBiome+ Multi-Benefit.

Hill’s describes it as a combination of prebiotic fibers and antioxidants intended to support areas including:

• Digestive health
• Stool quality
• Immune-system support
• Energy
• Overall organ health

Hill’s says the technology draws on more than a decade of microbiome research and is incorporated into its adult and senior Science Diet lifestage foods. 3

The Science Diet dog portfolio covers a broad range of everyday nutritional requirements.

Examples include:

• Puppy formulas
• Adult formulas
• Adult 7+ / mature formulas
• Small- and mini-breed formulas
• Large-breed formulas
• Weight-management foods
• Sensitive stomach and skin formulas
• No-corn, wheat or soy formulas
• Oral-care products
• Healthy-mobility products

Hill’s describes these as complete and balanced foods intended to provide everyday nutrition rather than therapeutic diets for diagnosed diseases.

Science Diet also has an extensive cat-food portfolio.

It includes foods for:

• Kittens
• Adult cats
• Senior cats
• Indoor cats
• Weight management
• Digestive health
• Skin and coat health
• Other lifestyle and nutritional requirements

For example, its Adult Chicken Recipe cat food is formulated for cats aged approximately 1–6 years and includes ActivBiome+ Multi-Benefit, omega-6 fatty acids and vitamin E, as well as protein intended to support lean muscle.

This distinction is important.

Science Diet is primarily the everyday wellness and life-stage line.

Prescription Diet is Hill’s therapeutic nutrition line, formulated around particular medical conditions such as kidney disease and other veterinary health problems. Hill’s explicitly states that Science Diet products are not intended as substitutes for Prescription Diet products.

In simplified terms:

Science Diet = everyday nutritional health
Prescription Diet = therapeutic nutritional management

A veterinarian may recommend either depending on the individual animal.

Hill’s emphasizes extensive quality-control procedures throughout its manufacturing process. The company says its safety standards are modeled on those used by human-food manufacturers.

Hill’s also states that its products undergo internal testing and quality-control procedures, and that its research and development process involves veterinarians, nutritionists and food scientists.

Some Science Diet products are manufactured in the United States using a combination of domestic and globally sourced ingredients; the exact sourcing and manufacturing information varies by product.

An important recent development is that Science Diet has expanded beyond traditional dry and canned formats.

In June 2026, Hill’s announced Science Diet Single Protein Dog Food Rolls, marking Hill’s entry into the refrigerated/fresh dog-food category. The products are gently steam-cooked and are available in recipes such as Beef & Carrot, Chicken & Brown Rice, and Lamb & Pumpkin.

This represents a significant expansion of the brand’s format while maintaining its existing emphasis on complete and balanced nutrition and scientific formulation.

Veterinary relationships are a major part of Hill’s brand identity.

Hill’s currently describes Science Diet/Hill’s as the “#1 US veterinarian recommended brand”, based on its own cited research/marketing claim.

The brand’s connection with veterinarians goes back to its origins: Hill’s was founded around the idea that carefully formulated nutrition could be used as an important component of animal care.

That history helps explain why Science Diet is positioned differently from many pet-food brands that focus primarily on ingredients, natural-food marketing or consumer trends.

Science Diet occupies a particular position in the pet-food market:

Science Diet’s core proposition is not simply “premium ingredients.” It is “scientifically formulated nutrition.”

Its branding therefore emphasizes:

• Scientific research
• Veterinary expertise
• Nutritional completeness
• Life-stage nutrition
• Evidence-based formulation
• Digestive and microbiome research
• Long-term health
• Palatability
• Quality control

Hill’s explicitly says its philosophy is that science should lead nutritional decisions, rather than short-term pet-food trends.

Science Diet is not an independent company. It is a brand within Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

Hill’s operates two major consumer-facing nutrition brands:

1. Hill’s Science Diet — everyday nutrition for healthy pets and different life stages.
2. Hill’s Prescription Diet — therapeutic nutrition formulated for specific medical needs.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition itself is part of Colgate-Palmolive; Hill’s history records Colgate-Palmolive’s involvement beginning in the 1970s.

Hill’s Science Diet is a pet-food brand developed by Hill’s Pet Nutrition that specializes in science-led everyday nutrition for dogs and cats. Originating from Hill’s long history of veterinarian-developed nutrition, the brand offers dry, wet and newer refrigerated products organized around life stage, size, lifestyle and nutritional needs. Its identity is built around veterinary science, nutritional research, carefully formulated nutrient profiles, quality control and research into areas such as digestion and the pet microbiome. Unlike Hill’s Prescription Diet, Science Diet is primarily intended for healthy pets rather than as a therapeutic diet for diagnosed medical conditions.

1. Science Diet Dog & Cat Food: Wellness Nutrition
2. Hill’s Science Diet
3. Science Diet Dog Food for Healthy Nutrition