
Science Diet Reviews
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About Science Diet
- Veterinary recommended for pets
- Variety of formulas for specific needs
- Some pets may refuse to eat it
- Quality control issues reported
Science Diet Reviews
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Reviewed Sept. 8, 2025
My cat did enjoy eating the adult chicken dry food. I purchased a new bag with new imagery and discovered the food was shaped differently. I offered it to my cat and she refuses to taste it. She won’t eat it buried or mix with the old. Something about the aroma turns her off. I had to purchase another brand of cat food. She may not be a fan of the new brand but she’s eating it. She refuses the Hill's Science Diet Adult Chicken new formula. I sent my concerns via email. They promptly responded to my concerns. However the formula change has caused me to purchase other brands.
Reviewed Aug. 19, 2025
I’m so upset with the recent quality of their dry food, particularly the adult chicken one. On two separate occasions now it has given BOTH my dogs the extreme runs, with gurgling stomach and flatulence. As we speak, I am currently making them boiled chicken and white rice and giving Proviable to tame their insane digestion issues. My oldest has been on Science Diet for 6 years, but after this terrible quality control or recipe change, I fear I am done and will search for a new dog food. What a shame.
Reviewed July 9, 2025
Something in the quality across two variations of their dry food has changed. Beliving we had bad batches we toss 90lbs of food for new. This was a back in May of 25. This week we received a new bag and one of the two dogs stopped eating altogether. The second dog that has a history of eating on schedule and voraciously began to eat slower and not finishing their food. This morning I found both dogs eating grass and stepped away after one sniff. Cleaning the bowls did nothing. Both refused to eat. Upset at this I purchased a competitor's product in small supply at Tractor Supply and both dogs eat like they hadn't been feed in day. I can confirm this to be true. Something has changed at Science Diet and it is not good.
Reviewed June 8, 2025
My Sophie is a year old. Very active, 67 pound, somewhat overweight, Staffordshire terrier who is the most finicky of finicky eaters. I started out cooking her food, then changed to Freshpet, then to Purina Pro Plan and I've noticed lately that her energy seems low, doesn't seem to get the zoomies as much and wasn't nearly as playful as I know her to be. So, I asked Grok the other day what is the number one, best adult dog food, for weight loss and energy restore on the market and without a hesitation Science Hill Diet came up, so I immediately ordered.
LITERALLY, 2 bowls later and the very next day Sophie was spring through the backyard, she was zooming all over my apt and was acting like. 7 month old puppy! I was so excited to see this shift in her! Her stools look great and let me say this, Sophie has never finished a whole bowl of dog AND LICKED the bowl clean, well she does now! She loves loves loves the taste of Science Hill Diet! I recommend 10/10 and I am now a forever loyal customer!
Reviewed April 30, 2025
I have been a Hills customer since 1993 for both wet and dry dog food. My last two orders are hit and miss on quality and consistency. Look at the dryness of the white dish compared to the orange dish. I opened both of these out of the same case this morning. My previous order was all dry as well so I just added a bit of water, but my dogs still didn't care for it. Not a happy customer. Going to try out some other wet foods comparable to this.

Reviewed April 25, 2025
Received your reply to my review…Here’s the confusion…you inform me that the dry matter on the Hills Science KD dry for cats is .54 phosphorus dry matter. Then you said I should read the bag nutrition and see the .55 phosphorus dry matter. My bag of Hills Science KD dry cat food reads .75. So that’s where the problem lies…
Reviewed April 1, 2025
I've been using Science Diet Small Bites for 9 years. We started with puppy, and now on Adult. I have a Yorkipoo, 10lbs. She has never had a problem with digestion. On a fun note, she loves taking one out and playing with it, then eating it. She even takes her empty bowl and brings it to me to fill. I'm getting a puppy, so I'll be starting all over again with Science Diet Puppy Bites.
Reviewed March 22, 2025
Our Shih-Tzu suffered from pancreatitis December 28th and we are uncertain if he also had IBS as well. He was on antibiotics for a week the first time, but it came back. His doctor is great and has regimented Science Diet I/D. Before the pancreatitis, he only ate Science Diet dry kibble, but now we have to mix the I/D low fat with dry kibble. I'm very much against "wet" food because of their teeth (dogs and cats). He was eating rice and chicken breast with zero skin or fat while we were fixing his belly. It was probably a 6 week period and we caught it immediately. My only concern is he's lost 4lbs in about 2 months (though he weighs 17 lbs, so he's not underweight). It's just he's always been around 20lbs. He turned 5 in January.
But back to the review. Science Diet has always been great for our animals. My ex worked for Science Diet and they do truly care (or did) for animals. He hasn't worked for them in a while and he's an ex for a reason 😉. I recommend Science Diet, but they definitely charge a ton of mark up on their food. We would eat grilled cheese sandwiches forever to make sure our fur babies were taken care of, however.
Reviewed Jan. 26, 2025
We have always fed our dogs this brand. But all the sudden it is has started making both our dogs sick. Don’t know what has changed but we will be changing brands. Which is unfortunate because they really like their food and this brand is slightly less expensive than the other brand our vet recommends.
Reviewed Dec. 7, 2024
Had my dog on Benefil Incredi bites & Incredi bites pate. Thinking Hill's Adult 7+ would be a healthier choice, apparently, my dog doesn't think so and ate a few bites & gave up. The consistency of it sticks together like clumpy glue. I feel bad because I have to go to work and he hasn't eaten & will have to wait until I go back to the store after work. I feel I made a bad choice buying Hill's.
Reviewed Dec. 1, 2024
Nov 2024/Phx, Az: The Science Diet dry cat food ALMOST KILLED OUR CAT!!! After being on Science Diet for 45+ days caused pancreatitis but the last bag especially was even being refused by our other cats after eating it for the past month.
Reviewed Oct. 30, 2024
Their adult small bite dog food nearly killed my dog. We couldn't figure out why my dog seemed perpetually ill, diarrhea and vomiting on a regular basis and he was losing tons of weight, he was a healthy weight so the weight loss put him under weight. The doctor chocked it up to being old but when we had continued bouts of bloody diarrhea and almost daily vomiting we turned to the food. We cha get him from Science diet to Orijen, and right away we saw improvement. Since changing his food, he has had zero instances of illness or diarrhea, it's been nearly a month. We believe we had either a tainted bag or the recipe changed and there was something he became intolerant to. We had fed him this food for years prior with minimal issue, this bag of food nearly killed him. Never again.
Reviewed Oct. 2, 2024
Don't buy it thinking they back the 100% guarantee or your money back. I bought a $200 plus tax bag of Prescription Diet. She refused to eat it. I looked at the ingredients; the first ingredient was rice and then SOY in short order. Not only will she not eat it, but I also don't want to feed her SOY. I called the vet where I purchased it and asked if they had the receipt on file because I wanted to return it and feed her something else. They flat-out refuse to return my money. They said they would happily take it back but I would not receive a refund. They said....that because she had eaten it (grudgingly) a year and a half prior Science Diet would not refund the bag. So, don't expect them to honor the refund policy. Of note - the bag is 95% full.
Reviewed July 24, 2024
I came to this site to do some research on this food as I’m starting to think it’s not the right choice for our fur baby. She is a 12 year old 9 pound Yorkiepoo. This pup doesn’t miss a meal. Begs for it. Well or at least she had till we got a bad bag. We didn’t know it was bad till she started refusing it. She would shake and shiver when it was time to eat then we open the bag and smelt it. It smelled rancid so off of the pet store. We went to buy another bag well we’re still in that bag and she is still refusing to eat, she does not want that food so I came here to do some research and oddly enough.
I’m seeing the same complaints over and over. I do believe her problems are caused by this food. We will be getting her off this food. This food was suggested by my vet, obviously probably their pockets get lined by sales of science diet, all I know is up until three years ago she had eaten Nutro Ultra and not had any of the eating issues she does now. Vet suggest this food because she had pancreatitis 3 years ago in the three years, she’s been on this food. We have purchased four rancid bags and had many feeding issues with her, refusing to eat. We’ve tried all the tricks the vet has said, make the kibble wet, add a topper, make it a game. She will eat when she’s hungry. NO, NO AND NO. She will not eat this until she shakes, shivers, cowers, hides, and pukes up bile. Then she will eat it and drink a ton of water. There is something wrong with this food and I’m following my gut and getting her off it! She is on Science Diet perfect weight small and mini.
Reviewed June 3, 2024
I started feeding my dog Science Diet Sensitive Stomach and Skin. We transitioned over a week. He didn't really like it then he lost his appetite, started throwing up and had diarrhea with blood. He ended up at the emergency vet and was given fluids and meds. I would never buy this brand again for him. He does have a sensitive stomach but this made him pretty sick.

Reviewed Feb. 11, 2024
I have been feeding Hills Science Diet wet dog food for years. Recently the 1-6 adult wet food has more liquid in the can than actual food. Needless to say this is unacceptable and now I am looking into feed another wet food. I will also mention this 'problem' my veterinarian since he strongly recommended this food!!!

Reviewed Jan. 27, 2024
I been feeding my Yorkie this same brand dog food for years. My vet told me it was good. Get this new big bag. Same flavor. Tried it 3 times with my dog. It has to be bad throwing up 3 to 4 times. Other dog food brand he back to normal. Tried it several more time. Same thing. Took my dog to vet. All his blood work perfect. He told me don't feed him anymore of it. Must be contain some toxics.
Reviewed Jan. 23, 2022
It's been quite a while now, over 25 years, since I first started using Science Diet's foods. I started out using it for my cats and then when I got a dog, of course I started using it for him as well. I have had several dogs since then and my food of choice is Science Diet (of course). Needless to say, my dogs have loved it. It costs a bit more when I purchase it from the grocery store, but because my dog is a member of the family, I do her food shopping at the same time I do mine, so I purchase it at the groceries. Occasionally I save a bit of money by going to a specialized pet store, but generally I just put her food on the regular food shopping list. Thanks so much for coming up with a food that gives her "small" bites (as she ages) and the choice that ranged from when she was a pup to her more mature 13 year old fuzzy self!

Reviewed Jan. 10, 2022
I raised my present German Shepherd and all of my previous Dogs on Science Diet. In 1970 my Veterinarian recommend Science Diet and she is in excellent shape at 12 years old. My previous Dog was a Long Coat Chihuahua and lived to 14 years old.
Reviewed Jan. 9, 2022
I purchase Hill's Science Diet Sensitive Stomach and Skin. My fur baby is 8 years old and I rescued him 4 years ago. He had terrible skin issues and scratched all the time. He also was sensitive to what he was fed. I felt Science Diet was a well respected dog food and vets recommend them to their patients all the time by having the food in their clinic. He has stopped scratching, does not have to have steroid shots every 3 months! This is making me feel like a better parent to my baby, saving me money on shots and my dog is at peace without the itching! He has stopped having stomach issues where he would throw up and gag, now he eats and enjoys his food!
Reviewed Jan. 8, 2022
Really happy with this brand. My English bulldog absolutely loves it. While also he doesn't gain unnecessary weight while using it either. Keeps him happy and healthy. I have zero complaints and I couldn't be happier with their products.
Reviewed May 23, 2021
I recently took my female dog who was 5 yrs old to the vet 03/21 for her one year well being checkup that included blood work and yearly shots. Was told she was overweight needed to put her on a diet was recommended to use Hills Science Diet product. With putting her on a diet we decided to feed our other pets Hills Science products. We have a 6 month old large puppy put him on large breed puppy food. Our other pet is a small breed of 10 years old we bought the small breed older food for him. Both the 5 yr old and puppy their stools were not a good form. We figured it was their system was cleaning themselves out as a cleansing. Our 10 year old stool is very hard.
Fast forward two months we noticed our 5 yr old girl the weekend of May 15, 2021. She looked as if she lost 10 lbs overnight but still active along with eating and drinking normally. Just figured the product is working well for her. Then she took a turn on 05/18/21. My wife made appointment with vet for a checkup 05/21/21. She was very dehydrated. The vet treated the dehydration along anti diarrhea and anti nausea medication with blood work.
On May 22, 2021 we received a call from vet informing us that the blood work came back with bad news. The pancreas numbers were off the charts along with keto numbers were also off the charts with such high numbers our vet asked a colleague for a second opinion both vets came to the same conclusion. We were recommended to put our girl to rest for this will be fatal but also gave us the option for further treatment which will be with no guarantee of a productive life and or death.
We chose putting her to rest but not without several questions. The main question was how this was not detected back in March. The only thing we have done differently by recommendation was putting her on a diet. Prior to this she was active, happy, playful. Then just overnight my girl was not herself. While talking to friends and family who also feed this product to their dog/cat also found themselves putting the pet to rest. I can not confirm it’s the product but I do find it very coincidental in short periods of time pets are being put to rest for health issues.
Reviewed April 8, 2021
We couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from. Did the dog poop in the house? I'd changed my dog's food because I thought she was putting on a bit of weight and reached for Science Diet Perfect Weight. Well, we haven't even finished the bag and I've gotten her on to some Merrick grain-free Beef and Sweet Potato. In less than a day, after shampooing the dog, washing all our bedding, airing out and de-stinking the house, things are almost back to normal. I have NEVER known a dog to stink so much. Even a little dog breath is manageable, but this smell just started building and building and it wasn't the dog farting. It was the entire dog - her breath smelled better. Perhaps she doesn't tolerate it, but in another country, I used to feed a dog what we call dog roll (it's wet meat and you cut off what you need and store it in the fridge) and then sometimes some dry food and table scraps.
Never had I experienced such a stinky stinky dog and I can only imagine how she was feeling. Back to the tasty food for her. She doesn't actually like Science Diet to begin with (even the regular stuff we got her as a puppy). Maybe it was good in the past, but reading other reviews, it appears that however good they used to be, they've probably changed their formula. Someone else in my family swears by it - but it's definitely not for this little mutt and I don't have a pedigree or some expensive dog - she's a bitza. I'm telling you, in less than 24 hours, changing her food and cleaning everything (including furbaby) the smell which became so overpowering, is almost gone. Perhaps it's just this 'diet' dog food - but if that's the case, try a different brand and if your dog is reacting badly through odor, before you get the anal glands checked out, I'd probably suggest trying a grain-free option. I'm not a dog expert - just love our dogs.
Reviewed July 17, 2020
Hill's Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs seems to have been the perfect remedy for my cat that has both problems of diarrhea and constipation. I am not an expert on ingredients but my cat likes it and his stomach likes it and that is enough for me.
Reviewed July 2, 2020
My cat almost died and needed urinary surgery. I was told by the vet to use the Hills Science Diet. I need a prescription to use it. My cat loves this cat food. He has not been sick since the surgery and the use of this cat food. It is expensive but it keeps my kitty healthy. I have been ordering it through Chewy.com.
Reviewed June 20, 2020
Hills Science Diet has been prescribed to each of our cats. Every time our cats eat this food they have horrible diarrhea and vomiting. We switched foods to Royal Canin and have never had these problems. We recently adopted a kitten and they gave her this food and she has had horrible diarrhea and required multiple vet visits. Switching off immediately. I’m sure the company pays vets a lot to prescribe their brand. Do not buy this food!

Reviewed March 1, 2020
I fed 1 dog this for yrs - she crapped all over the place. I thought she would never get potty trained. The dog I have now came to me completely potty trained - rarely an accident. He developed heart problems so I put him on Science Diet h/d (for heart issues). Came highly rated. He too suddenly developed the runs and crapped all over the place. Now I know it has nothing to do with being potty trained. DO NOT BUY THIS FOOD - there is something wrong with it Science Diet dog food. I am putting this dog back on Castor & Pollux (good food). Hindsight being 20/20 I never should of had my other dog on science diet - now I see it was the food not the dog.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2020
As others have noticed, Hills changed the formula for this food sometime in late 2019. My 14 year old Border Collie mix has happily eaten Science Diet for his entire life. He now lets his food sit and pretty clearly doesn't like it. He won't even eat the extra kibbles that fall on the floor. He'll immediately devour any other type of food put in front of him. So I'm looking for a new food. Not sure if this is related or not, but his skin is very dry since the food change.
Reviewed Dec. 19, 2019
My dog is a very avid eater typically. Not picky by any means. I'm usually very particular about his diet even though I'm by no means wealthy. The vet treating his perianal fistulas recently handed us two cans of this "prescription diet." My dog refused to eat it. I didn't think twice given a vet handed it to me for free as a gift since he "liked" my guy. Turn the can around and gee no wonder!! Digestive care lol. What about the beginning of the ingredient list shows a "care" for a dog's well-being. This is overpriced cheap Purina style nonsense: Water, Turkey, Pork Liver, Rice, Modified Rice Starch, Whole Grain Corn, Egg Product, Chicken, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Powdered Cellulose. Corn? Really?
Seriously if you can do it and you love your pet turn the can/bag around and have a quick read. I've been feeding him Canidae limited ingredient dry rotating the kind everyday and every one of his health issues has vanished right down to his dandruff. Turns out he was having problems with allergies likely leading to part of the cause of his recent health scare. Then a vet went on attempting to make my dude even sicker with this nonsense. Don't let vets trick you apparently.
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2019
My 10 year old cat has eaten different types of Science Diet his whole life. Recently, I opened a new bag that was marked "New Improved" and he won't have anything to do with it. I tried another type of Science Diet dry food and he won't eat it either. Over the past week, the poor thing has eaten very little. But after reading other reviews, I think I am glad he won't. He, too, has thrown up liquid, which he'd never done before. Whatever formula change was made, needs to be undone. We are now off looking for a new brand of food. Any ideas from others who have had to find something to replace the indoor adult cat formula?
Science Diet Company Information
- Company Name:
- Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.
- Website:
- www.hillspet.com
