Hills Pet South Africa

Hill's Pet Nutrition is an American pet-food company and brand owned by Colgate-Palmolive. Its business is centered on dog and cat nutrition, with products sold through veterinary practices, pet pharmacies, pet-specialty retailers, and other consumer channels depending on the product and market. The brand is particularly associated with two product families: Science Diet, which provides everyday nutrition organized around life stage, size, and selected wellness needs; and Prescription Diet, which is formulated to support animals with specific medical conditions and is generally distributed through veterinary or veterinary-pharmacy channels. The company traces its roots to Burton Hill's Hill Rendering Works, established in Topeka, Kansas, in 1907. The original business rendered animal material for local authorities and produced tallow, hides, tankage, meat scraps, and feed for farm animals. By the 1930s it had become Hill Packing Company, with a milling division, and was producing farm feed, dog food, and other meat products. This earlier industrial and agricultural foundation later provided the manufacturing base for the company's pet-food activities. A decisive transition toward therapeutic pet nutrition began after veterinarian Mark L. Morris Sr. approached Hill Packing Company in 1948 to produce Canine k/d, a diet associated with the nutritional management of kidney disease. The relationship helped establish Hill's as a specialist supplier to veterinarians rather than simply a conventional animal-feed producer. During the 1960s, the company expanded its scientifically oriented pet-food offering. Science Diet became available through veterinarians and pet professionals in 1968, while Prescription Diet developed into a broad portfolio of therapeutic foods for cats and dogs with defined health needs. Hill Packing Company was sold to Riviana Foods in 1968. Colgate-Palmolive later merged with Riviana Foods in 1976, bringing Hill's into the Colgate-Palmolive group. The brand's modern identity rests on veterinary collaboration, nutritional research, condition-specific formulation, and a quality-of-life proposition for companion animals. Its offerings cover both routine feeding and specialized nutritional support, including life-stage diets, weight-management products, and formulas connected with particular medical concerns. Hill's has also been involved in major pet-food safety events. Certain products were included in the 2007 melamine-related recalls, and in 2019 the company recalled multiple canned dog-food varieties after elevated vitamin D levels were detected. These events generated regulatory and legal attention and are part of the brand's documented corporate history. In 2025, Hill's said that its Food, Shelter & Love program had helped surpass 16 million pet adoptions in North America, linking the brand to animal-shelter support as well as commercial nutrition.

Hill's history is rooted in veterinary medicine rather than in a conventional grocery-food origin. Veterinarian Mark L. Morris Sr. developed an early interest in the relationship between diet and animal health during the 1930s. His work led to nutrition programs intended to help animals with medical conditions, including a widely cited early formulation prepared for a guide dog suffering from kidney disease. This approach established the basic proposition that carefully designed nutrition could form part of a broader veterinary care plan. The resulting business developed around specialized dog and cat diets and the professional veterinary community. Hill's gradually expanded from condition-specific feeding into a broader nutrition platform. Its therapeutic products became associated with the Prescription Diet name, while its everyday products were developed under the Science Diet name. The two lines allowed the business to address distinct but related needs: dietary support for diagnosed or medically relevant conditions, and routine nutrition for healthy pets at different life stages and body sizes. A significant corporate turning point came in 1976, when Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hill's Pet Nutrition. The acquisition placed Hill's within a large international consumer-products group while preserving its specialized pet-nutrition identity. Under Colgate-Palmolive, Hill's became an important part of the parent company's pet-care activities and expanded its international reach. The business continued to emphasize scientific research, veterinary education, product testing, and relationships with animal-health professionals. Over time, Hill's broadened its formulation architecture. In addition to therapeutic diets for kidney, urinary, digestive, metabolic, weight, skin, and food-sensitivity needs, it developed products organized by species, age, size, breed category, and lifestyle. This allowed the company to compete in both the veterinary channel and the wider premium pet-food market. The brand's communication has consistently presented nutrition as a component of preventive care and long-term wellbeing, while its veterinary line has focused on nutritional management under professional guidance. Hill's now operates internationally, although its product names, formulas, claims, and distribution arrangements differ across jurisdictions. Its products are sold through veterinary practices, specialty retailers, online sellers, and other pet-care channels. The company remains a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive and is not separately listed. Its identity continues to be defined by the combination of commercial pet food and veterinary nutrition: Science Diet represents routine feeding and wellness-oriented nutrition, while Prescription Diet represents targeted diets associated with specific health-management objectives.

• 1976

  Acquisition by Colgate-Palmolive

  [2]Colgate-Palmolive company historycolgatepalmolive.com

  Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hill's Pet Nutrition, bringing the pet-nutrition company into its global consumer-products group.

• 1939

  Veterinary nutrition roots established

  [1]Hill's Pet Nutrition official websitehillspet.com

  Mark L. Morris Sr.'s veterinary work and diet-based approach to animal health formed the foundation of the Hill's business.

Science-led, veterinarian-informed nutrition for dogs and cats, spanning everyday feeding and therapeutic dietary management.

• Veterinary therapeutic nutrition

  Prescription Diet

  Prescription Diet is Hill's veterinary-oriented range for nutritional management of diagnosed or clinically relevant conditions in dogs and cats. Formulas are designed around needs such as kidney support, urinary health, digestive care, weight management, skin support, and food sensitivities. Availability and professional recommendation requirements vary by market, and the range is generally presented as part of a veterinarian-guided care plan rather than as ordinary convenience food.

• Everyday pet nutrition

  Science Diet

  Science Diet is Hill's principal everyday nutrition range for dogs and cats. It includes products organized by life stage, body size, and selected wellness needs, with formulas for puppies, kittens, adults, and senior animals. The line is positioned around balanced nutrition and research-informed formulation for routine feeding, making it the consumer-facing counterpart to the more clinically focused Prescription Diet portfolio.

• 2019

  Hill's recalls canned dog foods over elevated vitamin D levels

  Hill's recalled 25 varieties of canned dog food after elevated vitamin D levels were attributed to a supplier error. Excess vitamin D can cause serious illness in dogs, including kidney damage.

  Source

• 2019

  Class-action lawsuit filed over 2019 vitamin D recall

  A San Francisco law firm filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of owners affected by the recalled dog food.

  Source

• 2019

  Elevated vitamin D in canned dog food

  Hill's recalled 25 varieties of canned dog food after elevated vitamin D levels were identified. The company attributed the issue to a supplier error; excessive vitamin D can cause serious animal illness, including kidney damage.

  Source

• 2007

  Hill's products included in the melamine-related pet-food recalls

  One Prescription Diet product line and five Science Diet products were included in the wider pet-food recalls associated with melamine-contaminated wheat gluten sourced from China.

  Source

• 2007

  Melamine-related pet-food recalls

  One Prescription Diet line and five Science Diet products were involved in the wider 2007 pet-food recalls associated with melamine-contaminated wheat gluten obtained from China.

  Source

• 2007

  Melamine contamination recall

  One Prescription Diet line and five Science Diet products were included in the 2007 pet-food recalls because they contained melamine-contaminated wheat gluten sourced from China.

  Source

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• 1976

  Join Colgate-Palmolive's portfolioM&A

  Background

  Hill's had developed a distinct position in veterinary and specialized pet nutrition before becoming part of a larger international consumer-products company.

  Action taken

  Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hill's Pet Nutrition and retained it as a specialized pet-nutrition business within the group.

  Aftermath

  The transaction supported Hill's international distribution and kept the brand within a global corporate structure while its veterinary-nutrition positioning remained central.

  Source

• Unconfirmed

  Reported2022.03.03

  Hill’s Pet Nutrition receives Business Facilities Impact Award[4]Hill’s Pet Nutrition 获得 Business Facilities 影响力奖tonganoxiemirror.com

  Hill’s Pet Nutrition received a Business Facilities 2021 Deal of the Year Impact Award alongside the Kansas Department of Commerce, in the specialty manufacturing category for its expansion and investment in Tonganoxie.

• 2021.04.28

  Reported2021.04.28

  Tinybeans and Hill's Pet Nutrition agree on Pets launch sponsorship[5]Tinybeans 与 Hill's Pet Nutrition 达成 Pets 上线赞助协议finanznachrichten.de

  Tinybeans announced an agreement valued at more than US$500,000 over an initial six-month period with Hill's Pet Nutrition as its inaugural Pets launch partner. The partnership includes sponsorship of the add-a-pet feature, a microsite and advertising.

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1. 1Hill's Pet Nutrition official websitehillspet.com
2. 2Colgate-Palmolive company historycolgatepalmolive.com
3. 3Hill's recalls canned dog foods over elevated vitamin D levelsen.wikipedia.org
4. 4Hill’s Pet Nutrition 获得 Business Facilities 影响力奖tonganoxiemirror.com
5. 5Tinybeans 与 Hill's Pet Nutrition 达成 Pets 上线赞助协议finanznachrichten.de
6. 6Tinybeans Enters Pet Parenting Marketalbuquerqueexpress.com