In this article I would like to provide a broad overview of Hill’s prescription diets for dogs and cats that have specific medical problems.  If you are aware that your pet has a particular medical condition, you should talk with your veterinarian about possibly prescribing the appropriate Hill’s prescription diet.

Aging
One obvious condition we see in our pets over time is aging.  The animal may have trouble getting up or is no longer limber and agile.  In such a case Hill’s makes a food called j/d for both dogs and cats.  This food often makes the pet younger acting in as little as four to six weeks.  It is formulated to reduce pain and inflammation in the joints.

If your senior pet appears to be senile, “gets lost in corners” or has just slowed down, but its bloodwork is otherwise normal, another specifically engineered food is b/d.  It is designed to aid brain function in older pets and to otherwise energize them through high doses of antioxidants.  I can confirm that my 17, 15 and 12 year old dogs that have been on it are “jet propelled!”  It does however seem to take about 90 days to see results.

Allergies
If your pet is diagnosed with skin or food allergies, Hill’s offers many options.  In their d/d formula they offer versions containing such unusual foods as duck, salmon, venison, rabbit, egg, potato and others.  They also make a food called z/d, which uses proteins that have been reduced to a size so small that they are not detected by the immune system, thus avoiding allergic reactions.

Overweight
Another condition that owners can see for themselves is if their pet is overweight.  If you cannot feel its ribs, the animal is probably at least slightly overweight.  Hill’s makes three options for cats and two for dogs.  There is r/d and w/d for both dogs and cats and m/d for cats only.  R/d will help to get the excess weight off and then w/d will keep it off.  If a cat does not respond to this methodology, then m/d is an alternative.  If your pet has the opposite problem, i.e., keeping weight on, then Hill’s makes a/d.

The list of prescription diet foods that Hill’s produces goes on and on.  They make diets for liver, kidney and urinary tract problems, l/d and k/d for the first two conditions and u/d, s/d and c/d for the third condition.  Cancer has its own diet, n/d as does heart disease, g/d and h/d.  Oral hygiene can be maintained with t/d and intestinal problems, which owners sometimes cause with treats and table scraps, is often reversed with i/d, w/d or z/d.

If you would like more information about any of these diets or suspect your pet may be a good candidate for one of them, do not hesitate to give us a call.