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9 Lives vs Hill's Science Diet

9 Lives vs. Hill's Science Diet

In this comparison article for 9 Lives vs Hill's Science Diet, we'll highlight the key differences between these two pet food brands. To properly compare 9 Lives and Hill's Science Diet, we'll use up-to-date nutritional and price information.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best pet food brand for your pet. Factors such as ingredient quality, guaranteed analysis, product safety, brand history, and cost are among the most important factors to consider.

Throughout this Hill's Science Diet vs 9 Lives comparison, we've utilized average data to make general comparisons. If you'd like to see individual product reviews, visit our 9 Lives Review Page or Hill's Science Diet Review Page.

Guaranteed Analysis: Hill's Science Diet vs. 9 Lives

According to AAFCO, all pet food labels must provide a guaranteed analysis of nutrient content. The analysis must provide guaranteed minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.

All percentages used in this comparison are averages reported on a dry matter basis.

9 Lives Cat Food vs. Hill's Science Diet Cat Food

Dry Cat Food9 LivesHill's Science Diet
Crude Protein35.2%35.0%
Crude Fat9.8%18.5%
Crude Fiber4.2%4.5%
Wet/Canned Cat Food9 LivesHill's Science Diet
Crude Protein45.9%38.7%
Crude Fat16.7%21.5%
Crude Fiber5.0%3.6%

Crude Protein Comparison For Cat Food

Protein is an extremely important part of your cat's diet. Without sufficient protein, cats can develop a wide-range of serious health problems.

Hill's Science Diet and 9 Lives both provide roughly the same amount of crude protein. For wet cat foods, 9 Lives provides more protein (about 7.18% more).


Crude Fat Comparison For Cat Food

There are many ways in which dietary fat contributes to the overall health of our feline friends. Here is a short list of benefits provided by fats (not exhaustive):

  • Fats help with the digestion and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins
  • Reduce inflammation associated with arthritis
  • Slow the growth of yeast infections
  • Prevent or reduce the likelihood of certain heart problems.
  • Aid in the development of the retina and visual cortex.

When you look at the average percentages of crude fat for dry cat food, it's clear that Hill's Science Diet provides significantly more fat. On average, Hill's Science Diet guarantees about 8.66% more protein than 9 Lives. For wet cat foods, Hill's Science Diet provides more fat (about 4.78% more).


There is a relatively insignificant difference between the crude fiber content of the two brands. With regards to wet cat food, 9 Lives and Hill's Science Diet also provide roughly the same amount of crude fiber.

9 Lives Pet Food Ingredients vs. Hill's Science Diet Pet Food Ingredients

9 Lives and Hill's Science Diet both use the following controversial ingredients in many of their products:

Liver
Iron Oxide
Brewers Rice
Caramel Color
Corn Gluten Meal

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by 9 Lives.

Giblets
Whole Wheat
Animal Digest
Soybean Flour
Soybean Hulls
Poultry Giblets
Meat By-Products
Meat And Bone Meal
Poultry By-Products
Turkey By-Product Meal
Chicken By-Product Meal
Ground Whole Grain Corn
Poultry By-Product Meal
Soybean Protein Concentrate
Animal Fat (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)
Vegetable Oil (Preserved With Mixed Tocopherols)

Here are some of the controversial ingredients used only by Hill's Science Diet.

Caramel
Corn Flour
Pea Protein
Pork Plasma
Poultry Fat
Animal Liver
Wheat Gluten
Tomato Pomace
Beef By-Products
Pork By-Products
Whole Grain Corn
Whole Grain Wheat
Powdered Cellulose
Dried Tomato Pomace
Pea Protein Concentrate
Soybean Protein Isolate

We believe that certain pet food ingredients are linked to adverse health affects; these ingredients are classified as harmful.

9 Lives and Hill's Science Diet both use the following harmful ingredients in many of their products:

Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex

Here are some of the harmful ingredients used only by 9 Lives.

Bha
Red 3
Blue 1
Blue 2
Red 40
Yellow 5
Yellow 6
Vegetable Oil (Preserved With Bha/Bht)
Canthaxanthin (Preserved With Ethoxyquin)

Product Safety: Recall History of 9 Lives & Hill's Science Diet?

9 Lives has been recalled once.

  • Dec. 7, 2018: low levels of thiamine

Hill's Science Diet has been recalled 2 times.

  • Jan. 31, 2019: elevated levels of Vitamin D
  • March 20, 2019: elevated levels of Vitamin D

Price Comparison: Which Brand Is More Expensive?

Dry Cat Food9 LivesHill's Science Diet
Per Pound$1.62$4.17
Per Calorie$0.0011$0.0024
Wet Cat Food9 LivesHill's Science Diet
Per Pound$2.71$9.11
Per Calorie$0.0070$0.0197

The average cost-per-lb is heavily influenced by the varying amounts of moisture present in each brand's food products (wet vs. dry food, dry vs. freeze-dried food, etc). However, the average cost-per-kcal eliminates the influence of moisture. Therefore, the average cost-per-kcal is the better metric to consider.

If you'd like to calculate the average cost-per-day or cost-pet-year of feeding 9 Lives or Hill's Science Diet, input your pet's weight into our cost analyzer widget.

Averages price data can identify whether or not there exists a significant price difference between two brands. However, the actual price that you'll pay for 9 Lives or Hill's Science Diet will depend on your shopping habits.

Pet owners who use our price comparison feature typically save more than 25% off retail prices for 9 Lives and Hill's Science Diet. In addition, we currently have some great coupons for our readers.


Disclosure: PawDiet has an affiliate relationship with stores featured (or linked-to) in this article. We are compensated for referring customers. Thank you for shopping with our retail partners!

Where To Buy 9 Lives Pet Foods

You can purchase 9 Lives pet foods from the following stores:


11 Recipes In-Stock Today

7 Recipes In-Stock Today

13 Recipes In-Stock Today

Where To Buy Hill's Science Diet Pet Foods

You can purchase Hill's Science Diet pet food products from these retailers:


125 Recipes In-Stock Today

123 Recipes In-Stock Today

102 Recipes In-Stock Today

Type Of Pet Foods Available

Product9 LivesHill's Science Diet
Dry Dog FoodNone48 Recipes
Wet Dog FoodNone34 Recipes
Dog TreatsNone18 Treats
Dry Cat Food6 Recipes25 Recipes
Wet Cat Food34 Recipes48 Recipes
Cat TreatsNoneNone

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Top Rated Hill's Science Diet Recipes

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