Half of our 900 furry experts have been specially trained
and calibrated to conduct taste preference tests
– nothing gets past them!
Our 180- acre Pet Nutrition Center in Topeka, Kansas, is a state-of-the-
art center where we do most of the ground breaking research and development.
And that’s where a very special group of cats and dogs come in. In addition to a staff of veterinarians, board certified animal nutritionists and specialists in internal medicine, we also have a staff of approximately 900 companion pets whose sole responsibility is to eat pet food.
We give them everything a pet could want including clean, roomy living quarters, exercise areas, an agility course and plenty of friends and contact, both human and animal.
Our cat facilities include scratching posts, beds, hammocks, platforms, skywalks and toys. In fact, Wendy Weirich even did a research paper on the best way for our cats to access sun porches. The clever system of glass tunnels are designed to reduce “access bossiness” and prevent any one cat blocking the way. Typical!
There is no shortage of Hill’s employees who choose to spend part of their day walking, playing and grooming their Beagle colleagues in the extensive Bark Park play areas.
Dog toys are rotated. a couple of times a week, both so they can be cleaned and to provide novelty. To prevent disputes over “favorite” toys, all the toys that are put out at any given time are the same kind.
A lot of technology goes into ensuring our pets eat the right amount of the right food. Each pet has a microchip that allows access to a specific feeding station. The food bowls are on scales and linked to a central computer database. After the scales detect that an appropriate amount of food is consumed, the pets are warned with a tone.
Although most heed the warning tone, if one doesn’t, a puff of air is blown into the pet’s face until they back up. At this point the apparatus detects that the pet is safely out of the way and the feeding station is closed.