Says veterinarian Dr Lorraine Golland, Veterinary Marketing Manager for The Iams Company, "Gone is the old belief that nutrition has no active role to play in managing gastrointestinal disease. Allowing the gut to rest does not necessarily mean starving the GI tract - or the body - of important nutrients."

"While a range of disease conditions can affect the digestive tract of cats, a few key pathological findings occur in many of these disorders," says Dr Golland. "For example, intestinal bacterial overgrowth, inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, and osmotic diarrhoea are frequently part of the overall clinical picture. With the new Low-Residue products, we are targeting these common pathophysiological aspects of GI disease, which means we can use nutrition to assist in the management of a whole host of GI conditions."

Eukanuba Veterinary Diets Low-Residue Adult/Feline formulas are prepared with animal proteins of the highest quality to maximise digestibility and to provide outstanding palatability. "This is an important consideration when managing cats whose disease condition may have adversely affected their appetite and ability to maintain a healthy bodyweight," says Dr Golland. "The formulas also contain a special blend of fibres, including beet pulp fibre, FOS and MOS to promote intestinal health and help normalise intestinal microflora; Iams' targeted 5:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids; and reduced fat levels to minimise steatorrhoea. Of course, being designed specifically for adult cats, the Low-Residue formulas naturally encourage acidic urine production to help maintain feline urinary tract health."

Eukanuba Veterinary Diets Nutritional Intestinal Formula, Low-Residue Adult/Feline will be available in both Dry and Canned formats from mid-July 2001. The new variants will compliment the existing Low-Residue range, which includes Puppy (dry) and Adult/Canine (dry and canned) formulas.