Question:
Today, I took Mimi and Polly to the vet. Polly's got conjunctivitis, and Mimi, over the weekend, has had some digestive issues. There was blood in her stool, though it would seem that she otherwise checked out fine. The vet gave me stuff for Polly, a little sample collector for the stool, and put Mimi on Eukanuba 'Low-Residue'.
So. Two questions.
1) What on earth is 'Low-Residue'?
and
2) How is this supposed to help?
I'm a little baffled about this, and I'm ashamed that I didn't ask these questions when I was there. A trip to the vet with two cats (first time for them, apart from their spay) and a little boy in a car that has no a/c on a toasty day left me feeling a little frazzled by the time we got there.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
Lisa - Owned by Polly, Mimi, and Muffin
In memory of Snuggles 11/28/1988 - 12/16/2004
Answer:
Eukanuba's a bad food either way, and I can't figure out what Eukanuba has that other, better foods don't have. Vets don't know anything about nutrition (most of them don't, anyway), they always recommend the bad brands like Science Diet and Eukanuba because the companies that make those brands sponsor the nutrition classes the vets take during school.
I'm not sure what "Low Residue" is supposed to do, but I'm googling it and some other forums that have people with similar problems (vets giving them eukanuba low-reside) have gotten suggestions to try Wellness and California Natural, so I'm going to suggest the same (though I'm biased towards California Natural, since that's what I feed )
Some people are like slinkies...not really good for anything, but you
still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.

Answer:
Science Diet and Eukanuba are traditionally poor quality foods. Tons of fillers, by products, etc. However I do feel that some of the prescription diets, at least from Science Diet/Hills, do sometimes serve a purpose, regardless of Hills History of questionable ingredients. I dont advocate Science Diet/Hills regular store bought diets. However, I do feel some of the prescription foods do serve a beneficial purpose.
Answer:
aphrodeia,
Quote: What on earth is 'Low-Residue'?
This article has the answer:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=constipatedcats
Answer:
Just want to add that low-residue diets are also used in the treatment of IBD.
Answer:
Ah, that might have been the vet's intent, thanks Meowmie.
Hopefully today I can get a sample to be tested, and I can stop feeding this. The only cat who's eating it right now is Muffin, the big fat one who certainly doesn't need more corn in her diet. Figures. Polly wouldn't even eat out of her dish, because there was Eukanuba in it - I had to set Nutro kibbles out separately for Her Majesty.
Kitties. Pfft. They make me crazy.
Lisa - Owned by Polly, Mimi, and Muffin
In memory of Snuggles 11/28/1988 - 12/16/2004
Answer:
Stay far, far away from Eukanaba...ugh...I fed that to my kitty and I don't know what caused his allergy to fish..but he now has one due to feeding him that and Science Diet. Although it wasn't the low ash diet...but...He's now eating California Natural because it doesn't have any fish in it. California Natural may be hard to find but if you can find it I would recommend it or it looks like you could also buy Innova regular (Innova EVO Ash is too high for your kitty)! I feed the dry CA Natural - Peekaboo really likes dry food and prefers it over any wet. I also have fed Wellness canned in the past but I believe that has fish in it..so don't do that anymore. He has done well on Nature's Variety wet. I think you can't go wrong on any quality wet food. Good luck
The California Natural dry ash content is 6.5% & the Innova dry is 6.5% as well. The Eukanaba low residue on the Eukanaba website is listed as not having more than 7%. And these are the ingredients of Eukanaba:
Ingredients
Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Corn Grits, Chicken, Fish Meal, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Fructooligosaccharides, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with Ethoxyquin), Calcium Carbonate, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Mannanoligosaccharides, Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Inositol, Folic Acid, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate
~R
~a beautiful creation by ForJazz