Are low fat diets the right choice for managing chronic feline diarrhea? A recent study of two therapeutic diets suggests they’re not.

While reducing fat in the diet may make sense for dogs with chronic diarrhea, the Winn Feline Foundation reports that dietary fat content made no difference in the control of the same condition in cats

The study looked at two therapeutic diets for cats, Hill’s Prescription i/d Feline and Purina Veterinary Diets EN Gastrointestinal Feline Formula. Both diets resulted in significantly improved fecal scores, with the Purina formula, which is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate product containing long-chain Omega 3 fatty acids, resulting in nearly half the cats developing normal stool with no other treatment.

Laflamme DP, Xu H, Cupp CJ, Kerr WW, Ramadan Z and Long GM. Evaluation of canned therapeutic diets for the management of cats with naturally occurring chronic diarrhea. J Feline Med Surg. 2012; 14: 669-77.