Royal Canin has announced that it will be launching Multifunction, a new range of veterinary diets designed for cats and dogs experiencing - or at risk of - multiple health conditions.

According to the company, 35% of cats and dogs meet this description¹ and it can be difficult for veterinary surgeons and nurses to recommend a diet which meets all their needs when one diet can't address multiple nutritional priorities.

Officially being launched at BSAVA, Multifunction diets are designed to provide an option for the nutritional management of cats and dogs with more than one condition, thereby eliminating the need to decide which of two conditions take precedence when developing a nutritional assessment for patients.

The company says that the new diets have been developed by combining existing Veterinary Diet formulae. The range includes:

• GFR-AFR which combines the benefits of the Renal and Hypoallergenic diets
• S/O-AFR for the nutritional management of cats and dogs with lower urinary tract disease and adverse food reactions
• S/O-KCAL Control for overweight pets with lower urinary tract issues
• For cats: S/O Biopeptide, designed to help patients by means of urine dilution, emotional balance, struvite dissolution and reduced calorie content. 
• For dogs: C2P+-KCAL Control for overweight dogs with joint issues.  

Marianne Lomberg, Veterinary Marketing Manager said: "As a company, one of the things we are proud of is looking at the pet as a whole, rather than just a clinical condition on legs. For this reason we combine the features of our standard veterinary diets to provide support for other issues that a pet may develop. For example, our Urinary Moderate Calorie diet is lower in calories than standard diets in order to help prevent weight gain in animals predisposed to obesity as a result of living indoors or being neutered. However, until now, we have not been able to provide vets with a diet for a pet that has already been diagnosed with two equally serious concurrent conditions, such as lower urinary tract disease and obesity. Our new Multifunction diets do just this.

"Pets suffering from more than one condition also generally require more regular veterinary care, too, and a unique new ordering system for these diets helps facilitate ongoing contact between the pet owner and their veterinary practice every time they order a new bag of food. More information about the diets and the ordering system will be available on the ROYAL CANIN, stand: 611."

Multifunction will only be available through veterinary practices and all bags will be personalised, including the practice logo and patient name. Further information on how to sign up to the product programme will be available at the show stand.

For more information, visit: http://new.vetportal.royalcanin.co.uk/products/multifunction-2/ 

Reference

1. Survey conducted with practising vets in France, UK and US (n=370) for Royal Canin in 2013. Data for UK (n=120) and France (n=122) averaged to represent Europe.

PS: Whilst you're here, take a moment to see our latest job opportunities for vet nurses.