Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fecal bacteria changes in healthy cats and cats with chronic gut
By Sung, Chi-Hsuan et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2022·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Dysbiosis index to evaluate the fecal microbiota in healthy cats and cats with chronic enteropathies.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that many cats with chronic enteropathies (CE), which can cause symptoms like diarrhea or vomiting, have an imbalance in their gut bacteria compared to healthy cats. Researchers tested fecal samples from both groups and discovered that cats with CE had a significantly higher dysbiosis index, indicating a less healthy gut microbiome. This new test could help veterinarians identify gut issues in cats more accurately. While the study suggests that this method is promising, further research is needed to confirm its effectiveness in clinical settings.
People also search for: cat diarrhea treatment · cat gut health · chronic enteropathy in cats · how to improve cat gut bacteria
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have identified various bacterial taxa that are altered in cats with chronic enteropathies (CE) vs healthy cats. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a targeted quantitative molecular method to evaluate the fecal microbiota of cats. METHODS: Fecal samples from 80 client-owned healthy cats and 68 cats with CE were retrospectively evaluated. A panel of quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays was used to measure the fecal abundance of total bacteria and seven bacterial taxa:,,,,,andThe nearest centroid classifier algorithm was used to calculate a dysbiosis index (DI) based on these qPCR abundances. RESULTS: The abundances of total bacteria,,,,were significantly decreased, while those ofandwere significantly increased in cats with CE (<0.027 for all). The DI in cats with CE was significantly higher compared with healthy cats (<0.001). When the cut-off value of the DI was set at 0, it provided 77% (95% confidence interval [CI] 66-85) sensitivity and 96% (95% CI 89-99) specificity to differentiate the microbiota of cats with CE from those of healthy cats. Fifty-two of 68 cats with CE had a DI >0. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: A qPCR-based DI for assessing the fecal microbiota of cats was established. The results showed that a large proportion of cats with CE had an altered fecal microbiota as evidenced by an increased DI. Prospective studies are warranted to evaluate the utility of this assay for clinical assessment of feline CE.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35266809/