Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fecal bacteria and fatty acids in cats with chronic gut disease
By Miller, Julia et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2023·Department of Immunology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Faecal microbiota and fatty acids in feline chronic enteropathy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with chronic gastrointestinal issues, known as chronic enteropathy, showed significant differences in their gut bacteria compared to healthy cats. The sick cats had lower diversity in their gut microbiome and higher levels of certain bacteria, along with changes in fatty acid production in their feces. These findings suggest that the gut bacteria and fatty acids play a role in the disease, which could lead to new treatments like fecal microbiota transplants or probiotics. Understanding these changes may help improve care for cats suffering from chronic enteropathy.
People also search for: cat chronic diarrhea treatment · feline inflammatory bowel disease symptoms · probiotics for cats with gut issues
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Feline chronic enteropathy is a set of disorders defined as the presence of clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease for at least three weeks. The most common final diagnoses are inflammatory bowel disease and alimentary small cell lymphoma. The etiopathogenesis of these diseases is incompletely understood; however, it is hypothesised that they involve a combination of factors, including altered composition and/or functionality of the intestinal microbiome. An important factor in the interplay of the microbiome and host is the production of short- and branched-chain fatty acids.  The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible differences in faecal microbiota diversity, composition and fatty acid production between cats suffering from chronic enteropathy and healthy cats. Sixteen cats suffering from chronic enteropathy and fourteen healthy control cats were enrolled in the study. The microbiota compositions of faecal samples were analysed by using next-generation amplicon sequencing of the V3V4 fragment of the 16S rRNA gene. Fatty acids were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Both the alpha and beta diversities were significantly lower in samples obtained from cats with chronic enteropathy. The relative abundance of the phylum Proteobacteria, orders Lactobacillales and Enterobacterales, family Enteriobacteriaceae and genus Escherichia Shigella were higher in diseased cats, whereas the abundance of the phylum Bacteroidota and order Peptococcales were higher in control cats. The faecal concentrations of short-chain fatty acids were higher in cats with chronic enteropathy, with lower propionate proportions and higher butyrate proportions. CONCLUSION: The study revealed alterations in microbiota compositions and short-chain fatty acid concentration in cats suffering from chronic enteropathy, which is an important finding both for research on the pathogenesis of the disease and for potential therapeutic interventions in the form of faecal microbiota transplantation and/or probiotic supplementation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38124157/