Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Effects of insect meals on cat digestion and gut health
By Lisenko, Karen Guttenkunst et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·Department of Animal Sciences, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Insect meals in cat diets and their effects on digestibility, physiology, and gut microbiota.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that adding insect meals, like cockroaches and superworms, to cat diets can be a good alternative source of nutrition. Cats were fed diets with 7.5% and 15% insect content for 15 days, and researchers looked at how well they digested the food and how it affected their gut health. The results showed no major differences in overall digestion or blood health compared to a regular diet, but some beneficial gut compounds were higher in cats eating insect meals. Overall, including up to 15% insect meal in a cat's diet is safe and can be beneficial.
People also search for: cat diet with insects · benefits of insect protein for cats · digestibility of insect meals in cats
Abstract
Insects are a valuable source of nutrients, but little is known about their nutritional value for companion animals. In this study, we evaluated the inclusion of three insect meals in cat diets (Cinerea cockroach, CC; Madagascar cockroach, MC; and Superworm, SW) at two different levels (7.5 and 15%) on apparent digestibility coefficient (ADC), blood parameters, fecal pH, short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA), phenol and indole production, and gut microbiota during six experimental periods of 15 days each. No differences were found for ADC, except for chitin in which MC registered the highest ADC. The fermentative product analysis showed that propionate displayed higher abundance in all insect treatments compared to the control group. Moreover, cats fed CC diet resulted in higher fecal butyrate while higher 4-methylphenol was registered in cats fed MC and SW diets. No significant differences were found for fecal pH and score, as well as no change in urea, creatinine, and blood count were registered. No differences were registered for total fecal SCFA, BCFA, phenol, and indole production compared to the control group or between insect meal fed groups. The fecal microbiota analyzed by gene 16S rRNA sequencing of cats did not register differences in alpha or beta diversity. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of insect meal up to 15% is a suitable alternative food for adult cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40510378/