Impact of the Dietary Fat Concentration and Source on the Fecal Microbiota of Healthy Adult Cats

TL;DR

This study explores how different types and amounts of dietary fat affect the gut bacteria of healthy cats, finding minimal impact over a short period.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into how dietary fat influences the feline gut microbiota, which is under-researched in cats.

Findings

Dietary fat had no significant effect on fecal microbiota alpha-diversity or bacterial phyla abundance.

Only minor changes in bacterial genera and microbial metabolite concentrations were observed.

The feline gut microbiota appears resilient to short-term moderate fat variations.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The dietary fat supply might interact with the intestinal microbiota via different mechanisms. Research on this topic, however, remains scarce in cats. For this reason, the present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the fat concentration and fatty acid profile in the diet on the fecal microbiota of healthy cats. Methods: A low-fat basal diet was fed to ten healthy adult cats. The diet was offered without or with the daily addition of 0.5 g or 1 g of sunflower oil, fish oil or lard per kg body weight of the cats, using a randomized cross-over design. Each feeding period lasted for 21 days, and the fecal samples were collected on the last days of each period. The fecal microbiota was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Additionally, microbial metabolites (short-chain fatty acids, lactate, ammonium, biogenic amines) were measured in the fecal samples. Results: The dietary treatment had no impact on the alpha-diversity of the fecal microbiota or on the relative abundance of bacterial phyla in the samples. Only a few changes were observed in the relative abundance of bacterial genera and the concentrations of microbial metabolites in the feces, probably being of minor physiological relevance. Conclusions: The balanced intestinal microbiota of cats seems to be relatively resistant to moderate variations in the dietary fat supply over a short feeding period. Longer-term treatments and higher dietary fat levels should be evaluated in future studies to further clarify the relevance of fat intake for the feline gut microbiome.