Effects of obesity, energy restriction and neutering on the faecal microbiota of cats

Abstract

Surveys report that 25-57 % of cats are overweight or obese. The most evinced cause is neutering. Weight loss often fails; thus, new strategies are needed. Obesity has been associated with altered gut bacterial populations and increases in microbial dietary energy extraction, body weight and adiposity. This study aimed to determine whether alterations in intestinal bacteria were associated with obesity, energy restriction and neutering by characterising faecal microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing in eight lean intact, eight lean neutered and eight obese neutered cats before and after 6 weeks of energy restriction. Lean neutered cats had a bacterial profile similar to obese rodents and humans, with a greater abundance (P<0·05) of Firmicutes and lower abundance (P<0·05) of Bacteroidetes compared with the other groups. The greater abundance of Firmicutes in lean neutered cats was due to a bloom in Peptostreptococcaceae. Obese cats had an 18 % reduction in fat mass after energy restriction (P<0·05). Energy reduction was concurrent with significant shifts in two low-abundance bacterial genera and trends in four additional genera. The greatest change was a reduction in the Firmicutes genus, Sarcina, from 4·54 to 0·65 % abundance after energy restriction. The short duration of energy restriction may explain why few bacterial changes were observed in the obese cats. Additional work is needed to understand how neutering, obesity and weight loss are related to changes in feline microbiota and how these microbial shifts affect host physiology.

Bacterial fecal microbiota is only minimally affected by a standardized weight loss plan in obese cats

“…The authors of the mentioned study interpreted these finding as supportive to the idea that alterations in abundance at lower taxonomic level, such as genus, may have more impact and health effects compared with alterations in abundance at higher taxonomic level (e.g. phylum) [25]. The authors of the current study concur with this notion, despite the difference in findings.…”

“…However, only a portion of the most abundant members for all taxa (besides to phyla) are presented in the table. No significant differences were found between groups, using Wilcoxon Rank Sum and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank, depending on the groups' comparison, followed by the Benjamini-Hochberg adjustment (P > 0.05 for all comparisons; not shown in the table) a The numbers after each taxa represent the number of members in the specific taxa presented in the table out of the overall number of members in that taxa retrieved by the analyses group to the obese group before energy restriction was observed, and unlike the common literature and the current study, they observed increased Firmicutes abundance in the lean neutered cats [25]. The authors of the mentioned study interpreted these finding as supportive to the idea that alterations in abundance at lower taxonomic level, such as genus, may have more impact and health effects compared with alterations in abundance at higher taxonomic level (e.g.…”

“…A third feline study, examined the effects of body composition, 6 weeks of energy restriction and neutering on the feline fecal mictobiota of cats. Nonetheless, the weight loss period was quite short, the sample size was small and the cats were specific-pathogen-free kennel cats, so again not reflective of the general pet cat population [25].…”

The Fecal Microbiota in the Domestic Cat (Felis catus) Is Influenced by Interactions Between Age and Diet; A Five Year Longitudinal Study

“…in cats >10 years of age (Bell et al, 2014 ). Recent results have shown that Faecalibacterium abundance tends to be greater in obese (vs. lean) cats (Fischer et al, 2017 ).…”

Akkermansia and Microbial Degradation of Mucus in Cats and Dogs: Implications to the Growing Worldwide Epidemic of Pet Obesity

“…Obesity is a growing problem in cats and dogs and several lines of research point out a potential role of the gut microbiota in this disorder [189][190][191][192][193]; therefore, several efforts have been directed to help these patients but mostly centered around dietary therapies [3]. A. muciniphila is currently considered a beneficial microbe that could help in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and associated disorders in humans when administered orally, either alive or even pasteurized [56,194,195].…”