Cats and dogs
Cats and dogs were domesticated long time ago and now they are part of human societies. This section is devoted to the most relevant literature about microorganisms in cats and dogs, including some personal comments.
Last update: July 6, 2023
Papers
1963
"Normal flora of the nose, throat, and lower intestine of dogs" by Clapper and Meade.
1971
"Microflora of alimentary tract of cats" by Osbaldiston and Stowe.
1977
"Nose, throat, and fecal flora of Beagle dogs housed in "locked" or "open" environments" by Balish et al.
"Bacterial association in the gastrointestinal tract of Beagle dogs" by Davis et al.
1982
"Bacterial overgrowth causing intestinal malabsorption in a dog" by J. W. Simpson.
This paper is interesting because of historical reasons, in it the author stated that "in general, antibiotics should not be administered orally in the treatment of diarrhoea cases as they are likely to affect the gut flora severely so that either a known pathogen becomes dominant or bacterial overgrowth occurs", citing an early book by Hirsh and Reed-Enos from 1980.
1984
"Comparison of faecal flora of cats based on different housing conditions with special reference to Bifidobacterium" by Itoh et al.
1987
"Short-chain fatty acids stimulate motility of the canine ileum" by Kamath et al.
"The results suggest that the ileum can 'sense' the presence of colonic contents in the lumen and that SCFA are the responsible mechanisms"
"Bacterial overgrowth in the duodenum of dogs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency" by Williams et al.
"Comparison of the biochemical changes in the jejunal mucosa of dogs with aerobic and anaerobic bacterial overgrowth" by Batt and McLean.
1991
"Beneficial effects of pet ownership on some aspects of human health and behaviour" by Serpell.
This paper is interesting especially because of new findings on sharing of microbes between pets and owners, and the immunological consequences of this sharing.
1992
"Impact of the advances in age on the gastrointestinal microflora of Beagle dogs" by Benno et al.
"Role of Helicobacter felis in chronic canine gastritis" by Lee et al.
1994
"Effects of dietary supplementation of fructo-oligosaccharides on small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in dogs" by Willard et al.
"Helicobacter pylori isolated from the domestic cat: public health implications" by Handt et al.
1995
"Characterization of feline Helicobacter pylori strains and associated gastritis in a colony of domestic cats" by Handt et al.
1996
"Use of PCR and culture to detect Helicobacter pylori in naturally infected cats following triple antimicrobial therapy" by Perkins et al.
The authors noted inconsistencies between culture and PCR results, and explained that "negative bacterial cultures for cats for which there was demonstrable PCR amplification of H. pylori DNA may reflect the inability of in vitro culture techniques to isolate small numbers of H. pylori organisms, focal colonization at sites not cultured, or a failure of the antibiotics to successfully eradicate H. pylori from extragastric sites which allowed subsequent recolonization of the stomach after cessation of therapy".
1998
"The use of probiotics in the diet of dogs" by Biourge et al.
In this paper, the authors said that "The extrusion-expansion and drying process resulted thus in the loss of >99 % of the spores. Bacillus CIP 5832 should thus not be included in the diet before the extrusion- expansion and drying process".
These results have important consequences for companies that include probiotics in dogs' food.
"Detection and prevalence of Helicobacter infection in pet cats" by Neiger et al.
1999
"Petfood applications of inulin and oligofructose" by Hussein et al.
Interesting, now historical, view, especially for petfood companies.
2000
"Helicobacter infection in dogs and cats: facts and fiction" by Neiger and Simpson.
This paper contains two very beatiful images of gastric Helicobacter using scanning electron microscopy.
2001
"Immune Cell Populations Within the Duodenal Mucosa of Dogs With Enteropathies" by German et al.
This paper has little to do with the microbiota but it may be of interest for people interested in canine gut health.
2002
"Short chain fatty acids stimulate feline colonic smooth muscle contraction" by Rondeau et al.
"Faecal Bacterial Profile, Nitrogen Excretion and Mineral Absorption in Healthy Dogs Fed Supplemental Oligofructose" by Beynen et al.
2003
"Bacterial-associated diarrhea in the dog: a critical appraisal" by Marks and Kather.
In here, the authors said that "The clinical documentation of enteropathogenic bacteria causing diarrhea in dogs is clouded by the presence of many of these organisms existing as normal constituents of the indigenous intestinal flora."
This comment is still relevant in our days.
"Interaction between probiotic lactic acid bacteria and canine enteric pathogens: a risk factor for intestinal Enterococcus faecium colonization?" by Rinkinen et al.
"Prevalence of enteric pathogens in dogs of north-central Colorado" by Hackett and Lappin.
2004
"Application of molecular fingerprinting for qualitative assessment of small-intestinal bacterial diversity in dogs" by Suchodolski et al.
To put you in context, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (or DGGE) was first used to profile complex microbial populations by Muyzer et al. in 1993, only 10 years before this paper.
"Sutterella stercoricanis sp. nov., isolated from canine faeces" by Greetham et al.
"Evaluation of “Helicobacter heilmannii” subtypes in the gastric mucosas of cats and dogs" by Priestnall et al.
2005
"Tylosin-responsive chronic diarrhea in dogs" by Westermarck et al.
"Comparison between cultured small-intestinal and fecal microbiotas in Beagle dogs" by Mentula et al.
"Assessment of the qualitative variation in bacterial microflora among compartments of the intestinal tract of dogs by use of a molecular fingerprinting technique" by Suchodolski et al.
"Bacteriological evaluation of commercial canine and feline raw diets" by Weese et al.
2006
"The evolutionary basis for the feeding behavior of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus)" by John W.S. Bradshaw.
This paper is interesting because microorganisms have co-evolved with their hosts.
"Effect of Fecal Water and Dry Matter Excretion on Fecal Mineral Excretion in Dogs Studied in a Fiber Model" by Kienzle et al.
"Lactic acid bacteria isolated from canine faeces" by Beasley et al.
2007
"Efficacy of Saccharomyces boulardii as a probiotic in dogs with lincomycin diarrhoea" by Aktas et al.
"Probiotic potential of Enterococci isolated from canine feed" by Laukova et al.
"Isolation and characterization of Lactobacillus species having potential for use as probiotic cultures for dogs" by McCoy and Gilliland.
2008
"Age-related changes in nutrient utilization by companion animals" by Fahey et al.
"Assessment of microbial diversity along the feline intestinal tract using 16S rRNA gene analysis" by Ritchie et al.
"The relationship of mucosal bacteria to duodenal histopathology, cytokine mRNA, and clinical disease activity in cats with inflammatory bowel disease" by Janeczko et al.
"Ecological characterization of the colonic microbiota of normal and diarrheic dogs" by Bell et al.
"Analysis of bacterial diversity in the canine duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon by comparative 16S rRNA gene analysis" by Suchodolski et al.
"Prevalence and identification of fungal DNA in the small intestine of healthy dogs and dogs with chronic enteropathies" by Suchodolski et al.
"Molecular-phylogenetic characterization of microbial communities imbalances in the small intestine of dogs with inflammatory bowel disease" by Xenoulis et al.
2009
The doses of inulin and short-chain fructooligosaccharides were relatively low (0.2% or 0.4% of the diet), about 2 grams per kg of feed.
"In vitro fermentation characteristics of different carbohydrate sources in two dog breeds (German shepherd and Neapolitan mastiff)" by Cutrignelli et al.
"Clinical benefits of probiotic canine-derived Bifidobacterium animalis strain AHC7 in dogs with acure idiopathic diarrhea" by Kelley et al.
This paper is interesting particularly within the area of probiotics in veterinary medicine. Briefly, some people believe that probiotics are more likely to be effective if they are isolated from the same animal species, while others feel that is not necessarily true. In my experience in this field, the answer is simple and is supported by other research articles: the microorganisms do not even have to be isolated from the same environment in order to provoke potentially beneficial changes in the receptive host. Papers about this can be found in the Micro-Library.
"The effect of the macrolide antibiotic tylosin on microbial diversity in the canine small intestine as demonstrated by massive parallel 16S rRNA gene sequencing" by Suchodolski et al.
"Portrait of a canine probiotic Bifidobacterium--from gut to gut" by O'Mahony et al.
2010
"In vitro effects of synbiotic fermentation on the canine faecal microbiota" by Ogué-Bon et al.
"Molecular analysis of the bacterial microbiota in duodenal biopsies from dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease" by Suchodolski et al.
"Characterization of fecal microbiota in cats using universal 16S rRNA gene and group-specific primers for Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium spp" by Ritchie et al.
"Evaluation of mucosal bacteria and histopathology, clinical disease activity and expression of Toll-like receptors in German shepherd dogs with chronic enteropathies" by Allenspach et al.
2011
"A molecular enrichment strategy based on cpn60 for detection of epsilon-proteobacteria in the dog fecal microbiome" by Chaban et al.
"Phylogenetic and gene-centric metagenomics of the canine intestinal microbiome reveals similarities with humans and mice" by Swanson et al.
"Companion animals symposium: microbes and gastrointestinal health of dogs and cats" by Suchodolski.
"Massive parallel 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing reveals highly diverse fecal bacterial and fungal communities in healthy dogs and cats" by Handl et al.
"Intestinal microbiota of dogs and cats: a bigger world than we thought" by Suchodolski.
"Effect of a multi-species synbiotic formulation on fecal bacterial microbiota of healthy cats and dogs as evaluated by pyrosequencing" by Garcia-Mazcorro et al.
"Intake of minerals, trace elements and vitamins in bone and raw food rations in adult dogs" by Dillitzer et al.
"Effects of Ficus carica paste on constipation induced by a high-protein feed and movement restriction in beagles" by Oh et al.
Although this paper may seem to be unrelated to gut microbes, I placed it here because it is helping me in writing a paper about microbal numbers and constipation, which came up after a recent publication from Dr. Remes team (available at Publications).
2012
"The canine oral microbiome" by Dewhirst et al.
2013
"Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs" by Song et al.
"Characterization of the fungal microbiome (mycobiome) in fecal samples from dogs" by Foster et al.
"Decreased immunoglobulin A concentrations in feces, duodenum, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of dogs with inflammatory bowel disease" by Maeda et al.
2014
"Effect of Oral Administration of Metronidazole or Prednisolone on Fecal Microbiota in Dogs" by Igarashi et al.
2015
"Microbiota and probiotics in canine and feline welfare" by Grześkowiak et al.
"A pyrosequencing investigation of differences in the feline subgingival microbiota in health, gingivitis and mild periodontitis" by Harris et al.
2016
"Modulation of the bifidobacterial communities of the dog microbiota by zeolite" by Sabbioni et al.
"Gene sequence analyses of the healthy oral microbiome in humans and companion animals" by Davis.
Interestingly, in this paper the author mentioned that six bacterial phyla consistently dominated the healthy oral microbiome of humans, dogs, and cats.
"Understanding the canine intestinal microbiota and its modification by pro‐, pre and synbiotics – what is the evidence?" by Schmitz and Suchodolski.
"Gene sequence analyses of the healthy oral microbiome in humans and companion animals: a comparative review" by Davis.
"Evaluation of Fecal Microbiota Transfer as Treatment for Postweaning Diarrhea in Research-Colony Puppies" by Burton et al.
2017
"Effect of Enterococcus faecium strain SF68 on gastrointestinal signs and fecal microbiome in cats administered amoxicillin-clavulanate" by Torres-Henderson et al.
Little or no change due to the administration of that commercially available probiotic from Purina.
"Microbiome: Puppy power" by Sujata Gupta.
Excellent article about a topic of uttermost importance. In this article, the author said that "Babies who share their homes with a dog are much less likely to grow up into adults with allergies than those who don't".
"Epidemiological study on feline gastric Helicobacter spp. in Japan" by Kubota-Aizawa et al.
"Effects of the Dietary Protein and Carbohydrate Ratio on Gut Microbiomes in Dogs of Different Body Conditions" by Li et al.
"Raw meat based diet influences faecal microbiome and end products of fermentation in healthy dogs" by Sandri et al.
"Gut microbiota composition may relate to weight loss rate in obese pet dogs" by Kieler et al.
"Characterization of the urinary microbiome in healthy dogs" by Burton et al.
"A dysbiosis index to assess microbial changes in fecal samples of dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy" by AlShawaqfeh et al.
2018
"The fecal microbiome and metabolome differs between dogs fed Bones and Raw Food (BARF) diets and dogs fed commercial diets" by Schmidt et al.
"Disentangling factors that shape the gut microbiota in German Shepherd dogs" by Vilson et al.
"Fecal microbiota transplantation in puppies with canine parvovirus infection" by Pereira et al.
"A comparative study of serum biochemistry, metabolome and microbiome parameters of clinically healthy, normal weight, overweight, and obese companion dogs" by Forster et al.
"Effects of a Probiotic (SLAB51™) on Clinical and Histologic Variables and Microbiota of Cats With Chronic Constipation/Megacolon: A Pilot Study" by Rossi et al.
"Effects of oral Akkermansia muciniphila supplementation in healthy dogs following antimicrobial administration" by Jugan et al.
"The Fecal Microbiota in the Domestic Cat (Felis catus) Is Influenced by Interactions Between Age and Diet; A Five Year Longitudinal Study" by Bermingham et al.
2019
"The gut microbiome correlates with conspecific aggression in a small population of rescued dogs (Canis familiaris)" by Kirchoff et al.
"Impact of breed on the fecal microbiome of dogs under the same dietary condition" by Reddy et al.
"Oral administration of compound probiotics improved canine feed intake, weight gain, immunity and intestinal microbiota" by Xu et al.
This paper is interesting for several reasons, but it is more relevant for this website the fact that the authors designed the multi-strain probiotic (containing Lactobacillus casei, L. plantarum, and Bifidobacterium animalis) for use in this study (in other words, the authors did not use a commercial product but their own mix instead), and the comment that each one of the three bacterial strains were present in equal proportion.
"Improvement in clinical symptoms and fecal microbiome after fecal microbiota transplantation in a dog with Inflammatory Bowel Disease" by Niina et al.
Yes, it is only one dog and this of course is not enough to conclude anything in particular. However, the authors showed very interesting data on fecal microbiota composition on 19 different time points on the recipient dog and compared the pattern with one time point from the donor's feces.
"Metagenomic dissection of the canine gut microbiota: insights into taxonomic, metabolic and nutritional features" by Alessandri et al.
"Fecal short‐chain fatty acid concentrations and dysbiosis in dogs with chronic enteropathy" by Minamoto et al.
"Randomized, controlled, crossover trial of prevention of antibiotic-induced gastrointestinal signs using a synbiotic mixture in healthy research dogs" by Whittemore et al.
"Raw diets for dogs and cats: a review, with particular reference to microbiological hazards" by Davies et al.
"Probiotic characterization of Lactobacillus isolates from canine faeces" by Coman et al.
The statement "The bacterial species should be of canine intestinal origin exhibiting host specificity" is incorrect in my opinion, based on the available literature.
"Long-term impact of tylosin on fecal microbiota and fecal bile acids of healthy dogs" by Manchester et al.
2020
"Fecal Microbial and Metabolic Profiles in Dogs With Acute Diarrhea Receiving Either Fecal Microbiota Transplantation or Oral Metronidazole" by Chaitman et al.
This paper is very interesting because the authors used a decent number of client-owned dogs, used a clinically useful outcome (stool consistency), and compared the results with the wildly used metronidazole. The authors elegantly acknowledge the limitations of the study (e.g. assessment of fecal scores) but overall this is one of the best papers about FMT in dogs.
"Characterization of gut microbiomes of household pets in the United States using a direct-to-consumer approach" by Aashish Jha et al.
"Learning machine approach reveals microbial signatures of diet and sex in dog" by Scarsella et al.
"Bacterial fecal microbiota is only minimally affected by a standardized weight loss plan in obese cats" by Tal et al.
"Deciphering the Bifidobacterial Populations within the Canine and Feline Gut Microbiota" by Alessandri et al.
"The effects of nutrition on the gastrointestinal microbiome of cats and dogs: impact on health and disease" by Wernimont et al.
"Rapid Reconstitution of the Fecal Microbiome after Extended Diet-Induced Changes Indicates a Stable Gut Microbiome in Healthy Adult Dogs" by Allaway et al.
"Effect of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid on clinical scores, intestinal microbiome, and amoxicillin-resistant Escherichia coli in dogs with uncomplicated acute diarrhea" by Werner et al.
"Dried yeast cell walls high in beta-glucan and mannan-oligosaccharides positively affect microbial composition and activity in the canine gastrointestinal tract in vitro" by Van den Abbeele et al.
This paper used a Simulator of the Canine Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SCIME), developed by Duysburgh et al. (2020).
2021
"The Fecal Microbiota of Dogs Switching to a Raw Diet Only Partially Converges to That of Wolves" by Xu et al.
"Analysis of the gut microbiome in dogs and cats" by Jan S. Suchodolski.
"Effect of black ginseng and silkworm supplementation on obesity, the transcriptome, and the gut microbiome of diet-induced overweight dogs" by Park et al.
"Comparison of Gut Microbiota of 96 Healthy Dogs by Individual Traits: Breed, Age, and Body Condition Score" by You and Kim.
The authors used rectal swab samples and showed the following composition: Firmicutes (44.8%), Bacteroidetes (27.7%), Fusobacteria (14.2%), Proteobacteria (8.8%), and Actinobacteria (3.4% of total average abundance).
"Changes in the fecal microbiota in dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea during an outbreak in Norway" by Herstad et al.
"Effects of cat ownership on the gut microbiota of owners" by Du et al.
"Heterogeneity of gut microbial responses in healthy household dogs transitioning from an extruded to a mildly cooked diet" by Tanprasertsuk et al.
2022
"The effects of raw-meat diets on the gastrointestinal microbiota of the cat and dog: a review" by Butowski et al.
"The efect of a hydrolyzed protein diet on the fecal microbiota in cats with chronic enteropathy" by Kathrani et al.
"Investigating fecal microbial transplant as a novel therapy in dogs with inflammatory bowel disease: A preliminary study" by Collier et al.
"Gut microbiota development in the growing dog: A dynamic process influenced by maternal, environmental and host factors" by Garrigues et al.
"A Review of Application Strategies and Efficacy of Probiotics in Pet Food" by Acuff and Aldrich.
2023
Notes and comments
Here is a link to an interesting note by Sujata Gupta published in 2017. In there, it says that "Babies who share their homes with a dog are much less likely to grow up into adults with allergies than those who don’t".
"Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog" published by Vilá et al. in Science.
"The sequence divergence within this clade suggested that dogs originated more than 100,000 years before the present."
"The canine fecal microbiome" by W. Jean Doods. March 3, 2019.