Background: A core microbiome at the species level has been defined for healthy dogs but is lacking for healthy cats. Knowledge of the exact bacterial species associated with health is imperative for restoring dysbiotic microbiomes. Hypothesis/
Objectives: Identify the bacterial species that constitute the core microbiome in healthy cats and examine the effects of age, sex, body weight, and diet on this core. Animals: Fecal samples were collected from 104 healthy cats living in homes with no current or past physical conditions, no clinical signs, and no reported medication use. In this reference population, 20% were verified healthy via veterinary records and monthly parasite and pathogen testing.
Methods: Full-length PacBio16S rRNA gene sequence data from fecal samples were analyzed in R. Core bacterial species were present in at least 38% of cats. Generalized linear models were used to correlate two core microbiome metrics with host factors. PERMANOVAs identified significant factors driving microbiome beta-diversity.
Results: 22 bacterial species formed part of the core microbiome in healthy cats, and among the most prevalent were: Blautia hansenii, Collinsella intestinalis, Collinsella tanakaei, Clostridium hiranonis, unclassified Lachnospiraceae, and Clostridium perfringens. Neither the total number of core taxa, or proportion of microbiome composed by core taxa differed between cats of different ages, sexes, diets, or body weights. However, diet category (kibble vs. raw vs. canned) and age were significant drivers of microbiome beta-diversity.
Conclusions: A common core group of 22 bacterial species were identified, and fecal microbiome profiles varied with diet and age.
