Diet may influence the oral microbiome composition in cats

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Microbiology
• Animal Nutrition

Background:

• Periodontal disease is common in cats, leading to pain and tooth loss.
• Diet composition and texture may influence feline oral health and periodontal disease.
• Limited research exists on how diet affects the feline oral microbiome.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of lifelong dry kibble versus wet food diets on the feline oral microbiome.
• To assess how diet influences bacterial diversity and abundance in cats' mouths.

Main Methods:

• Collected supragingival dental plaque DNA from 10 cats on different lifelong diets.
• Amplified and sequenced the V1-V3 region of the 16S gene using Illumina technology.
• Analyzed oral microbiome composition and diversity.

Main Results:

• The feline oral microbiome is diverse, comprising 411 bacterial species from 14 phyla.
• Diet significantly influenced oral microbiome diversity and bacterial abundance.
• Cats fed dry diets exclusively showed higher bacterial diversity (p < 0.001).
• Dry-fed cats had a greater abundance of Porphyromonas spp. and Treponema spp. (p < 0.01).

Conclusions:

• Dietary differences were observed in the feline oral microbiome.
• The direct link between these microbiome changes and gingival health requires further investigation.
• More research is needed to understand the relationship between diet, oral microbiome, and feline gingival health.