GI12 - Effects of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation on the Fecal Microbiome in Healthy Cats Administered Amoxicillin Clavulanate

Abstract:
Background

Intestinal dysbiosis occurs frequently in cats with gastrointestinal diseases or following antibiotic administration. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) may be beneficial in people and dogs with gastrointestinal disease, but data in cats is limited.

Objectives

To investigate the effects of FMT in shortening the recovery of the fecal microbiome in healthy cats after amoxicillin and clavulanate administration.

Animals

18 healthy research cats.

Methods

Prospective, randomized, controlled, IACUC-approved clinical trial. All cats received a 10-day course of antibiotics, then were randomized to receive FMT via enema (n=10) or no treatment (n=8). Fecal samples were collected at baseline, immediately after antibiotic administration, and 7, 14, 21 and 56 days later. Abundance of 8 bacterial taxa was determined via qPCR and a fecal feline dysbiosis index (FDI) was calculated. A 2-way repeated measures ANOVA with posthoc pairwise comparisons was used.

Results

The FDI increased in all cats after antibiotics (baseline -2.4±0.1, post-antibiotics 2.7±0.4, p < 0.0005). No adverse reactions were observed during or following FMT. The FDI of control cats was still increased compared to baseline 7, 14 and 21 days after antibiotic discontinuation (0.4±1.9; 0.5±1.9; -0.1±2.2 and -1.3±2.4 respectively, all p < 0.05) while it was not significantly different from baseline in FMT-treated cats.


Clinical importance

FMT was a well-tolerated procedure that has the potential to accelerate reversal of dysbiosis in this feline model of acute antibiotic-induced dysbiosis. The efficacy of FMT seen in this study may serve as a platform for investigation of its role in cats with various enteropathies.