title: Bacterial flora in the duodenum of healthy cats, and effect of dietary supplementation with fructo-oligosaccharides.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate changes in the duodenal flora of healthy cats over time, and evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS).
  
  
  METHODS
  12 healthy, barrier-maintained, specific-pathogen-free cats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Duodenal juice for bacteriologic examination was collected via oral endoscopy 5 times from each cat over a 32-week period. Cats were allotted randomly to 2 groups, and a crossover design study, during which they were fed either a replete dry (basal) diet or, for 12 consecutive weeks, basal diet supplemented with 0.75% FOS, was done. Samples (3 from cats fed the basal and 2 from cats fed the FOS diet) were collected for a minimum of 6 weeks after commencement of feeding, and a minimum of 6 weeks apart.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean aerobic, anaerobic, and total bacterial counts did not differ significantly among sample collection times. After pooling of the results, mean (+/- SD) log10 colony-forming units (CFU) of aerobic, anaerobic, and total bacteria/ml were 5.5 +/- 1.1, 4.8 +/- 1.0 and 5.6 +/- 1.1, respectively. However, individual cats had considerable variation in counts: mean (range) intraindividual coefficients of variation were: 19.0 (6.1 to 34.2), 19.9 (4.8 to 35.5), and 18.1 (5.5 to 32.6)%, respectively. In 1 cat, total bacterial count varied between < 3.0 and 6.3 CFU/ml. Bacterial flora varied qualitatively: only Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens, Bacteroides, Pasteurella, and Streptococcus spp, and unidentified gram-negative (aerobic) rods were present in > 50% of the samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Wide quantitative and qualitative variation in the duodenal flora of healthy cats was observed over time, which was not affected by dietary supplementation with FOS.
authors.affiliation: Feline Centre, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Sparkes
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Papasouliotis
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sunvold
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Werrett
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Gruffydd-Jones
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reinhart
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001420:Bacteria, Aerobic / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002415:Cats / Q000382:microbiology*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004386:Duodenum / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005527:Food, Fortified; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009919:Orchiectomy; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D009844:Oligosaccharides