Gut microbiome – the key to our pets’ health and happiness?

This review highlights diverse influences of the gut microbiome on gastrointestinal, behavioral, cardiovascular, and immune health in cats and dogs as these health outcomes have the strongest evidence to indicate a role of the microbiome. We first look at local effects within the gut itself and leverage this understanding of “local” health to expand our discussion to how those changes extend to and influence behavior, immune function, and cardiovascular health. Lastly, we examine how the microbiome represents a novel target in disease prevention and treatment.

Implications

• Due to lifestyle similarities and sustained intimate social interaction, humans and animals experience many of the same multifactorial diseases that are influenced by the gut microbiota.

• Physiological interactions with microbial metabolites extend across the entire body to impact virtually every aspect of animal health.

• The microbiome and metabolome can serve as biomarkers of disease risk and progression, as well as a therapeutic target for managing and treating these diseases.

• Consumption of specific dietary ingredients and supplements, especially fiber, elicits microbial production of health-promoting bioactive molecules.