EFFECT OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTATION WITH FRUCTO-OLIGOSACCHARIDES ON FECAL FLORA OF HEALTHY CATS

Objective-To investigate changes in the fecal flora of healthy cats af ter dietary supplementation with fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). Animal s-12 healthy, barrier-maintained, specific-pathogen-free-derived adult cats. Procedure-Fresh fecal samples for quantitative and qualitative bacteriologic examination were collected from each cat after ingestion of a replete dry (basal) diet for a minimum of 8 weeks. The diet was then supplemented with 0.75% FOS, and another fecal sample was collect ed after 12 weeks. Results-Mean +/- SD fecal aerobic, anaerobic, and t otal bacterial counts (log(10) colony-forming units per gram of feces [CFU/g]) did not differ significantly between diets (8.3 +/-: 0.8, 9.2 +/- 0.6, 9.4 +/- 0.4, respectively, for the basal diet; and 8.4 +/- 0 .8, 9.7 +/- 0.7, and 9.8 +/- 0.7, respectively, for the FOS diet), alt hough there was a trend for higher numbers of anaerobes and total bact eria associated with the FOS diet. Members of the genus Bacteroides, C lostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, lactobacilli, and Plesiomona s shigeloides were the most prevalent bacteria isolated. Compared with samples from cats fed basal diet, there was a trend for increased mea n counts of lactobacilli (P = 0.02) and Bacteroides spp (P = 0.05) aft er FOS supplementation, and a trend for decreased mean numbers of Esch erichia coli(P = 0.03) and Clostridium perfringens (P = 0.08) to be as sociated with the FOS diet. Supplementation of FOS resulted in a media n 164-fold increase in numbers of lactobacilli, 13.2-fold increase in Bacteroides spp, 98% reduction in numbers of C perfringens, and 75% re duction in numbers of E coil. Conclusions-Supplementation of the diet with FOS resulted in alteration of the fecal flora of cats.