Transition of the intestinal microbiota of cats with age.

The transition of intestinal microbiota with age has been well described in humans. However, the age-related changes in intestinal microbiota of cats have not been well studied. In the present study, we investigated the composition of intestinal microbiota of cats in 5 different age groups (pre-weanling, weanling, young, aged, senile) with a culture-based method. For lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, we also quantified with molecular-based method, real-time PCR. The results suggested that the composition of the feline intestinal microbiota changes with age, while the changes were different from those of humans and dogs. Bifidobacteria which are predominant in human intestine or lactobacilli which are predominant in dog intestine, did not appear to be important in cat intestines. Enterococci, instead, seem to be major lactic acid producing bacteria in cats. We also identified lactobacilli and bifidobacteria at the species level based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and found that the species composition of Lactobacillus also changed with age.