What Is a Fecal Transplant for Dogs and Cats?
By Hanie Elfenbein, DVM In the past few years, doctors and researchers have recognized the important role of gut bacteria in digestion. These bacteria inhabit the digestive system of all animals and are necessary for proper digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. Gut “microbiota” refers to the community of these bacteria, as well as other microscopic organisms that work together to keep your digestion healthy. The composition of the microbiota depends on many factors, including genetics, environment, and diet. Intestinal infections, such as those that cause diarrhea, and subsequent antibiotic medications alter the gut microbiota. Sometimes this leads to long-term dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the composition of the microbiota, leading to digestive difficulty and chronic diarrhea. What Is a Fecal Transplant? Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), among other terms used, is a procedure where fecal material from a healthy individual is given to an individual with intestinal illness in order to restore a healthy balance to the gut microbiota and resolve the illness. In humans, FMT is most frequently used to resolve gastrointestinal infections with C. dificle, a harmful bacterium that flourishes in immunocompromised, hospitalized, and other very ill individuals. The healthy bacteria found in the fecal transplant material replaces the harmful bacteria inside of the recipient’s intestines and helps restore a beneficial community. Researchers are studying whether FMT can also help people with chronic intestinal disease such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. So far, the therapy seems promising. Given the success of FMT in humans, veterinarians and veterinary researchers wondered whether the procedure could also help dogs and cats with chronic intestinal disease and diarrhea. An occasional bout of diarrhea is likely nothing to worry about and can be easily treated. But some pets rarely have normal stool or have diarrhea for weeks at a time. These dogs may need daily therapy or major changes in their diet before they can have normal feces. Veterinarians classify diarrhea by what type of therapy resolves it: antibiotic-responsive, fiber-responsive, diet-responsive, and non-responsive. It is thought that dogs with diarrhea that is refractory to treatment have an imbalance of their gut microbiota, or a dysbiosis. FMT is aimed at treating that dysbiosis by replenishing beneficial types of bacteria. This is why selection and screening of the donor animal is so important—their microbiota needs to be healthy and well-balanced.
