Research overview: the feline gut microbiome and nutrition

Research into the feline gut microbiome explores how the community of intestinal microbes influences digestion, immune function, and health in cats, and how diet, particularly the high-protein, low-carbohydrate profile suited to obligate carnivores, shapes microbial composition. Studies link microbiome alterations to conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, and diabetes. This overview compiles the emerging microbiome literature rather than one source, describing how the carnivorous diet structures the feline gut microbial community, why dysbiosis is associated with disease, and how dietary fiber, probiotics, and prebiotics are investigated for modulating gut health. It matters because the microbiome is an active frontier in feline nutrition and gastroenterology, offering potential new avenues to understand and manage chronic intestinal and metabolic diseases through dietary and microbial interventions.