Presence of Potential Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Cats and Association With Diarrhea in Multicat Households
ABSTRACT Background Diarrhea in cats is common in multicat households, and fecal panels are frequently used to diagnose potential enteropathogenic bacteria. Objectives To evaluate the presence of potential fecal enteropathogenic bacteria and their association with diarrhea in multicat households. Th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.70138 |
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| author | Kirsten Bogedale Ute Klein‐Richers Sandra Felten Michèle Bergmann Nikola Pantchev Yury Zablotski Jan Suchodolski Kathrin Busch Stefan Unterer Katrin Hartmann |
| author_facet | Kirsten Bogedale Ute Klein‐Richers Sandra Felten Michèle Bergmann Nikola Pantchev Yury Zablotski Jan Suchodolski Kathrin Busch Stefan Unterer Katrin Hartmann |
| author_sort | Kirsten Bogedale |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Background Diarrhea in cats is common in multicat households, and fecal panels are frequently used to diagnose potential enteropathogenic bacteria. Objectives To evaluate the presence of potential fecal enteropathogenic bacteria and their association with diarrhea in multicat households. The null hypothesis was that potential enteropathogenic bacteria were not related to diarrhea in the cohort. Animals In total, 234 cats from 41 privately owned catteries were included. Methods In this prospective study, feces were evaluated for consistency according to a visual scoring system (Purina Fecal Score). Scores from 4 to 7 were defined as diarrhea. Quantitative PCR for Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens encoding the α toxin gene (cpa), Clostridium perfringens encoding the enterotoxin gene (cpe), Clostridioides difficile, Campylobacter jejuni/coli, and Salmonella enterica was used. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the impact of selected bacteria on diarrheic feces (fecal score ≥ 4). p values were corrected for multiple comparisons (q values in results). A q value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Results 23/234 cats (9.8%) had diarrhea. None of the selected bacteria were significantly associated with diarrhea (cpa: q = 0.10, cpe: q = 0.20, C. jejuni: q = 0.70). E. coli was detected in all tested fecal samples (100%). The associations of Cl. difficile (detected in 2.3% of cats), C. coli (0%), and S. enterica (0.9%) with diarrhea could not be evaluated due to the small sample sizes. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Fecal bacteria detected via PCR were not associated with clinical signs of diarrhea in multicat households. These data do not support the use of PCR for fecal bacteria for baseline routine diagnostic work‐up of diarrhea in cats. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9b5235ecc8dd49979d88a9b366cb5eed |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0891-6640 1939-1676 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-9b5235ecc8dd49979d88a9b366cb5eed2025-08-20T01:53:49ZengWileyJournal of Veterinary Internal Medicine0891-66401939-16762025-05-01393n/an/a10.1111/jvim.70138Presence of Potential Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Cats and Association With Diarrhea in Multicat HouseholdsKirsten Bogedale0Ute Klein‐Richers1Sandra Felten2Michèle Bergmann3Nikola Pantchev4Yury Zablotski5Jan Suchodolski6Kathrin Busch7Stefan Unterer8Katrin Hartmann9Small Animal Specialist Hospital North Ryde New South Wales AustraliaLMU Small Animal Clinic Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich Munich GermanyClinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich Zurich SwitzerlandLMU Small Animal Clinic Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich Munich GermanyIDEXX Laboratories Kornwestheim GermanyLMU Small Animal Clinic Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich Munich GermanyGastrointestinal Laboratory College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University College Station Texas USALMU Small Animal Clinic Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich Munich GermanyClinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich Zurich SwitzerlandLMU Small Animal Clinic Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich Munich GermanyABSTRACT Background Diarrhea in cats is common in multicat households, and fecal panels are frequently used to diagnose potential enteropathogenic bacteria. Objectives To evaluate the presence of potential fecal enteropathogenic bacteria and their association with diarrhea in multicat households. The null hypothesis was that potential enteropathogenic bacteria were not related to diarrhea in the cohort. Animals In total, 234 cats from 41 privately owned catteries were included. Methods In this prospective study, feces were evaluated for consistency according to a visual scoring system (Purina Fecal Score). Scores from 4 to 7 were defined as diarrhea. Quantitative PCR for Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens encoding the α toxin gene (cpa), Clostridium perfringens encoding the enterotoxin gene (cpe), Clostridioides difficile, Campylobacter jejuni/coli, and Salmonella enterica was used. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the impact of selected bacteria on diarrheic feces (fecal score ≥ 4). p values were corrected for multiple comparisons (q values in results). A q value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Results 23/234 cats (9.8%) had diarrhea. None of the selected bacteria were significantly associated with diarrhea (cpa: q = 0.10, cpe: q = 0.20, C. jejuni: q = 0.70). E. coli was detected in all tested fecal samples (100%). The associations of Cl. difficile (detected in 2.3% of cats), C. coli (0%), and S. enterica (0.9%) with diarrhea could not be evaluated due to the small sample sizes. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Fecal bacteria detected via PCR were not associated with clinical signs of diarrhea in multicat households. These data do not support the use of PCR for fecal bacteria for baseline routine diagnostic work‐up of diarrhea in cats.https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.70138bacterial enteropathycatteryfecal penalfecesfeline |
| spellingShingle | Kirsten Bogedale Ute Klein‐Richers Sandra Felten Michèle Bergmann Nikola Pantchev Yury Zablotski Jan Suchodolski Kathrin Busch Stefan Unterer Katrin Hartmann Presence of Potential Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Cats and Association With Diarrhea in Multicat Households Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine bacterial enteropathy cattery fecal penal feces feline |
| title | Presence of Potential Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Cats and Association With Diarrhea in Multicat Households |
| title_full | Presence of Potential Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Cats and Association With Diarrhea in Multicat Households |
| title_fullStr | Presence of Potential Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Cats and Association With Diarrhea in Multicat Households |
| title_full_unstemmed | Presence of Potential Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Cats and Association With Diarrhea in Multicat Households |
| title_short | Presence of Potential Enteropathogenic Bacteria in Cats and Association With Diarrhea in Multicat Households |
| title_sort | presence of potential enteropathogenic bacteria in cats and association with diarrhea in multicat households |
| topic | bacterial enteropathy cattery fecal penal feces feline |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.70138 |
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