Check out the bacteria in your cat's digestive tract

The bacteria in our digestive tract and the digestive tract of our cats is an important facet of our health. I believe that IBD in cats is caused by damaging stomach flora. Certainly this is the case with humans.

Four scientists at University of California, Davis are offering cat owners the chance to find out about their cat's digestive system microbiome.

I think this is an important study because, for example, if we say that dry cat food is far from ideal and caused health problems, studying the bacterial contents of the gut will tell us how that type of food affects a cat and whether that affect damages health and in what way.

Very little is known about a cat's gut bacteria. It would nice to discover that dry cat food causes problems because it would put pressure in the manufacturers to up their game.

Participants have to collect their cat's poop and send it to the scientists who will provide a analysis in return.

This is a ten year project. I don't have details of who to send the poop to! But a bit more research or a phone call might prove fruitful.

Certainly cat owners whose cats have known digestive tract problems or chronic health problems linked to the digestive tract should consider getting involved.

Holly Ganz is one of the scientists at UC Davis so she could be a good starting point.

Source: Kitty Kickstarter: See the Microbes That Live in Your Cat