First Case Report of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in a Cat in Israel

ABST RACT This case report describes a 10-year-old, 2.9 kg, female spayed Abyssinian cat diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC), unresponsive to conventional therapy. A fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) through rectal (enema) administration was performed as a last therapeutic option for the cat before euthanasia, and there was an immediate improvement after the procedure in regards to fecal texture, odor and color. After the initial successful response, the cat developed a clinical relapse of the diarrhea, and a second FMT procedure was performed five weeks thereafter. Gradually, during a 3-month period the cat started passing normal stools. On a follow-up, 11 months into the procedure, a prolonged clinical cure of the diarrhea has been achieved with the cat passing normal feces. This report describes the criteria for choosing FMT for the cat, the selection process and the screening tests performed for the fecal donor for infectious bacterial and parasitic diseases, the preparation and the methodology for the FMT and the outcome of the procedure. According to our clinical assessment, in this cat, FMT was a safe, beneficial and promising novel therapeutic procedure, and should be considered when a patient fails to respond to conventional therapy for UC. To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first report of FMT in a cat performed in Israel.