Research shows: Feeding mice positive effect on intestinal flora cats
11-04-2025
It has long been known that feeding whole prey animals to felines has a positive effect on gastrointestinal health. A study was recently conducted to find out more about what causes this.
For this, a group of cats were fed two different diets: ground mice or whole mice. For the study, the cats were given extruded kibble. To measure different things, urine and faeces were collected.
It did not matter in the results whether ground or whole mice were fed. Both diets had a positive effect on intestinal flora. The ratio in fatty acids produced by the gut bacteria was better, and fewer harmful fermentation products were produced. So this study showed a clear positive effect on gut health by feeding both ground and unground mice.
Unfortunately, current legislation does not allow feeding mice to domestic cats as it does not fall under category 3a or 3b of animal by-products. Nevertheless, it is likely that this effect also applies to feeding raw food, similar effects have also been seen in other studies.
D'Hooghe SM-TJ, Bosch G, Sun M, et al. How important is food structure when cats eat mice? British Journal of Nutrition. 2024;131(3):369-383. doi:10.1017/S0007114523002039
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