Emerging research links the gut microbiome to behavioral health, stress response, and immune function in companion animals, opening new welfare and treatment pathways.
Companion animal microbiome research is at an early stage but holds genuine welfare promise: the gut-brain axis connection suggests that gastrointestinal microbiome health influences behavioral welfare including anxiety, stress reactivity, and potentially aggressive behavior. If microbiome dysbiosis contributes to behavioral welfare problems, interventions targeting the microbiome (dietary optimization, probiotics, FMT) could provide welfare benefit alongside or instead of behavioral medication. The welfare implications of routine antibiotic use - which causes significant microbiome disruption - are increasingly considered alongside antimicrobial resistance concerns. Early life microbiome development is particularly welfare-relevant: puppies and kittens separated too early from their mothers may have impaired microbiome establishment affecting long-term health.