Pet cats may shape the antibiotic resistome of their owner’s gut and living environment

BACKGROUND: Companion animals can contribute to the physical and mental health of people and often live in very close association with their owners. However, the antibiotic resistome carried by companion animals and the impact they have on their owners and living environment remain unclear. In this study, we compared the ARG profiles of cats, humans, and their living environments using metagenomic analysis to identify the core ARGs in the cat and human gut and explore the potential impact of cats on ARGs in the human gut through the environment. RESULTS: Results showed that the abundance of ARGs in the cat gut was significantly higher than that in the human gut (P < 0.0001), with aminoglycoside and tetracycline resistance genes being the dominant ARGs in the cat gut. There was no significant difference in the abundance of total ARGs in the guts of cat owners and non-owners (P > 0.05). However, the abundance of aminoglycoside resistance genes including APH(2'')-IIa and AAC(6')-Im was significantly higher in cat owners than that in non-cat owners (P < 0.001). Also, ARG abundance was positively correlated with the frequency of cat activity in the living environment. Enterobacteriaceae was the dominant ARG host co-occurring in the cat gut, human gut, and living environment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that cats may shape the living environment resistome and thus the composition of some ARGs in the human gut, highlighting the importance of companion animal environment health. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40168-023-01679-8.