Pet Nutrition and Health
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Companion Animals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 2909
Special Issue Editors
Interests: animal science; intestinal microbiology; gut–liver axis; gastrointestinal health; multi-omics; metabolism
Interests: animal science; antibiotic replacement; pathogens detection; microelement reduction; environmental regulation and control of animals
Interests: animal science; antibiotic replacement; brain–gut axis; gastrointestinal health; multi-omics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, the bond between humans and pets has become deeper than ever. Pets are no longer just animals kept at home; they are considered integral members of the family. This shift in perception has led to a corresponding increase in the attention paid to their overall well-being, with pet nutrition and health emerging as crucial aspects. As pet ownership continues to rise globally, so does the prevalence of various health issues among our furry companions. For example, many diseases, such as obesity, intestinal bowel diseases, and metabolic disorders, have become common problems in pets, which is partially attributed to inappropriate diets and a lack of proper nutrition knowledge among pet owners. These trends highlight the urgent need for in-depth research to better understand the relationship between pet nutrition and health. In addition, various extrinsic stresses, such as heat, cold, pathogen infections, and environmental change, are pivotal stimuli for pets to induce pathophysiological alterations and gut barrier disruptions based on the gut–liver axis, leading to reduced growth performance and even increased mortality. The precision nutrition and functional feed additives are becoming the two major methods used to decrease the adverse influences of detrimental stresses and promote the health of pets. This Special Issue will focus on describing the interactions between the nutritional strategies on the health of pets from the perspective of intestinal microbiota, antioxidant capacity, immune responses, metabolome, and other biomarkers. Moreover, a number of research strategies have been applied for a deeper understanding of nutrition and health, including high-throughput sequencing, metabolome, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), animal models, etc. Different green feed additives, including probiotics, plant extracts, organic acids, etc., have been paid much attention in pet industry applications. However, understanding how these novel ingredients interact with pet metabolisms, immune systems, and growth is essential for formulating balanced and healthy pet foods. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcomed. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: pet nutrition and health, new feed additives and host haemostasis, the evaluation of the quality and safety of pet foods, and multi-omics analysis for gastrointestinal health and metabolism.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Xiao Xiao
Prof. Dr. Caimei Yang
Dr. Guangtian Cao
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- pet
- nutrition and health
- feed additives
- multi-omics
- intestinal homeostasis
- animal models
- metabolism
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