Is Milk Good for My Cat?

Cats and Milk - Made for Each Other?

No feline image is more enduring than a cat perched over a bowl of milk, lapping it up contentedly.  But is milk really good for cats?  The simple answer is no, but every cat is different and more important than accepting general cat rules is to know your own cat and what is or isn’t good for her.

Cats, like all mammals, grow up drinking their mothers’ milk , but once the kitten is weened, their tolerance for milk tends to drop dramatically.  Most adult cats are lactose intolerant, which means that the enzyme for digesting milk called lactase is no longer being produced.  Once the kitten is no longer drinking mom’s milk, the body tends to stop producing this enyme.

While lactose intolerance is rarely a truly dangerous condition, drinking that bowl of milk may give your cat bloating and diarrhea.  Naturally, both of those symptoms are not very pleasant for your cat and, left unchecked could lead to serious dehydration and later kidney damage.

Not all cats are lactose intolerant however.  Nevertheless there is no way to determine your cat’s tolerance beyond laying down a dish of milk and observing the effects.

If your cat is lactose intolerant, this does not mean that you can’t give out a milky treat now and again.  There are several alternatives to consider.  For one, most pet stores carry some sort of milk substitute for cats such as Catmilk from Whiskas or Cat-Sip.  Another option is to pick up some lactose-free cow’s milk from most any grocery store.  Milk alternatives like soy milk or rice milk are also options.

Catmilk from Whiskas will only set you back a few dollars.

The important thing to remember is that milk or milk substitutes should never replace water or food in your cat’s diet.  These things should be considered treats, and most veterinarians agree that a cat’s diet should be no more than ten percent treats.

Of course if you were to adopt an orphaned kitten milk would be an essential part of its diet.  Still, cow’s milk does not have nutrients that are valuable to any cat.  The best option would be to find a “wet nurse” for your kitten, a nursing cat who could nurse your kitten as well.  Failing this, there are several recipes available for mother’s milk substitutes specifically formulated for cats.  These often involve ingredients like mayonnaise or yogurt, in other words dairy products with many nutrients and fats.