Cats are often associated with milk in the collective imagination. When a cat is imagined drinking, milk is often associated with it. But be careful, because giving milk to your cat is not the best idea. In this article, I tell you everything you need to know about feeding your cat milk.
Giving milk to your cat: Not recommended but not dangerous
Cats don’t reject cow’s milk, but it can cause them digestive problems, so it’s best to avoid it. In fact, cats can drink milk, especially when they are young, but only cat’s milk and not cow’s milk. And even when it comes to cat milk, it is useless to them once the cat is weaned.
Kittens naturally drink their mother’s milk, which is totally different from the cow’s milk we consume, so preferably don’t give it to her and prefer very cold water. An aggravating factor is that the milk distributed in supermarkets is generally of very low quality.
Here are the main reasons for not giving milk to your cat:
- It causes an accumulation of fat in cats: Your cat can become obese in the long term and develop diseases related to overweight.
- It causes diabetes: the milk being rich in sugar, your cat can then suffer from feline diabetes .
- It can cause undesirable effects: Because of xylitol .
Why are kittens better suited to drink milk?
Kittens drink their mother’s milk for the first month of their existence, but this milk is suitable for them because kittens have an enzyme that allows them to break down lactose. But with age, they lose it, and milk can cause them stomach problems.
After weaning, the milk is generally very poorly digested, especially if it is cow’s milk and not cat’s milk. He will then experience digestive problems leading to diarrhea, cramps and vomiting .
In the long run, the fat and carbohydrates in milk will make your cat fatter and fatter.
If you want to give milk to your cat, take cat’s milk, which will be very good for him if he is still very young and has not reached the age of weaning. Those that are marketed are generally low in lactose to avoid digestion problems.
Plus, cats can’t digest milk protein, so they can’t get the best out of it.
But then why do cats throw themselves on it?
If cats like milk so much when it’s not suitable, it’s because milk contains fats that will naturally attract them, even if it’s not ideal for them. Especially since if you feed him correctly, he already has enough fat at his disposal.
Another reason why cat and milk often go together when it’s not necessary and reminds them of their youth and positive, comforting memories.
How much milk to give him?
Adult cats can tolerate 10ml of milk per pound of body weight, so you can feed this amount without stomach problems. Obviously, a milk low in lactose is recommended.
Milk can thus be used to sprinkle food to make it better in his eyes, if he does not want it, it is the only usefulness of milk for cats, being able to stimulate his appetite.
Is vegetable or other animal milk better?
For animal milks, the also digestive problems can arise in some milks offered in the trade are not essential for cats, they can possibly stimulate their appetite if the cat is not hungry but will not have positive effect.
As for vegetable milks, they will not cause him stomach problems but are often not often useful to him in addition to not attracting them more than that.
Pay attention to pathologies
Pathologies, especially those related to the stomach and digestion should lead you not to give milk to the cat because it will aggravate its problems. His food must be adapted to his pathologies and his state of health in general.
Giving milk to your cat: The final word
Milk as we consume it is of no use to the cat except to trigger its appetite and will not bring it any good. So, if you have a young, unweaned kitten, give her only cat’s milk, and if your cat has passed this stage, milk has more disadvantages than advantages.