Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Can cats drink cow milk?

This is a quite famous question. All of us have seen kids movies where a cat drinks milk from a bowl with the cat's name. And this image is so popular that if you ask a kid what should a cat eat it will answer - milk.

The answer of this question is a little more complex. Some experts say that people should not give their cats milk because the cow milk can make them sick and give them diarrhea. This is caused by the so called lactose intolerance. You can learn more about it from wikipedia's article about milk.

My opinion is on the other side. I think that cow's milk acts the same way for humans and for cats. If I drink too much real cow milk I'll have the same symptoms, but I love to drink only one cup per day. And I give to my cats milk from time to time. I am not sure if this is good or bad, they don't show any signs of illness after drinking it. And some of them really love milk. Of course I am careful with kittens or ill cat but till now I haven't got any problems related to milk.

This is only my opinion, I am not an expert. For health and nutrition problems people should consult mainly their vets.

Edit: I found some old pictures of my cats drinking milk. They are sweet!

cat drink milk
kitten drink milk

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

It doesn't really matter what your opinion is, the fact is that most cats develop lactose intolerance once they are weaned. You are sort of correct when you say cats and humans react the same way to milk: many adult humans are lactose intolerant, too. Cats' nutritional needs are different from those of humans, and cow's milk adds nothing to their diet. Many cats love the taste, regardless, but it does cause digestion problems and sometimes diarrhea. If your cats can tolerate it without problems, great, but that doesn't mean everyone else should go out and feed their cats saucers of milk.

Anonymous said...

It is extremely interesting for me to read that post. Thanks for it. I like such topics and everything connected to them. I would like to read more soon.

Anonymous said...

Rather valuable answer

Anonymous said...

So, cat food with ash, palm oil, melamine and so on are better for cats? Is it what the first Anonymous said?

Most regular cat breeds have some lactose tolerance and can drink milk. And milk contains valuable proteins and minerals.

Anonymous said...

Don't stop posting such stories. I like to read stories like that. Just add more pics :)

Anonymous said...

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