Lactose Intolerant

Peanut butter and jelly, cookies and milk, peas and carrots, fire and wood, mice and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, elephants and peanuts, and cats and milk: they all go together, don't they? Pet nutritionists and veterinarians say otherwise--about cats and milk, that is.

Most cats are actually lactose intolerant, and drinking cow's milk will make them sick. Nutritionally speaking, cats don't need milk once they are no longer kittens. Water is all cats need to drink to be healthy.

"Bleh, I don't like milk."

Some cats can drink milk, but this is rare. Veterinarians suggest that if cat owners want to give their cat milk for a special treat, first give him just a few spoons of it and wait a day to see if it will make him sick. If there are no ill effects, then the cat is safe to digest cow's milk.

Another alternative choice is feeding cats special catmilk, which is mostly lactose free.

The safest route however, to keeping your cat healthy and happy, is avoiding milk altogether.

~RL