Lactose Intolerance in Cats: Is Milk Good for My Cat?

Lactose Intolerance in Cats: Is Milk Good for My Cat?

What if your cat loves dairy, but even a treat-sized dollop of milk or cream leads to an upset stomach with unpleasant symptoms like gas, bloating, diarrhea, or vomiting? Actually, thatโ€™s pretty normal. Most adult cats have trouble digesting dairy products because they lack the ability to break down lactose, the sugar found in milk. Lactose makes up between 2% and 8% of milk.

What is Lactose Intolerance?

The sugar lactose is a kind of carbohydrate that is made up of two other sugars, galactose and glucose. In order to digest milk products properly, the body first has to break the lactose down into those two components. โ€œLactose intoleranceโ€ refers to an inability to separate lactose into its digestible parts.

Lactose intolerance is not an allergy. In an allergic reaction, the bodyโ€™s immune system misidentifies a benign substance as an intruder and attacks it, causing various symptoms. Lactose intolerance is a digestive issue and doesnโ€™t involve the immune system.โ€

When lactose passes through the intestinal tract without being broken down, it pulls extra water into the intestines. Then, to make things even worse, the gutโ€™s residentย bacteriaย get access to the undigested lactose and ferment it.

As a result, feeding milk to a lactose-intolerant cat may cause gas, vomiting, orย diarrhea, usually within 8 to 12 hours. In addition, since the lactose canโ€™t be processed and eliminated correctly, this sugar can linger in the digestive tract, continuing to cause gastrointestinal trouble long after the dairy is consumed.

Kittens can process their motherโ€™s milk because their digestive system produces a lactase enzyme.

Donโ€™t Cats Need Milk?

Like other baby mammals, kittens need their motherโ€™s milk to give them a healthy start in life. Among many other benefits, the motherโ€™s colostrum and milk support the development of theย gut microbiome, which is crucial for so many aspects of an animalโ€™s health.

Kittens can process their motherโ€™s milk because their digestive system produces a lactase enzyme, which breaks lactose down into those two component sugars. But as soon as the growing kittens begin weaning and start eating solid food, their production of lactase slows way down, so that they no longer have enough to properly digest lactose.โ€

Since most mammals have no dietary need for milk once theyโ€™ve become adults, this reduction in lactase productionโ€”and therefore some degree of lactose intoleranceโ€”is actually the norm.

What if Your Cat Craves Dairy?

Cats may be attracted to milk, cream, or cheese because these foods taste fatty, but even as a treat,ย dairy products are generally not recommended for cats.

For one thing, cow and goat milk both have a significantly higher lactose content than a mother catโ€™s milk, so theyโ€™re even more difficult for an adult cat to digest. And inย cats with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)ย or other intestinal disorders, dairy can make the existing digestive symptoms much worse.

What if your cat craves milk?

Some dairy productsโ€”such as cottage cheese and yogurtโ€”may be tolerated better than straight milk because the bacterial processes they undergo also break down some of the lactose.

As long as your cat has no digestive issues, feeding very small amounts of these human foods may not cause trouble, but if your cat loves an occasional treat, the safest choice is a little lactose-free cowโ€™s milk. (Avoid soy milk, almond, and other nut milks; though these milk substitutes contain no lactose, they have been known to cause stomach problems in cats.)

Better yet, skip the dairy altogether. There is no need for dairy products in your cat’s diet, and what they need for proper hydration is plenty of fresh water, not milk.

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Lactose Intolerance in Cats: Is Milk Good for My Cat?

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Lactose Intolerance in Cats: Is Milk Good for My Cat?

What if your cat loves dairy, but even a treat-sized dollop of milk or cream leads to an upset stomach with unpleasant symptoms like gas, bloating, diarrhea, or vomiting? Actually, thatโ€™s pretty normal. Most adult cats have trouble digesting dairy products because they lack the ability to break down lactose, the sugar found in milk. Lactose makes up between 2% and 8% of milk.

What is Lactose Intolerance?

The sugar lactose is a kind of carbohydrate that is made up of two other sugars, galactose and glucose. In order to digest milk products properly, the body first has to break the lactose down into those two components. โ€œLactose intoleranceโ€ refers to an inability to separate lactose into its digestible parts.

Lactose intolerance is not an allergy. In an allergic reaction, the bodyโ€™s immune system misidentifies a benign substance as an intruder and attacks it, causing various symptoms. Lactose intolerance is a digestive issue and doesnโ€™t involve the immune system.โ€

When lactose passes through the intestinal tract without being broken down, it pulls extra water into the intestines. Then, to make things even worse, the gutโ€™s residentย bacteriaย get access to the undigested lactose and ferment it.

As a result, feeding milk to a lactose-intolerant cat may cause gas, vomiting, orย diarrhea, usually within 8 to 12 hours. In addition, since the lactose canโ€™t be processed and eliminated correctly, this sugar can linger in the digestive tract, continuing to cause gastrointestinal trouble long after the dairy is consumed.

Kittens can process their motherโ€™s milk because their digestive system produces a lactase enzyme.

Donโ€™t Cats Need Milk?

Like other baby mammals, kittens need their motherโ€™s milk to give them a healthy start in life. Among many other benefits, the motherโ€™s colostrum and milk support the development of theย gut microbiome, which is crucial for so many aspects of an animalโ€™s health.

Kittens can process their motherโ€™s milk because their digestive system produces a lactase enzyme, which breaks lactose down into those two component sugars. But as soon as the growing kittens begin weaning and start eating solid food, their production of lactase slows way down, so that they no longer have enough to properly digest lactose.โ€

Since most mammals have no dietary need for milk once theyโ€™ve become adults, this reduction in lactase productionโ€”and therefore some degree of lactose intoleranceโ€”is actually the norm.

What if Your Cat Craves Dairy?

Cats may be attracted to milk, cream, or cheese because these foods taste fatty, but even as a treat,ย dairy products are generally not recommended for cats.

For one thing, cow and goat milk both have a significantly higher lactose content than a mother catโ€™s milk, so theyโ€™re even more difficult for an adult cat to digest. And inย cats with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)ย or other intestinal disorders, dairy can make the existing digestive symptoms much worse.

What if your cat craves milk?

Some dairy productsโ€”such as cottage cheese and yogurtโ€”may be tolerated better than straight milk because the bacterial processes they undergo also break down some of the lactose.

As long as your cat has no digestive issues, feeding very small amounts of these human foods may not cause trouble, but if your cat loves an occasional treat, the safest choice is a little lactose-free cowโ€™s milk. (Avoid soy milk, almond, and other nut milks; though these milk substitutes contain no lactose, they have been known to cause stomach problems in cats.)

Better yet, skip the dairy altogether. There is no need for dairy products in your cat’s diet, and what they need for proper hydration is plenty of fresh water, not milk.

Learn More

Suggested Products

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