Very Important Question

[jellydonut64]

Can cats be lactose intolerant?

[nibblets]

If I'm not mistaken...It seems I read somewhere that cows milk is not really good for cats. Hard to digest maybe?

[Craftlady]

cows milk is a no no

[jazzcat]

Yes, they can be. Ripley will throw up everytime he has any kind of dairy product like milk or ice cream.

[Craftlady]

Also gives them nasty case of diarraha.

[rpcathouse]

THAT WOULD BE A BIG YES.

[CatMama78]

I'm under the understanding that human food traditioanlly associated as cat yummies, such as milk and tuna are not really good for them. Best to stick with water (bottled only, of course ) and a premium dry food such as Science Diet. The occassional cat treat made for cats doesn't hurt.

[guster girl]

I've always heard that tuna was good for cats and dogs! Hmmm....I'll look it up online. I thought milk wasn't good for them, but, I hadn't heard that tuna wasn't....

[catmandu]

Yes ,and it can give them the runs! Look out, clear the way, to the Litter Box!

[sirrahbed]

There is a non-dairy "catmilk" you can buy though Always fun to watch kitties lap up *milk*

[moosmom]

Most cats are lactose intolerant. Cows milk is not good for them. They do have a milk product on the market for cats that is lactose free called Catsip. My cats like it. I say MOST cats because MooShoo, who is not your everyday ordinary cat, LOVE a little bit of milk when I finish my cereal and also LOVES yogurt. Go figure!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I've heard that all cats are lactose intolerent but I could be wrong. Water is the best thing to give them. I do allow my Sunny to drink a very small amount of milk that is left over from my cereal though. I also give my cats the lactose free milk made especially for cats. There are catsip, laphappy, and whiskas brands.

Tuna fish is very bad for cats. It is high in polyunsaturated fat which cats have trouble metabolizing. Tuna can rob a cat's body of vitamin E, leading to a painful disease called steatitus, or Yellow Fat Disease, in which the skin becomes unbearably tender.

I got this information from one of my cat books.

[CatMama78]

I only looked at one link, so more research is needed, but here is a couple of paragraphs I found about cats and milk and tuna:

Milk can cause digestive upsets in cats. Cats do not have the enzymes to break down the lactose in milk. If you must give your pet milk, it is best to buy the lactose free milk products that are available. You can also use canned milk. Liquid drinks such as Ensure or Baby formulas should not be given to cats because they do not contain enough arginine. Symptoms of lactose intolerance in your cat include skin irritation and diarrhea.

Tuna fish is another food that animal owners may be surprised to find is detrimental to cats. Containing high amounts of mercury, tuna can cause mercury poisoning. Also, canned tuna is extremely high in fat because of the liquid it is packed in. This can lead to steatis, which causes the cats system to lose vitamin E. Symptoms of steatis include impaired mobility, fever and flaking skin.

Here's the whole article:

http://sd.essortment.com/nutritioncats_rnsg.htm

[stacwase]

Toby and I are both lactose intolerant!! Nasty diarrhea. Yuck!

One dairy product we can eat, though, is yogurt. It's very high in calcium, but the bacteria which make yogurt eat the lactose so it's lactose-free by the time you eat it.

You can even make your own yogurt - so it's runnier and your cat can lap it up from a bowl. It's unbelievably easy to make.

Cats like it plain and unsweetened.

[sirrahbed]

Mine love yogurt too! (and I am also bad and let them help me with my cereal) When RB Ernie was dying and did not want to eat, our Vet recommended getting him some plain yogurt and that is how we discovered what a treat it was!! YES, very easy to make at home as Stacwase mentioned Just stir a bit of yogurt into milk and let it sit in containers in a low oven - tada! more yogurt!

too much cow milk = nasty diarrhea