Can Kittens Drink Regular Milk
A mother cat s milk is high in fat content.
Can kittens drink regular milk. The only milk that is healthy for kittens to drink is either their mother s or they will need a kitten milk replacer which can also be called kmr or kitten milk formula. Should you find yourself raising orphaned newborn kittens during the critical first two months of life there are specially formulated kitten milk substitutes. This is why it is important to avoid feeding cow milk to kittens. Since cats don t have the enzyme necessary for digesting lactose drinking milk can lead to gastrointestinal issues such as an upset stomach diarrhea vomiting loss of appetite and weight.
Chances are you imagined a kitten drinking from a bowl of milk possibly with a bow around her neck. During the first weeks of a kitten s life his body requires a huge amount of nourishment in order to sustain him and accommodate his rapid growth. Water around 85 carbohydrate lactose around 5 fat 0 5 4. The following nutrients are found in regular cow s milk.
Can kittens drink milk. They no longer need milk to survive. Milk does contain some beneficial ingredients but it s not necessary to give your cat milk. Kittens lack the proper enzymes to digest the lactose in cow milk and feeding cow milk to kittens can cause diarrhea and dehydration very quickly in very small kittens.
These baby formula equivalents can be. However kittens who are old enough to separate from their mothers are old enough to drink water instead of milk. In order to do find out how your cat reacts to lactose in milk give your cat a little milk to try and supervise if there are any reactions. Yes some cats can drink a very small amount of cow s milk but you should be careful.
In general you should avoid giving cats whole cow s milk or cream because of the higher fat and sugar content. In such cases we can say that cats can drink cow s milk without problems however quantity must always be controlled. Is milk healthy for cats. Kittens that do not drink their mother s colostrum or firstmilk stand a much greater risk of succumbing to a number of diseases that affect young cats.