Can Kittens Drink Milk Humans Drink

Kittens drink milk from their mothers but adult cats do not need any form of milk to thrive.

Can kittens drink milk humans drink. If kitten s need milk supplementation kitten milk replacer can be purchased in pet stores. At 8 weeks old these kittens should not need milk supplementation and should be on kitten food. Young kittens will drink their mother s milk until they are weaned. Can kittens drink milk.

Water it may sound boring but your cat needs a. The traditional image of a contented cat lapping from a bowl of milk is a misleading one. This is especially likely in felines that continue to drink cow s milk after weaning and tend to continue to generate lactase. Kittens should be drinking cat milk or a kitten milk replacer.

Cow s milk and most likely human milk can cause diarrhea and gastrointestinal upset in kittens. However although they have the ability to digest lactose properly it should be noted that milk should not occupy majority of a cat s diet. From around 4 weeks of age they will start to explore solid food and drink more water alongside their mother s milk. Lactose free milk both humans and cats can drink lactose free milk without having the typical digestive upset.

There should also be free access to fresh water for their mother and kittens will start to lap this too. As a kitten grows it is crucial that their diet is adapted to their age. However you do want to limit your cat s intake because it doesn t have many nutrients they use. Milk is somewhat species specific.

This is why it is important to avoid feeding cow milk to kittens. 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. Cats are very fond of cream which they value for its high fat content and so they are especially attracted to milk that has come straight from the cow especially after the cream has been allowed to rise to the top. 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.

Milk does contain some beneficial ingredients but it s not necessary to give your cat milk. There is nothing magic about feeding human milk to non humans and few human mothers would be happy about going to the trouble of expressing to feed an animal i would think. Every species has a different milk with the proper nutrients for that species.