What Milk Can Kittens Drink

Goat milk for kittens is a little more salutary than cow s milk but.

What milk can kittens drink. Young kittens those under 4 or 5 weeks old need to nurse from their mom to get nutrients and hydration. That being said for a time kittens indeed have to drink milk to develop properly. Does all milk contain lactose. Even though some cats can tolerate milk and seem to enjoy it cow s milk just isn t good for cats says dr.

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. Older already weaned kittens just need water to stay hydrated. 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. During the nursing phase after birth kittens need to drink milk from the mother cat to get much needed antibodies fat protein and so on.

What do kittens drink. Most cats have an intolerance to the lactose in cow s milk and it can cause digestive problems. What shouldn t cats drink. You can help make sure your kitten gets enough water by feeding it wet food.

Being obligate carnivores cats acquire nutrients through the fleshes of other animals so they don t need to drink milk. Once they have weaned production of lactase stops and they are no longer able to break down lactose effectively resulting in milk intolerance. No cow milk for kitties. For instance people increasingly ask whether goat milk for cats is an acceptable treat.

On average cats need 50 ml water per kg of body weight. There are other varieties of milk. If she s not available or able to feed them you can feed orphaned kittens kitten milk replacement formula by a bottle. Sheep s milk contains high levels of lactose and casein compared to other kinds of milk.

If you do want to give your cat milk you can buy specially formulated cat milk from most supermarkets or pet shops. Nursing kittens produce an enzyme called lactase which breaks down lactose sugar in milk. This should be a treat only and not a part of your cat s daily fluid intake. There should also be free access to fresh water for their mother and kittens will start to lap this too.

Gary richter a veterinary health expert with rover. This amounts to 25 ml for a 500 gram kitten. Cats have no nutritional need for milk once they have weaned. It won t be suitable for a lactose.

Cats don t need. Cats and milk at a glance.