Should Cats Drink Milk?

There are many misconceptions about feeding milk to cats. This misleading information in the United States could be partly from other cultures that do regularly feed milk to cats and a holdover from almost half a century ago, when old cartoons and movies often featured cats drinking milk. Others have had cats as children that were fed milk. Some cat owners think that cats need the nutrients that milk contains. Others may feel that giving milk to cats is a special treat that can be given to the cat on a daily basis. Is milk a healthy treat for cats?

Cats do not need milk. It does not aid their metabolism or digestion. In fact, most cats are lactose intolerant. Too much milk is likely to give a cat diarrhea. Some cats may experience diarrhea after just a small amount of milk. The more milk that is given to the cat, the more likely a cat with lactose intolerance will have a bad reaction.

This may be confusing since kittens rely on milk from their mother’s before they eat cat food. The cat owners must remember that kittens are not raised on cow’s milk. Giving a cat some milk from a grocery store is vastly different from a kitten nursing from its mother. This is very similar to people who are lactose intolerant who had no problems with breast milk or formula as infants.

Cats have no physical need for milk. A cat in the wild would not nurse on a cow. Since cow’s milk has no nutritional benefits for cats, it should never be used as a substitute for food or water. A diet of healthy commercial cat food or raw food and water is all the cat needs to meet its dietary requirements.

An occasional treat of a small amount of milk is generally considered acceptable and not detrimental to the cat’s health. However, if the cat develops diarrhea after a small amount of milk, it would be better for the cat owner to avoid giving the cat any milk in the future. An occasional commercial cat treat would actually be healthier than milk for cats.