Cat question

[Bucky]

I know there are LOTS of cat owners on our forum.  Here's a question for ya.  We have two outdoor cats - Spooky, who is four years old - and her son, TJ, who is five months old.  When I am feeding them dry cat food, I usually put a little bit of milk on it.  Is that okay?  I only put a little bit - they seem to enjoy it.  When I don't put any on it, they both look at me, look at the food, look at me, as if to say - "excuse me, haven't you forgotten something?".      

TJ, at five months old is almost, if not already, the size of his mother!!     Spooky is a marble colored calico.  Several people told us when TJ was little that he had big feet, which they said meant he would be a big cat.  He's such a sweetie - he's orange and reminds me of Morris the cat. 

I hope the male cats in the neighborhood don't run TJ off.  We normally don't keep any of the kittens we have.  We've had Spooky "fixed" after her litter in June, so we wanted to keep one last kitten.

Bucky

[Carolina]

A tiny bit of milk is OK.

Lots and lots of milk, not so good.

Kisses

Elaine

I don't give my cats milk but one licks the yogurt and cereal and icecream bowls clean if she has a chance.

They're fine.

[Patze]

I also don't think a little bit would be horrible for them, shucks, if I'd let him, the furball would be in my cereal bowl all the time (he loves some of the cereals too)!


Patze

[season]

A little bit every now and then but not every day for my cats. When I give them a lot of milk they tend to be more wormy.

[lynnmarie219]

I agree with the others....just a bit is ok, but not too much!

They do make different "milk like" formulas that are safe for dogs and cats that aren't too expensive either...you can find them at most grocery or department stores in the pet food section!

[Jules48cats]

[img]Hi Bucky,
I agree that a bit of Milk is okay too, I have one cat who is 9 months old and seems to lactose intolerant.  If he gets too much then he gets the runs. His name is Reuben. 

We also got a little kitten a few weeks ago and she was too young to drink milk so we fed her with an eye dropper, also I gave her whipped cream and now she expects it every morning.  We call her Alli-gator.  She is so sweet.  We get all our cats fixed before they are a year old.  We have rescued all of the cats that we have from  the mountains.  Over the summer the feral cats up at the cabin have a lot of kittens,  then they die off over the winter.  Its sad,  So we catch what we can and try and find homes for them,  but I get attached to them and we end up keeping some of them. 

One thing TJ will be less likely to take off if he is neutered, and its cheaper to fix a male then a female.
Pets are such a comfort,
Jules 

[Patze]

Hugs to you and your hubby Jules for having such a kind heart in rescuing the fur balls from an such a fate.  That is so wonderful!


Patze

[Pisces24]

YES hugs for taking care of them.  No that little bit of milk won't hurt them at all. Some cats are lactose intolerant and it will given them diarreha if they drink too much.  There is also special "kitty milk" out there at the pet food stores but it is kinda pricey.  I've bought that before as I had a kitten I adopted who really was let adopted too early. I mixed the kitty milk with his cat food and he'd eat it well then. I also have a cat that if I leave a mug of milk unattended I will come back seeing his snoot in the mug or a couple cat hairs floating in it. LOL 

Do they have shelter outside? If not, you can go to the AlleyCatAllies website and it will show you how to make one for them.
Getting a cat neutered does create a milder disposition but will not eliminate any fighting.   Outdoor cats are more susceptible to getting sick so maybe adding vitamins to their food woudl help. Also they are more vulnerable to getting rabies, luekemia, feline aids, etc - so I'd check on getting them vacinated if you can.

But thank you on Whatever you can do for them!!!!!!
I have 5 cats myself. Planned on 2, talked into one at a shelter that was special needs and rescued two. All of them are just great clean cats and I am surprised someone didn't want them. I'm not a weird cat lady - just part mush - so my friends say. LOL   

[Blue Kat]

As long as they can tolerate it, I see no reason not to give them a little milk. Cats can be lactose intolerant, so just a little should be more than enough.

[Rayven]

Cats in general are lactose intolerant.  Their digestive systems are not meant to have milk after weaning. The saucer of milk seen portrayed everywhere gives them gas and diarrhea.  A small bit obviously isn't going to hurt, but they do make cat-safe milk in little cartons (like kids' juice box cartons for lunch boxes) and they sell it at your average big grocer as well as pet mega-stores.

When I am caring for post-operative cats, or cats suffering from abuse or malnutrition, I always use the cat-safe milk along with soft kitten food and Pet-tinic vitamin supplementation.  For especially young, old or sick ones where weight and fluids are a big concern, I actually use the powdered kitten formula in various recipes to alter the thickness they can handle.

During winter, their coats will become thicker and they may have a higher food demand as outdoor cats.  You can give them a few of the soft cat treats to add some fat content to bulk up for cooler weather depending on where you live.

If you haven't already, you may consider getting them spayed/neutered as well.  Many cities have a low cost option to do so and you can very rapidly come to care for a large colony of cats.