Cats and lactose intolerance

[Kirsten]

i learned that adult cats are lactose intolerant. Is this really true? i've behaved as though it were.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Most mammals lose the ability to digest lactose when they reach adulthood. Many humans (about half of the global population), particularly of certain ethnic groups, are also lactose intolerant at adulthood. I don't remember the exact mechanism, but essentially, the mammalian body is coded to produce lactase when it is needed (before weaning), and to stop or greatly reduce transcribing it when it isn't needed (after weaning). It makes good sense in the body's economy; why produce something you aren't going to need? Humans aside, adult mammals do not drink milk, so there is no point in making lactase.

 

[Ookamii]

Not all adult cats are, but most are. and to roachgirl, some humans are born lactose intolerant then can drink it when thay are around 4 years old-adult hood. my father, and i where. My daughter "one month old" is, but is expected to grow out of it when she reaches 3-4 years old.

 

[Kirsten]

It's funny that i didn't become lactose intolerant until i was 28 years old. Same year i became allergic to cats :/ i was a milk-guzzling, 2 cat-owner and miserable until i found out what was wrong.

 

[Ookamii]

wow, yah i hope that dont happen to me, i love milk and i love my cats.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

My brother is lactose intolerant. I am intolerant of lactose intolerance. If I ever turn out thus I will certainly die. I don't do without milk products. No, doesn't work.

Maybe cats transfer that intolerance to people?

I don't give my cat(s) anything but water. What happens if they get milk and are intolerant? Do they puke?

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Ookami, I think you may be referring to milk allergy. Intolerance of cow's milk formulas in infants is rarely from lactose intolerance; true lactose intolerance in infants is extremely rare, because it isn't a trait conducive to survival; human milk is loaded with lactose. Milk allergy, which is normally a protein-based allergy, is quite common on the other hand, and the child normally grows out of it by 3-5 years of age.

As for what happens to cats? It tends to cause digestive upset, out one end or the other, if you feed milk to a cat. "But what about all of the old nursery rymes and folk lore about cats loving milk?" In the past, farm cats were often given fresh cream as a treat. Traditionally produced cream IS low in lactose because it is seperated out from the whey, which probably explains why it was once a well relished treat of farm cats, yet pouring your kitty a bowl of 1% will have him trailing runny feces around your house.

 

[bugmankeith]

All cats I know will drink milk, but after a few hours will have diarrhea, which if given often can lead to dehydration from the diarrhea, so I dont give milk products. In very small amounts they might be ok or just get gas.

Just because they will eat it doesnt mean it's good for them, if your a dog owner i'm sure you know this. It's up to the owner.

 

[jebbewocky]

I'm not lactose intolerant, in that I have no issue digesting it.
However, if I drink liquid milk, then it clogs up the back of my throat and I can't breathe. It's not an allergic reaction, it's just that the milk blocks my throat. It like, interacts with the mucus in the back of my throat and makes me choke for some reason.

 

[Venari]

oddly, the media seems to portray cats drinking a saucer of cream...which leads my mother and her old ladies to constantly put down a bowl of milk for my cat.

And wonder why he has diarrhea all the time.

 

[Ookamii]

well i was told by my doctor who ran tests on my daughter that she is indeed allergic to milk, it makes it extreamly hard for her to breath, and she vommits profusly. but back to the cats, i have 3 cats, 2 are allergic one will stick her face in your milk glass and drink it all down with no issues what so ever.

 

[zonbonzovi]

I won't even pretend to know the least thing about the contents of dairy products, but my cat radars yogurt like Eliot Spitzer to a red light & has this uncanny sense of knowing when something we are eating has sour cream in it. The other cat doesn't seem to care for anything dairy whatsoever.

 

[Kirsten]

My brother is lactose intolerant. I am intolerant of lactose intolerance. If I ever turn out thus I will certainly die. I don't do without milk products. No, doesn't work.

Maybe cats transfer that intolerance to people?

I don't give my cat(s) anything but water. What happens if they get milk and are intolerant? Do they puke?

Not to fear: they have lactaid pills you can take if that ever happens

Pop one or three and you are on your way to guzzling the cow juice or sucking down that chocolate shake in complete bliss =)