Dr. Jane Matheys is a veterinarian and guest blogger for pet health insurance provider, Pets Best Insurance.
Hello. I'm Dr. Jane Matheys from The Cat Doctor Veterinary Hospital and Hotel in Boise, Idaho. Today I'll be answering some questions about general cat health from questions that were posted on Pets Best Insurance Facebook page.
The first one is from Chryssa. She says: "My cats are conditioned to come running for milk when they hear me eating cereal. I recently switched to almond milk, and I'm wondering if I can still let them lick the bowl when I'm done."
First of all, let me just talk about milk products in general for kitty cats. To digest any of the dairy products, kitties need lactase enzyme, and they don't make as much of this enzyme as people do. It can upset the kitty's tummy and especially give them some diarrhea.
Now, some kitties do have a small amount of the lactase enzyme, so they can have a small amount of milk or other dairy products and be perfectly fine. As far as the almond milk, the almond nut itself is not toxic for kitties. But that being said, just in general, even though it's still a milk-type product, there are some kitties that could still get gastrointestinal upset from it. So the same reasoning applies. If your kitty does not get a tummy upset from the almond milk, it's okay to let your cat take a few licks now and again.
If you have any other questions, please post them in the comments section below, and I'd be happy to answer them, or you can visit the Pets Best Insurance Facebook page. See you next time.
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