Santé! Cheers! Salud ! Prost!

I remember when Smokey was a kitten I gave him some milk for cats and he had a lovely moustache of milk all around his mouth and on his whiskers. We do tend to think that cats love milk and it is a natural thing. But did you know that Cats are often lactose intolerant.

Cats have trouble digesting it. The result is diarrhea or stomach upset. Why are they lactose intolerant?

Just like people, cats can be lactose intolerant. And although we tend to think that’s a problem, it’s actually completely normal.

The only time animals are exposed to lactose is when they’re kittens and they ingest their mother’s milk.

To digest lactose, a milk sugar, the human and feline digestive systems must contain the enzyme lactase. We have plenty of this enzyme in our systems at birth, and it helps us thrive on our mother’s milk.

But as we grow up, it’s normal for people and cats to begin producing less lactase. Less lactase means less ability to digest lactose. The result may eventually be lactose intolerance.

Fancy another drink? 

Water should be the best beverage you can give your cat. But did you know that in desperate situations they can even drink salty water!

If you’re ever lost at sea, don’t drink the ocean water. The large amount of salt in the water dehydrates humans. Cats, on the other hand, can drink sea water in order to survive. Cats have crazy kidneys that filter out the salt from the water so they can re-hydrate themselves.