Can Kittens Have Milk

In general you should avoid giving cats whole cow s milk or cream because of the higher fat and sugar content.
Can kittens have milk. Newborn kittens should ideally feed through their mother s breast milk. Milk is only needed by a kitten during the nursing phase and even then mother s protein and fat rich milk eventually sees the suckling babe yield to the obligate carnivore. Yes some cats can drink a very small amount of cow s milk but you should be careful. The only milk that is healthy for kittens to drink is either their mother s or they will need a kitten milk replacer which can also be called kmr or kitten milk formula.
Kittens drink their mother s milk until the mother gradually weans them as early as 4 weeks old. Kittens lack the proper enzymes to digest the lactose in cow milk and feeding cow milk to kittens can cause diarrhea and dehydration very quickly in very small kittens. This is why it is important to avoid feeding cow milk to kittens. Since cats don t have the enzyme necessary for digesting lactose drinking milk can lead to gastrointestinal issues such as an upset stomach diarrhea vomiting loss of appetite and weight.
Lactose free cow s milk is also a safer option. Typically kittens are eating solid foods by 8 to 10 weeks old. If unfortunately you are in the care of a kitten that has been orphaned we do not recommend giving it cow s milk.