Anyone else got a seriously lactose intolerant Kitty?

[ImBatDog]

My 9mo tabby/tortie is severely lactose intolerant. It seems even the smallest ingestion of milk gives her diarrhea.

Obviously i'm being very vigilant to keep her nose out of anywhere thats got dairy products, but she seems to be managing to thwart me at least every couple of weeks or so... usually courtesy of one of the kids forgetting to empty the leftover milk from their breakfast bowls and shut her out of the kitchen. (i do tell them constantly but ds has SEN and is very forgetful)

Anyone got a kitty with similar problems? Any extra advice on how to live with it? I hate seeing her feeling so out of sorts :(

[cozietoesie]

Just to report that I bought some lactose free milk a few days ago and have just tried it - and it's OK. I doubt I'd have known it wasn't ordinary milk if I hadn't poured it myself and I'm a serious fusspot when it comes to milk. (Lactofree, whole milk version, straight from fridge.)

[shaska]

Cone AND hat for Batcat (can't be too vigilant)
Mug for Batboy, perhaps with a lid and a padlock

And a photo of the above for all of us!

[ImBatDog]

maybe i should dig out the cone of shame? lol

[cozietoesie]

....and a very large hat.......

[Honeydragon]

Mug and a very large hat for batcat?

[cozietoesie]

I'm afraid to say, Honeydragon, that the reason I first established that Seniorboy was not lactose intolerant was because I caught him stealing milk from pint glasses which had been left on the floor by mistake. (He's trained not to go on kitchen surfaces but the floor is fair game.) They're probably about the same width as a mug - and seemed to be easy peasy.

[Honeydragon]

Would he consider eating his cereal out a large mug (ie big enough for cereal but narrow enough to stop silly BatCat getting her head to the milk at the bottom), would you be able to make him think it a good thing?

[cozietoesie]

Would he accept it do you think if it was made into some special treat? (Which happened to be extended somewhat.)

I'm saying that having never tasted the stuff although other posters seem to think it's OK.

[ImBatDog]

he'd notice it right off the bat (see what i did there ;) ) he's very, very sensitive to even slight taste changes, and it can put him off eating something altogether, and he has such a limited diet, i'm very leery of messing with his one main source of calcium!

[Honeydragon]

Do you think Batboy would notice the different milk? How sensitive is he in this case?

That's certainly the easiest solution.

Unless you bribe BatCat with something better at breakfast time.

(Has Evans posts got everyone else wanting to do a Mad Eye Moody?)

CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!

[ImBatDog]

Who's making excuses? I was reiterating my op which you apparently ignored with the lecture you handed out.

[shaska]

Well she's said this is happening every couple of weeks. Which isn't very often, considering. And she was just wondering if anyone had any extra helpful hints. Not sure that telling her that she's doing it on purpose and to just stop, when that's sort of the opposite of what's she said, will do anything but make her feel guilty - which she clearly already does, otherwise she wouldn't be asking!

I am yet to be 100% successful in stopping my two from doing anything they really want to do, no matter how much I don't want them to or how vigilant I am. Clearly you're much better at it than I am!

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

Oh, and I've not for one minute suggested a dairy-free household. You merely have to be vigilant

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

Shaska - yes, I agree, OP came on asking for advice. And she received it. And yet is still now making excuses even after having received it.

If OP knows her cat is a seriously lactose-intolerant kitty (from the original opening post) and knows one of her children may leave his/her cereal bowl out for potential slurping then surely, it is OP's responsibility to keep the offending equations apart. I wonder how I've managed to do it over the years??

Your 'lamb' may very well have had her head in your yogurt, but is he/she seriously intolerant to the point of having a worryingly upset tummy? I suspect not, otherwise you would have taken appropriate measures. Wouldn't you?

[SunshineBossaNova]

I have lactofree milk and it tastes just like ordinary milk.

[juneybean]

I was going to ask about soya as bought a carton the other day instead of lactofree and was worried she might not actually be allowed it.

[shaska]

Oh come on Evans OP has a SN child who sometimes forgets to take his cereal bowl to the kitchen in the morning rush, and the cat jumps in, she's here for advice and she's hardly saying she's putting cups of milk all over the place.

I turned my back for two seconds yesterday and the lamb had her head in my bowl of yoghurt, it happens to all of us. Or at least, it happens to me. My two are both dairy fiends and scarf up anything milky they can get their paws on. They seem fine on it, though it's never much, so I've never really worried.

I love that we're all genuinely considering suggesting the OP sends her whole household dairy-free. A well trained bunch of cat-servants, we are!

(PS cozie I absolutely love that on the 'NEVER GIVE CATS LACTOSE' thread you've managed to admit that seniorboy gets squirty cream. Though actually, interesting, the vast majority of lactose is in the water part of milk rather than the creamy part - it's why mildly lactose intolerant people are often ok with yoghurt and cheese. So perhaps the squirty cream just doesn't have enough lactose to trigger him!)

[Fluffycloudland77]

Soya milk? It has calcium in it.

Cows milk isn't great for humans anyway, I've been allergic for 10 years & I don't get colds anymore.

Oddly others on the allergy board agree about the colds thing.

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

So Imbatdog you shouldn't be allowing her the opportunity to get it from your children's breakfast bowls. I'm sorry, but I really think you're making silly excuses. You know the milk is upsetting her tummy, but you can't stop her from obtaining it. Either you supervise your children with their breakfast milk, give them toast instead, or don't keep a cat.
Three choices - you have to choose one.

I've had cats for 37 years, have two (now grown) children and have various little visitors who drink milk, as do we all. There is no excuse for allowing a cat to eat or drink something they shouldn't within the house.

[juneybean]

I've only used it in my coffee so far and it tasted fine!

[ImBatDog]

i've never tried it personally, be interesting to know though :)

[cozietoesie]

OK then - try the changes as suggested up-thread. Either organisational or substituting lacto-free milk for the ordinary stuff in their cereal.

Has anyone tasted the lacto-free milk? (I'm very sensitive to the taste of milk so fascinated to know whether it comes across as 'normal'.)

[ImBatDog]

dont give it to her, she's sometimes getting it from the kids breakfast dishes if they forget to empty them, as i said in my op!

[EvansOvalPiesYumYum]

Okay then, so now you know, just give her water

Even if she thinks she wants milk, she will very soon forget if you stand firm, and by giving in to her, you're not doing her any favours.

Water, water, water.
Your cat is quite clearly lactose intolerant, so no milk for her. If you know it's upsetting her tummy but you still give it to her, then you are giving it on purpose. It's a no-brainer, really.

[ImBatDog]

i know milk isn't good for them :) Its not given her on purpose, she came from a friend and i know they do give their cat 'cat milk' and we were told that it upset BatCats tummy as a kitten, so they had to keep her away from it.

I know a few cats that drink it, and cows milk without having any of the problem BatCat does.. but like i said, even the smallest amount gives her a runny tummy, and judging by this episode, she got way more than a lick!

Luckily she's keeping it all in the litter tray, but its still not pleasant to clean up, and she's not her normal bouncy self either, i can hear her tum squiggling when she's sat with me!