Cats are picky eaters, but the only salty treat they love to eat is cheese. But you should feed them with cheese only in moderate amounts. Vets often recommend that pet parents drain the liquid from cheese and sneak pills into the pet. Cheese can be a fabulous and enticing appetizer that can be thrown into cat’s food in limited amounts.
Is cheese bad for a cat’s health?
Cats are lactose intolerant. But as compared to other dairy products, including yogurt, cheese has low lactose, which acts as a good source of protein for cats. Individual cats have their design of the digestive system. It is vivid that some cats can tolerate a few cheese slices, but some may find dairy products unsuitable for their furry companion’s digestive system. Therefore if even a slice of cheese is fed to lactose-intolerant kittens and adult cats, it can severely damage their digestive tract. There is a popular belief that cats love to drink milk, but in reality, milk is not a cat’s regular natural diet, and they may not digest milk and dairy products. This is because cats are obligated carnivorous, and their digestive system is designed to work well with a meat-based diet only.
Humans and other animals can produce lactase enzymes in their bodies that actively break down lactose in dairy products, but cats are sensitive to dairy products as their bodies can’t break down lactose. So their intestinal tract can’t process dairy, making them lactose intolerant.
What type of cheese can be fed to cats?
While sneaking cheese into your pet’s food, consider the variety of cheese you are using, and it should be the best among others. Cottage cheese has non-fat and non-dairy varieties that are designed especially for consumers who are lactose intolerant. Cheese of those varieties has lactose removed and supplemented with the right enzymes to quickly break down in lactose-sensitive guts.
Cheddar
You can give this popular cheese to your cats since it is semi-hard and suitable for lactose-sensitive cats. The amount of lactose in it is very minor, but you shouldn’t overfeed cats as they might end up having an upset stomach.
Swiss
Like cheddar, this type of cheese is low in lactose and has low sodium and fat. It contains high proteins. Feed your cat with Swiss cheese but in moderate amounts.
What kind of cheese should be avoided?
Mozzarella
Mozzarella cheese is not fit for cats, irrespective of whether you give cooked or raw cheese to cats. Pizza contains mozzarella cheese and causes health hazards since it contains lactose in higher amounts. So it creates adverse effects on lactose-intolerant cats and kittens.
Blue cheese
Penicillium mold is used to make blue cheese, which is highly toxic to cats and some humans.
Brie
This type of cheese is prepared from raw milk that contains listeria pathogens as well as Salmonella. It causes diarrhea and severe illness to cats.
Can kittens be fed with cottage cheese?
Kittens consume milk, so you might think cheese can be given to kittens. Kittens produce little lactase enzymatic, so they can tolerate their mother’s milk as the enzymes help digest it naturally. But their ability to produce lactase enzymes reduces gradually. As kittens start adapting solid food for cats, their ability to digest milk and dairy products disappears slowly. So it is best advised not to offer dairy products to them, including cheese. Secondly, kittens need sufficient nutrients inadequate requirements for proper growth and development. Feeding them cheese or cottage cheese may cause intestinal problems and digestion issues that permanently weaken their intestines. One such common issue can be loose poop.
What cheese do cats like?
Feed your cat with cottage cheese in limited amounts to see how their digestive tract reacts to it. If you have seen your cat safely digesting small portions of cottage cheese, then try giving a low lactose variety of cheese without any fear.
Are cats lactose intolerant?
Tolerance to lactose varies in cats. It also depends on the type of cottage cheese used as different cheeses possess different amounts of lactose. Younger cheese has higher lactose content as compared to aged cheese. On the other hand, goat cheese is better than milk cheese as they contain less lactose. Make a careful selection of cottage cheese before feeding your cats.
Cats with a dairy allergy
Cottage cheese is provided to lactose tolerant cats, and dairy allergic cats can face digestive issues that can weaken their immune system. They may face other allergic reactions as well-
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Inflammation
- Loss of hair
- Constipation
- Itchy or red skin patches
Contact your vet if your cat tends to show all the above unseal symptoms.
A cat’s daily calories intake should only be 8-10% from foods and treats other than the regular nutrition-based diet. Cottage cheese is a famous human food that is high in calories. Give your cat one ounce of cottage cheese that can form 8-20% of calorie intake.
What will happen if cottage cheese is given regularly to cats?
If cats are fed with cottage cheese regularly, then it will result in chronic health problems. If consumed daily, this cottage cheese may result in weight gain, unpleasant conditions, and nutritional imbalances. Don’t worry and fear unnecessarily if your cat has already taken a bit of cottage cheese but don’t let this become a habit of your feline friend. Cottage cheese and dairy products are not suitable for regular feline consumption.
It is important to consider the salt added to cottage cheese. There is more salt in hard cheese than soft cheese. Excess salt is harmful to cats that may result in food poisoning or salt toxicity.
The salt added to cheese is important to keep in mind. Hard but a small portion of cottage cheese won’t be harmful.
Conclusion
Cats may find their ways to cottage cheese and other dairy products. It is not harmful to feed them cottage cheese, but you need to observe their dietary requirements first. In short, it can be said that you can give cottage cheese to your feline friend as treat but determine the fact that it doesn’t cause a severe harmful reaction in their body and affects their health adversely.
Cottage cheese is a dairy product that is not toxic for cats and can be given occasionally. Vets often recommend pet parents to use cottage cheese and sneak the medicine into the cat. It is better than yogurt and a good source of protein.