Can cats eat yogurt?

cass!e

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ha ha. i know it sounds funny, but they love my yogurt. my babies just love to have breakfast with me so usually i give them a spoonful each of my yogurt in the morning...i've heard that it's bad to give them cow's milk... so i wondered if the same thing applies to yogurt. they love their little treat but i don't want to do anything that is going to hurt their digestive systems... could this possibly be why their litterbox stinks so bad?
 

icklemiss21

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Our vet recommends yogurt for constipation - he does say that its better to give them plain than fruit or flavoured - but a spoonful won't hurt them (other than the obvious litterbox symptom).
Scully usually gets a spoonful if I have mine at home rather than when I get to the office (in which case the guard dog gets to lick the lid)
 

slitty_kittay

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Yup, I wouldnt go making a meal of it - so to speak...


Dax likes yoghurt - I only give her plain 10% fat turkish yoghurt, and then only a little when I have some. I would avoid letting them even lick the bowl of a sugary yoghurt on a regular basis.
 

tabaqui

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Luci actually is terribly terribly fond of fruity yogurt for some reason. I have to be careful not to let him see I'm eating it.

On occasion I'll let him have some though. It seems to actually cause him to look and feel better for the next day or so after.
 

avocado

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ok... here is how i understand it. many cats are lactose intolerant... meaning that they do not make the enzyme lactate which is used by the body to break down lactose. yogurt is a unique dairy food in that the natural bacteria in yogurt produces its own lactate, so it comes with the missing digestive enzyme. sort of like that milk that lactose intolerant people can buy that has lactate added... but natural.
 

kittycats74

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Originally Posted by Cass!e

ha ha. i know it sounds funny, but they love my yogurt. my babies just love to have breakfast with me so usually i give them a spoonful each of my yogurt in the morning...i've heard that it's bad to give them cow's milk... so i wondered if the same thing applies to yogurt. they love their little treat but i don't want to do anything that is going to hurt their digestive systems... could this possibly be why their litterbox stinks so bad?
What a coincedence.. I just called my vet last week to ask about that!! Hehe. The receptionist said that plain yogurt is fine.. but never fruit ones!! Which is good because I don't eat as much flavored yogurt as plain
 

moggiegirl

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When milk sours as in the form of yogurt or cottage cheese it becomes digestible to cats. Ann Martin who wrote "Food Pets Die For" uses yogurt and cottage cheese in her home cooked meals for her pets as a source of calcium. Just don't give milk unless it's lactose free or a special cat milk like Whiskas or Catsip cat milk. I think the calcium and protein and taurine in commercially available cat milks make a great supplement.
 

tabaqui

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Is it really that bad for them to eat the fruit ones? And if so, why? See, I'm worried now, because Lucifer never got sick after having some of those, and, as I said, actually looked/acted better... but I don't want to let him have a little bit every couple weeks if they're going to be damaging him despite the outward appearance.
 

moggiegirl

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I would just be concerned about the sugar content in fruit flavored yogurts. I doubt that a taste every now and then is harmful.
 
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