Yes or no -- okay to give yogurt to a kitten for some stomach distress?

[gateley]

(If you catch my drift) Just until I can get her to the vet on Tuesday.

I read on one of the zillion message boards on the internets that several people had had good results, one person said s/he used it on the recommendation of the vet.

I got organic, whole milk, 5 cultures (if that's the right term) -- good stuff. Plain, of course.

Many people are saying NEVER give a cat cow milk (which I never had) but someone said there was a big difference between good yogurt with the active cultures and a bowl of milk. I had a hell of a time finding whole milk organic stuff, so getting goat milk yogurt wasn't even an option.

So have any of you given your cat yogurt? If so, do you recommend it?

Thanks -- I'm a wreck. Worrying about her brings back memories of the love of my life, Nero, who died last year :(.

:hi:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. It won't hurt her; could help. My cats love yogurt.

[gateley]

2. Thanks so much. I'll go for moderation -- a couple of teaspoons a day. Many

people on the message boards I read have cats who love yogurt, too!

Since she's just a little kitten, I'm trying to only feed her really good cat food and nothing else (except freeze dried wild salmon and freeze dried chiciken treats :7), but yogurt sure seems innocuous. And all that good bacteria!

:hi:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Also, canned pumpkin helps. Mix it with the yogurt.

[gateley]

4. Everybody raves about the pumpkin! My boss actually brought me in some

today but I left it at work :banghead:

I'm encouraged tonight because she hasn't gone all day (since this morning) and that's definitely a step in the right direction.

Thanks so much again -- I feel good about the yogurt/pumpkin combo (if I can just remember the pumpkin!) and she's going to the vet on Tuesday anyway.

It's a good thing I never had kids, I would have been so overprotective and flipped out about every little thing. Just like I've always done with my cats. :7 :hi:

[david13]

5. My cat eats yogurt. I think he likes the sugar in it. It never bothers

him. He always has to have some of mine.
dc

[gateley]

6. You're right - lots of people have written the same thing, that their

cats are little yogurt thieves. :7 Dont know why I was getting so concerned about the dreaded cow milk! Thanks! :hi:

[Warpy]

7. Milk will give an adult cat the runs

since they lack the enzyme to digest lactose after they're weaned. You might do OK with yogurt since most of the lactose has been consumed by the bacteria, just don't overdo it.

If the cat is vomiting, don't give it anything but fluids. If it's been vomiting for a while, a trip to the emergency vet is in order. Dehydration can kill a cat pretty quickly. Constant vomiting in a cat can be caused by a lot of things, the worst of which is bowel obstruction. Feeding a cat with one of those can be lethal. Water is absorbed through the stomach lining, though.

Yogurt is one thing my cats always begged for, even if they disliked most human food. I've always restricted it to a scoop on a fingertip, though.

If the kitty has loose bowel movements, the last thing you need to give it is any milk product, live cultures or not.

If you need to give it a soft diet, unseasoned strained baby food is the way to go. I never saw a cat yet who'd turn up its nose at strained chicken.

[ginnyinWI]

8. my old kitty tolerates a little milk or half n half.

Just a tiny bit at a time--like a Tablespoon--with no ill effect.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. My cat turns up his nose at yogurt

:shrug:

[BrklynLiberal]

10. Buy acidophilus or probiotic capsules and open them and sprinkle on her food.

Always good for them..and cannot overdose.
If they are loose, it firms it up.
If they are constipated, it helps them go.
Available at most drug stores, all health food stores, and some supermarkets.

Between this and pumpkin, you should be able to solve this problem as long as there is no underlying illness.


This is good for dogs and people as well.

[Butch350]

11. How about brown rice - that's the standard - when in doubt.

[elana i am]

12. yogurt should be fine

it has live cultures that break down most of the lactose into lactase, which is what prevents the lactose intolerance.

[badgerpup]

13. My Sainted Vet...

...who does a lot of naturopathic medicine recommends yogurt (plain, with live cultures) for gastrointestinal upset. It helps encourage the 'good' gut bacteria (we all need bacteria in the gut, otherwise we cannot access a lot of the nutrients of what we eat. Symbiotics...).
She also recommends pumpkin (solid pack, not the 'pie mix') for fiber.