1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brainstuff. From How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuffed, 2 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogel bomb here. From children's books to TV commercials, 3 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: the idea that cats are wild about milk is everywhere. 4 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: Yet what pop culture fails to show is what happens 5 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: shortly after that bowl of milk is empty. The cute 6 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,480 Speaker 1: kitty peacefully lapping away at a bowl of fresh milk 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: is likely to spend the next few hours suffering from diarrhea, gas, bloating, 8 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: and other unpleasant side effects. Cats, like most adult mammals, 9 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:36,200 Speaker 1: including many humans, are lactose intolerant. That means they lack 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: the enzymes needed to break down lactose the sugars found 11 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: in milk. A bowl of milk isn't likely to be deadly, 12 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: but the after effects are likely to trouble both the 13 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: cat and the owner, who has to clean up the mess. 14 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: If your cat seems to tolerate milk to an extent, 15 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,400 Speaker 1: or if you simply want to offer your cat something special, 16 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: consider milk like any other treat. Since milk has little 17 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: nutritional value to the cat, it's no substitute for proper 18 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: cat food and should be served to the cat with 19 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: the same care that you would any other human foods 20 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: or commercial cat treats. That means making sure that milk 21 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: and other treats make up only ten to of a 22 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: cat's diet. To avoid potential weight problems and the health 23 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: troubles that come with them, consider limiting milk to no 24 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:18,920 Speaker 1: more than twenty to thirty calories per day. That's no 25 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: more than a few spoonfuls. Consider lactose free milk or 26 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:26,400 Speaker 1: goat's milk to reduce digestive problems. But what about kittens. 27 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: Surely they need milk, right, Wild kittens have the ability 28 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: to digest some lactose, their bodies simply aren't designed to 29 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:35,119 Speaker 1: deal with the level of lactose found in cow's milk, 30 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: which has about three times as much lactose as that 31 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: of a mama cat. Drinking cow's milk will not only 32 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: give kitten's diarrhea, but will actually cause them to slowly 33 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: starve to death if their diet isn't properly supplemented. The 34 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: ratio of cassin's and whey, which are milks molecular keepers 35 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 1: of proteins, fats, and sugars in cow's milk, is nowhere 36 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: near sufficient to support a growing kitten. If you're attempting 37 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: to nurse kittens without the help of their mom, pick 38 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: up special cats milk at the pet store. This milk 39 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: is specially formulated to provide the right ratio of Casin's 40 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,600 Speaker 1: and way to meet the nutritional needs of kittens without 41 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: the painful digestive issues associated with cow's milk. Today's episode 42 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: was written by Bambi Turner and produced by Tristan McNeil. 43 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other practical topics, 44 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.