ELAD.......did you see my post?

[serryjw]

Can I feed a 16 year old cat soy milk?

[Elad]

1. I suppose you could

but I'm not sure why you'd want to, I don't think it would be a good idea. Cats don't need milk of any kind, it is an urban legend that cats thrive on milk. It's actually quite bad for them, mammals are not intended to drink milk past infancy.

Your cat should get all the nutrition they need from their food, if you're feeding them a quality food.

edited to add: that last sentence isn't entirely true, most commercially available cat foods are pretty pathetic, and cats need greens as well (something not found in most foods). But a natural, quality food with proper supplementation is what is needed. Giving a cat milk will likely lead to health problems.

[serryjw]

2. BUT, BUT

he loves it and his age I don't want to deny him anything. Is it better for him than cow's milk that he has a hard time digesting?

[Elad]

3. He may love it

but kids love candy and soda, and all kinds of other things that are really bad for them. They don't know what is good for them, they can't know, it's your responsibility to make those decisions for him.

There's a reason your cat has trouble digesting it. And even if he doesn't have digestive problems on soymilk, I highly doubt he'll find it appetizing. The most loving thing you can do for him is watch out for his health as best you can. If you take care of him he could have many great years in front of him, I've known cats that have lived over 20 years.

But his body is finally unable to keep up with the stress of trying to digest something that it was not designed to digest post-infancy. Continuing to feed it to him is, more than likely, going to cause serious health problems - possibly extremely serious. His body is sending signals that it just can't do it anymore.

Just my two cents.

[serryjw]

4. OK....I'll listen

He really is a feline garbage can. I have never found anything he doesn't like..thanks

[Elad]

5. You're welcome

Obviously you love him a lot. Sometimes that means you gotta make tough decisions, I understand why you don't want to deny him something he enjoys - but he'll be much happier without than he would be if he were to develop health issues that, at his age, could be potentially fatal. You don't want to put anymore stress on his body than you have to, and milk is a stress.

There is a cat food made by a company called O&M, you can find it in natural health food stores (call around, you should be able to find it), for senior cats. It is highly digestible, contains greens, is human-grade meat, contains digestive aids, and is very nutrient-to-calorie dense. If it were my cat, I'd start transitioning him over to that food.

[serryjw]

6. Here it is

thanks
http://www.ompetproducts.com/

[Lorien]

8. Many great holistic brands-food and treats- can be found

here: www.waggintails.com (go to the food section, not just the "for cats" link)

[Lorien]

7. I have a question too

and was told that you might be able to answer it: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=231x1767