IS CHEESE GOOD FOR CATS?
If you have a cat at home, you know that cheese is usually attractive to her. However, you may want to know if cats can eat cheese or if this food can harm them.
Cheese is a source of animal protein and contains a considerable amount of fat and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.
Although cheese is a high-protein food with some beneficial fats, most adult cats cannot eat cheese because they are lactose intolerant.
While baby cats are lactating, mother’s milk is the only ideal food to meet all their nutritional needs because their bodies produce an enzyme called lactase, which is responsible for digesting the lactose present in breast milk.
But when cats complete their weaning period and are ready to experience new foods, their body progressively decreases the production of this enzyme.
Most adult cats become lactose intolerant since their body does not produce lactase to digest dairy products.
Adult cats can develop digestive problems such as gas, vomiting, or diarrhea if they consume milk, cheese, or other dairy products.
For this reason, although cheese is not one of the prohibited foods for cats, its consumption should be moderate to prevent digestive problems.
In addition, we must emphasize that even though cheese offers a good supply of protein and fat, it should not replace meat, beef, chicken, turkey, or fish.