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Originally Posted by alinochka  Dogs and cats are not lactose intolorant for the simple reason that as puppys or kittens they drink milk. which is lactose, so they are not lactose intolorant. right?  |
Yes, puppies and kittens drink their mothers milk. You have to remember that every species milk is different.
Here is a website that has a chart with the makeup of milk from different species. It shows the percentage of fat, protein, lactose and water in the milk of each species. You can see that dogs and cats have a lower percentage of lactose in their milk than cows milk does. You can also see that both dog and cat milk is much higher in fat and especially protein than cow's milk and contains less water than cows milk.
http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=682
Also, puppies and kittens are able to digest lactose a little better than adult animals. Puppies and kittens only drink their mother's milk for the first 4-8 weeks of life.
So far as goat's milk, it is lower in lactose than cows milk which is why it would be better to give than cows milk.
There are kitten and puppy milk replacement formulas out there. These formulas are specifically designed for that species, are lower in lactose than cows milk, and contain the exact ratio of nutrients that that species requires.
Some dog's are more lactose intolerant than others so if you want to feed your dog dairy products, I would just start with a small amount and see how it tolerates it.