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According to 15 Foods to avoid, it states that diary products should not be allow for cats and dogs. However, has an exception for plain yogurt and cottage cheese.

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I used to give my cat the leftover yogurt on the surface of the cup (not plain, eg. Aloe Vera yogurt), and she enjoyed it. This is to give her some probiotic for digestion as she's getting old. Sometimes she will get soft stool the next day, but did not vomit. I thought this will be good since she tend to have very hard stool. Does this mean that it is safe for cats to digest minimial amount of such yogurt? Is it harmful to them in any way??

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Sure it can.

In general, dogs and cats react similarly to humans on dairy products: Some can eat them just fine, others will get diarrhea.

So they're essentially lactose intolerant or not.

Yoghurt and cottage cheese are an exception, since they contain very low amounts of lactose (since it's destroyed by the bacteria during production).

Basically you may feed your dog or cat some milk, cheese or yoghurt. If it starts getting (significant) diarrhea from it, stop it, if not, then everything is fine. It's basically one of those "stay away and you're on the safe side" things to do.

But as the article mentions (and it's the same for humans): Don't buy that yoghurt just because it says it's got valuable bacteria in there or whatever special effects. It's really minimal, especially considering that stuff has to survive being digested as well. :)

Also if your cat (or dog) has a very hard stool, you might want to try adding a teaspoon of oil to their food (e.g. canola oil for dogs; not sure about cats). If you're unsure, ask your vet, as not all kinds of oil are similarly healthy for them.

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  • Thanks for the suggestions. Do think those fish oil capsule be good? – Win.T Jan 7 '15 at 10:40
  • @Win.T Might be worth a try, but those might be a tad bit more expensive. – Mario Jan 7 '15 at 14:56
  • maybe try one or two see it helps with her skin as well as digestion.. Great idea from u too .. Thanks ;) – Win.T Jan 7 '15 at 15:08
  • @Win.T Erm... It's not such a good idea to give cats oil. They generally have very sensitive pancreas, so excessive oil can result in pancreatitis. Mineral oil (paraffin oil) is, at one hand, safer (because it can't be digested and 'comes out' as it is), but on the other, not so much (because, first, it has neither taste, nor smell, and can be inhaled by accident and damage lungs, and second, if used regularly, it impedes absorption of nutrients from intestines because it simply covers the surface, and nutrients can't get through it). – Kaworu Jan 12 '15 at 8:05
  • @Kaworu I think it all boils down to "Ask your vet." in case the issue overall is really serious. Wouldn't start trying to do anything with paraffin to be honest. Although just trying some different food might work as well. – Mario Jan 12 '15 at 8:17

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