Cats love sour cream.
If your favorite breed isn’t a fan of this creamy food, there are ways you can feed it.
Since cream doesn’t contain enough nutrients to keep cats fed for longer than a few hours, you have to feed it periodically.
So, can cats eat sour cream? When cats drink or lick something containing a lot of moisture they eliminate often and produce more urine than the usual amount — this is normal as it is one of the ways their bodies protect itself against contracting worms.
In addition, when cats eat or drink excessively in one sitting the intestine swells and is prone to developing blood clots which can lead to vomiting or diarrhea.
However, when cats eat sour cream slowly with a meal or snack they rarely end up eating too much or experiencing these digestive problems that are caused by eating too quickly or in excess.
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Can Cats Eat Sour Cream?
For cats, sour cream is an excellent source of nutrients and contains vitamins A, D and E as well as essential fatty acids.
Although a little amount of sour cream will not hurt a cat’s health when consuming it in moderation, excess intake of sour cream can be harmful.
In fact, since most cats love sour cream it can lead to health problems if consumed in large amounts.
That’s not to say a dab of sourcream on a slice of bread would hurt your cat, never feed your cat anything but a dab of cream on bread regardless.
However, even a tiny quantity of sour cream can irritate a cat’s stomach and intestines if consumed in excess.
Is Sour Cream Okay for Cats?
Cats are not lactose intolerant and can tolerate sour cream without experiencing stomach upsets or other digestive issues.
It does, however, include a little quantity in a cat’s diet to make it balanced and healthy.
A tiny bit of sour cream may upset a feline’s stomach so it is advisable to take it in moderation while feeding it to cat.
If you want to offer sour cream to your cat, make sure it’s plain and unsweetened and does not contain any extra flavoring or ingredients.
Is Sour Cream Bad for Cats?
Even if your cat is lactose intolerant, you may feed it small amounts of sour cream.
If your cat is not lactose intolerant, moderate intake of it can benefit its digestive system.
Sour cream has a relatively high fat content, cats should be fed in moderation.
The second adverse effect of consuming too much fat won’t happen right away but down the road as your cat ages and fat accumulates in its body; this can lead to an increased risk of diabetes.
How Much Sour Cream Can You Feed Your Cat?
Sour cream isn’t poisonous to cats, but don’t let your cat eat too much.
Still, as we’ve shown, sour cream isn’t the best diet for cats; it’s best to stick to cat foods specifically designed to meet their nutritional needs.
We suggest just giving your cat a dab of it on bread for a snack once or twice a day.
If your cat is lactose intolerant, sour cream can be upsetting to a cat’s digestive system; if your cat’s tummy gets upset don’t hesitate to contact your veterinarian.
It does not contain lactose so it is not harmful to cats who are lactose intolerant.
The same is true for cats with grain allergies.
Nonetheless, it’s very important to give your cat only small amounts of sour cream because it usually contains other ingredients that aren’t good for cats.
After you’ve seen how your cat reacts, try increasing the amount you give your cat by a little at a time to see if with patience you’ll be able to slowly increase the dose without upsetting its stomach.
Also Read: Can Cats Have Cream Cheese?
Conclusion
Because sour cream is not dangerous for cats to eat, you should be able to give your cat a dab of it on bread once a day or once every other day as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
Many cats, however, are lactose intolerant, so it’s best to give a cat sour cream in moderation and then wait a few days to see what happens so that you can adjust the amount accordingly.
Even if your cat has no adverse reactions to sour cream, it is important to be aware that other ingredients in sour cream may not be good for it and you should therefore be careful to monitor your pet’s response and discontinue use if needed.
Overeating sour cream may lead to an upset stomach including vomiting and diarrhea.