Q: In the book, The Whole Pet Diet, it is suggested that the use of cottage cheese should be limited. Can you explain why? Are there symptoms that a pet has had too much cottage cheese?
A: In general, animals lose their ability to properly digest milk products after weaning due to a decrease in the enzyme called lactase. If animals are constantly exposed to some milk products, they can re-develop proper levels of that enzyme, but in general most are almost like quasi-lactose intolerant. Cottage cheese might be too fatty or high in protein for some animals.
If a pet has been consuming some dairy throughout life, they will likely never have a problem. If dairy is new, they may have some temporary (few weeks) diarrhea while they regain some of these enzymes.
Do you need vet advice? Post a comment with your veterinary questions and we will send them to Dr. Donna Spector to be answered in a future column.
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In the land hermit crab keepers community, it was once thought that crabs could not digest dairy. Now, feeding dairy is a commonly accepted practice among “crabbers.” I only limit dairy in my hermit crabs diet if it is not certified organic. With invertebrates, I believe the hormones are a more pressing concern than the lactase. Besides, calcium is an important nutrient for maintaining exoskeletons.