Okay to feed undiluted goat milk?

runekeeper

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Sadly, right now I have another terminal kitty to care for and due to his condition, he has pretty much no appetite. He might lap at canned food a bit, but doesn't seem to want to eat any. He does, however, love Meyenberg goat milk, and continues to drink it. In fact, it's the only thing he'll consume besides water. I'm going to see if I can get him on some appetite stimulants soon, but here's what I'd like to ask: Is it okay if I give him less-dilute or totally undiluted goat milk? I want to make sure he's getting as much nutrition as possible in whatever he's eating, and I have to assume that the less I water down evaporated milk, the more nutrients will be in each bowl. This most recent batch of milk I made was more like one can of milk mixed with 1/3 can of water, so it's thick and rich. I'm not sure how much this alters the calorie content since the nutrition facts seem to be for prepared milk. Would it be okay for me to feed him the milk right from the can without extra water? Or will that upset his stomach?
 
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just mike

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Sadly, right now I have another terminal kitty to care for and due to his condition, he has pretty much no appetite. He might lap at canned food a bit, but doesn't seem to want to eat any. He does, however, love Meyenberg goat milk, and continues to drink it. In fact, it's the only thing he'll consume besides water. I'm going to see if I can get him on some appetite stimulants soon, but here's what I'd like to ask: Is it okay if I give him less-dilute or totally undiluted goat milk? I want to make sure he's getting as much nutrition as possible in whatever he's eating, and I have to assume that the less I water down evaporated milk, the more nutrients will be in each bowl. This most recent batch of milk I made was more like one can of milk mixed with 1/3 can of water, so it's thick and rich. I'm not sure how much this alters the calorie content since the nutrition facts seem to be for prepared milk. Would it be okay for me to feed him the milk right from the can without extra water? Or will that upset his stomach?
I tried to do some quick research on this and could find very little. Have you asked the vet about this yet I take it from your post you have had similar situations regarding terminal kittens. I think maybe a little more info might be helpful. How old is the kitten... what is the kitten's issue, disease, injury etc. ? How long do you think the kitten has?

You are so wonderful to care about this little life and wanting to make his time with you comfortable. Wish I could be of more help. Maybe a call to the vet would help but it being the weekend that might not be possible. Is there an emergency vet you might be able to call and ask just a question? Or perhaps one of the rescue groups in your area might have some insight. Hopefully someone here might have more answers for you.
 

Willowy

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I've used undiluted evaporated milk (cow's milk. . .the lactose is cooked out) before. So I'm sure evaporated goat's milk will be fine too.

And besides, for terminal kitties, they should have anything they want, as long as it doesn't make them feel worse.
 
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runekeeper

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Oh oops, I should have mentioned the cat's age. It's for my kitty Rolly, who is about a month shy of turning 15 years old. He's definitely not a kitten. He was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and there is nothing that could be done for him besides making him comfortable. Due to his cancer, he has next to no appetite, but he continues to drink goat milk. I know it's not much, but it's some nutrition (I'm hoping he can be put on appetite stimulants soon). Unfortunately, the vets around here often times will not give out any sort of advice over the phone - they'll ask that the animal in question be brought in for an exam. I'm not sure how long he has. He's been pretty lethargic the last few days, but seems more so today, like laying down in his litter box and not getting up as much compared to the last few days when he got up seldom, but still more than now. The vet I saw recently said he probably had weeks left, but I worry he's starting to wind down now. It's very hard for me to tell if he's approaching the end of his life or he's got little energy due to not eating much. I've been trying to get him to eat anything - it's been in the past couple days he straight up stopped eating canned food, regardless of the brand or flavor, but he enjoyed goat milk when he was healthy and he continues to drink it now, so that's what I've been giving him. He won't get up to drink it, so I usually have to hold it in front of him to get his attention. If the vet feels he's got enough life left in him to let him continue living and be on the appetite stimulants, I'll do that for him and see what happens. I just have this sense of dread that he doesn't have the weeks left that I was told he would. But if he is okay to continue going on with the meds, I'll feed him straight evaporated milk for maximum nutrition. Thanks very much for the advice in this matter too.
 
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