Rice Milk as a Treat?

thevegancuddler

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So my kitty Sophie is in love with rice milk. I buy it for myself and drink it, but I've noticed that every time I leave a cup out, I hear a lapping noise, and turn around to see her face in it. =P I used to let her have a bit of it as a kitten, before I realized that, durr, cats shouldn't really be eating rice products, let alone ones with lots of additives.

But is rice milk as a treat now and again a bad thing? If it's okay, how much would you say is an acceptable amount? She seems to really love it, so I'd like to give it to her occasionally, if it won't do much damage. Last time I let her have some, there were no digestive issues that I noticed.
 

franksmom

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As cats are obligate carnivors rice milk is not something they can easily digest. On top of that most rice milk has sugar added which is super dangerous for cats and I would for sure never let her drink it. A milk treat that would be safe to give her would be goats milk it is more easily digestable than cows milk. Another safe treat I sometimes give my kitten is plain yogurt without any additives, she really loves it. 
 
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ldg

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My general philosophy in feeding treats is "all things in moderation."

That said, my understanding is that rice milk is basically pure carbs. Most have calcium, some vitamins, and maybe some fat added.

Brown rice (which is what rice milk is made from) has been shown to mess with cats' blood sugar levels.

Also, a problem with rice in general is the arsenic issue. http://m.naturalnews.com/news/041976_brown_rice_arsenic_food_contamination.html

If feeding commercial poultry based foods, kitty is already exposed to arsenic.

So while I doubt a small amount (like a few licks, not like a teaspoon) infrequently is going to do any long term harm, it's not a treat without issues.
 

ldg

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I was posting from my phone so didn't have access to the bookmarks on my laptop. Sorry, the issue with brown rice is the rice bran (which wouldn't be present in rice milk, I don't think? :dk: ), and the issue is that it depletes taurine, not that it impacts blood sugar levels. That's just carbs in general.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/rice-bran-no-good-for-cats/
 

twinklelight

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As a vegetarian who does not drink animal milk, I drink a lot of soy and rice milks. I've even made my own rice milk on occasion.  I can tell you that most of the major brands offer unsweetened versions of the product and many are organic as well,  It may not be as high in carbs and added sugar as you may think, even the regular versions .I do not consider it a dangerous treat for cats. So long as it's not a major component of the cat's daily diet, I think it's fine.  Cats are not designed to eat any type of grain but it's to my understanding that rice is one of the easier grains for them to digest.   At any rate, so long as your cat doesn't seem to be having digestive troubles from the rice milk, I think it's okay as a treat.  If you're really unsure about this, ask your vet about what he/she thinks.  I'm curious now to see if my cats would like it...I've never tried it with them.  
 

ldg

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Here's a link to the Rice Dream original: http://www.tastethedream.com/products/product/1458/202.php

It has no sweeteners added.

Ingredients: filtered water, organic brown rice (partially milled), expeller pressed high oleic safflower oil, sea salt.

It has 24g of carbs, of which 11g are sugar. Given it has 2.5g of fat and 1g of protein, it's mostly carbs, of which almost half is sugar. The issue is how it's made: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_milk

Rice milk is a kind of grain milk processed from rice. It is mostly made from brown rice and commonly unsweetened. The sweetness in most rice milk varieties is generated by a natural enzymatic process, cleaving the carbohydrates into sugars, especially glucose...
While I don't think rice milk is "dangerous" for cats, carbs in the form of glucose do cause their blood glucose concentrations to spike: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2387258/

..one study showed the form of the carbohydrate to have an effect (8). In this study, carbohydrates included as starch did not significantly influence postprandial blood glucose concentrations (3.7 ± 0.7 mmol/L ± s, n = 16) compared with a carbohydrate-free diet (3.2 ± 0.8 mmol/L, n = 14) at 1, 3, or 6 h after feeding. Providing carbohydrate in the form of glucose led to a steep rise in blood glucose concentration 1 h after feeding (5.2 ± 0.7 mmol/L, n = 6), whereas providing carbohydrate in the form of sucrose induced a mild persistent hyperglycemia without marked postprandial changes (4.5 ± 0.5 mmol/L, n = 15). In commercial dry cat diets, carbohydrate is not commonly present as simple sugars, but as more complex starches and fibers.
In giving rice milk as a treat, one is basically giving kitty a form of simple sugar. I personally wouldn't feed sugar to my cat as a treat. I do let them lick my ice cream spoon - though I don't actually give them ice cream.
 
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jorjor

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I wouldn't. Too carby and no protein or fat whatsoever to balance it out. As others have said already, you'd bascially be feeding the cat pure sugar.

 If your cat likes milky things, You could give your cat goat's milk(it has only a fraction of the lactose of cow's milk) as an occasional treat,  but plant-based milks I wouldn't reccomend.
 
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twinklelight

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Just want to point out that the Unsweetened version of Rice Dream has only 11 carbs per 1 cup serving and >1g sugar.  If your cat is really keen on Rice Milk as a treat, might wanna get the unsweetened version for her :)  Pacifica also makes an unsweetened version.
 

twinklelight

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The one you linked to is for the Original Classic version.  Here's the one I'm referring to: http://www.tastethedream.com/products/product/5238/202.php     Oh, and I take back what I said about Pacifica...I thought they, too, had an unsweetened version but I may have mixed it up with one of their other unsweetened milks (they also do nut milks and soymilks) Sorry about that.  But there are other brands out there that do make unsweetened versions, they just may be harder to find.  There's also all sorts of recipes online on how to make your own rice milk and that allows you to control what goes into it.
 

ldg

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Thanks. I wonder what >1g means? :lol3:

Also, this one has carrageenan (a soy derivative) and xantham gum (usually from corn). Just for people reading the thread with cats with sensitivities or IBD.
 

twinklelight

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What I can't figure out is how come this one is 'unsweetened', yet the original one doesn't have any added sugar in it that I can see as well as a more simple ingredient list.. Must be something in how they process the rice?  Go figure.
 
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