Can Cats Eat Cheese?

Can cats drink milk and eat cheese? Is it okay just to give a little bit as a treat? I recently had a conversation with a new cat parent and when I asked if he had any questions, he asked me if it was okay to give his cat some milk as a treat? Of course, I responded no. 

Unfortunately, cats are lactose intolerant. When I was a child, I remember my first kitten and we gave it a bowl of warm milk because we assumed cats drank milk. Cartoons, movies, and general knowledge depict cats and kittens lapping milk out of a bowl. Garfield, the most famous cartoon cats favorite food was lasagna. Cats love milk. So if they love it, it must be good for them, right? Wrong. Cat's digestive systems are designed to process raw meat. Anything outside of animal flesh is considered foreign to their systems and will end in vomitting, diarrhea and/or stomach pain. Some cat food companies even have milk or whey as one of their many ingredients. So giving a little bit of cheese or milk to your cat is not a good idea, even if they are begging just a little. 

Fun Fact: Messi's favorite food is pepperoni pizza. After stealing a slice from his dad's plate, he had stomach pain all night.