Baxter & Ziggy's Special Milk (Whiskas Cat Milk)

Member Name: memphisto_chick

Product:	Whiskas Cat Milk
Date:	15/07/08 (173 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low levels of lactose, A nice treat

Disadvantages: Colour is odd, expensive.

On the 12th June, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Thomson, who was 14 years old, after suffering from cancer. Whilst Tom was alive, we daren't have any kind of dairy product down for the other 2 cats, Baxter & Ziggy. Tom was severely allergic to anything dairy, so that put paid to any milk treats, including this cat milk for the other two.

After a trip to the doctors, whilst waiting for a prescription, I popped over to our local Co-Op, always one for a bargain, I found 1 bottle of cat milk in the bargain bin for 20p, and this was because the sell by date was a day away. I thought I would try this as Baxter had loved this as a kitten and he was actually in for an operation on his paw that day, so I thought I'd treat him!

The milk comes in a sweet curved bottle, with a sturdy lid. Beneath the lid is a foil seal, ensuring that nothing is spilt before you get it home. As with all Whiskas products, you have the fat, grey cat on the front. The bottle is ridged, giving a good grip and the instructions are to shake well. Storage instructions are once opened to keep in the fridge and use within 4 days, that's if it last that long! Before opening, it can be kept in the cupboard.

Whiskas Cat Milk is complimentary milk for cats; it shouldn't be given in place of water. What makes it special is it has a much lower level of lactose in the milk that ordinary cow's milk. It also has a special formulation of vitamins suitable for cats.

Each 200ml bottle gives four servings of milk, 50ml each, so between Baxter and Ziggy, enough for them to have two servings, however, I wasn't going to start measuring it out for them, but both of the cats had two bowls, so that was equal enough for me.

Opening the foil seal, I was immediately hit by a sickly sweet smell, this obviously appeals to cat as Baxter who was feeling very sorry for himself in a chair came bounding through to the kitchen. The milk is a lot thicker than cow's milk with a yellow colour, I am not sure how this appealed to the cats but to me, it looked like a kind of lightly coloured banana milkshake which had gone off!

Pouring into the bowl, I noticed that the consistency wasn't as thick as I initially thought, it was the consistency of single cream and once poured the sweet smell all but disappeared, but this didn't appear to put either Baxter or Ziggy off.

I was initially a bit cautious about giving the cats this, as the last time I gave it to Baxter, he was a kitten and sicked up a little bit and never went back to the bowl. Ziggy had never had any kind of milk, cows meal or cats milk and he isn't as fussed on cheese as Baxter is, so I wondered if actually this was going to make them both ill.

Baxter seemed to be especially taken with the milk but whether this was initially because he'd been starved for his operation and was generally feeling sorry for himself, I'm not sure, but he lapped it up within seconds. Ziggy wasn't quite so keen and left half of the milk. Baxter then swiftly made a move on this and lapped it all up.

After storing in the fridge overnight, I gave the cats the remainder of the milk for their breakfast. The milk hadn't suffered for being in the fridge but both cats turned their noses up at the cold milk and for a good few hours, the milk was left untouched.

At this point, I felt that the milk, even at 20p was a waste and that I wouldn't bother buying it again.

However, once the milk had lost it's chill, both Baxter and Ziggy returned to their bowls and started drinking the milk. Both bowls were licked clean within seconds and Baxter was crying for more. If I did buy this again, I would take this out of the fridge a good few hours before serving as neither liked it cold and had they not gone back to it, it would have been wasted.

I have hesitated in buying this again, for a start, it's not cheap, for a 200ml bottle, in Tesco, you will pay 63p for one or a 3 bottle pack will set you back £1.79. I also wonder about the fickle nature of my cats too, knowing they like something once doesn't mean they'll like it again.

Neither cat suffered any sickness and not to my knowledge, any running tummies, although Ziggy goes out and I am not one to go hunting his poopies. Baxter, who is an indoor cat, didn't have any upset tummies in his tray.

Overall, I can't vouch for the cat's actual experience with this milk, I do think they enjoyed it as they won't eat or drink anything they don't like. I don't think I'll be buying this on a regular basis because of the price and there are so many other things they like as well. However, if I see it at a reduced price again, I will probably buy a bottle for them.

I would recommend this to cat owners, as long as you feel your cats can take the small amount of lactose in the milk and they don't have any severe intolerance to dairy products.

Nutritional Info:
Protein 3.2
Fat 3.3
Ash 0.8
Moisture 87.0
Calcium 0.1
Lactose <0.2
Vitamin D3 100 IU/kg
Vitamin E: 20 mg/kg
Biotin 30 µg/kg
Taurin 700mg/kg

Ingredients:
Milk and milk derivatives, Derivatives of vegetable origin, Minerals.

Suitable for cats and kittens over 6 weeks old.

Thanks for reading xx

Summary: A nice treat for the cats, without too much lactose.