In a viral video, a TikToker is seen buying a cup of milk at Starbucks for her cat. Viewers are conflicted about it.
In the video, user @rylo_the_cat is seen at a Starbucks drive-through window ordering a “tall cup of cold milk.” The worker initially hears “oat milk,” but the cat owner quickly clears up that she’d like “regular” cow’s milk.
She then pivots to show her orange cat Rylo who is lying in the passenger seat and she attempted to put a seat belt on—tho it ends up barely grazing the top of his body.
“At first I was like eww milk, and then I saw the little cutie it was for,” a commenter wrote.
The video has more than 640,000 views and over 330 comments.
@rylo_the_cat 👑’s orders #cat #catsofinstagram #kitten #kittenlife #starbucksdrinks #starbucks #fyp #kittensofinstagram #catlovers #orangecat ♬ original sound – RYLO
Many commenters pointed out that Rylo actually shouldn’t be drinking milk.
“This is adorable but regular milk is bad for kitties,” a top comment read.
“That’s going to upset his little stomach,” a person wrote.
Despite the multitude of images in pop culture of cats drinking milk, felines should actually stay away from the dairy product once they ween off their mother’s milk about four to 10 weeks after birth, USA Today reported.
The truth is while cats can drink milk, most are lactose intolerant. Giving them cow’s milk can cause digestive issues, leading to diarrhea, bloating, and gas. This is true whether the milk is whole or skim. The reason is, after they ween off their mother’s milk, cats have reduced lactase production, so they’re unable to break down the enzymes in the milk enough to properly digest it.
Milk is also fattening, and if consumed in high quantities, can cause feline obesity and other health issues. While some may look to dairy-free milk as an alternative, experts say these products have too low of a nutritional value for cats.
In a follow-up video, Rylo’s caretaker explained what she actually did with the dairy beverage.
“I figured I would come on here and address comments like this on my last video because I forgot people love to hate on this app,” the cat owner said.
She explained that she didn’t give Rylo any of the milk since he has “plenty” of food and treats at home.
She bought the cup of milk just for the TikTok and “the laughs” since she knows people commonly associate milk with cats. She added that she didn’t even end up drinking it and threw the milk away.
“He is healthy, he is not sh*tting himself, and it was not for him,” she cleared up.
A commenter pointed out that the comments weren’t meant to be hateful but to clear up information about what kittens can and can’t consume.
“it’s about misinformation. It could make others give their cats milk and they get sick bc of a joke but ppl should be able to do their own research,” a person wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to @rylo_the_cat via Instagram comment.
