Can Cats Drink Rice Milk?

Most people don't realize that rice milk is essentially just rice-flavored water with minimal nutrition—even for humans. For cats, it's even worse. Rice milk seems like a safe lactose-free option if your cat can't handle dairy. No lactose, no problem, right? Wrong. While rice milk won't cause the immediate digestive upset that regular milk does, it's still a terrible choice for cats. Cats are obligate carnivores who need nutrients from meat, not from grain-based drinks. Rice milk is nutritionally empty for cats—it's carbohydrates and water, neither of which cats actually need.

Rice milk is not toxic in the way chocolate or grapes are toxic. A few laps won't poison your cat. But safe doesn't mean appropriate. Rice milk is made by blending rice with water and straining out the solids. What's left is mostly water with some carbohydrates and very little else. Cats don't digest carbohydrates well—their bodies are designed to break down protein and fat from meat. When you give a cat rice milk, you're giving them something their digestive system wasn't built to handle efficiently. Many commercial rice milks also contain added oils, sweeteners, stabilizers, and flavorings. Some contain xylitol, which is extremely toxic to cats.

The logic makes sense on the surface. Your cat can't have regular milk because of lactose, so you reach for a dairy alternative. You have rice milk in the fridge for yourself, it seems harmless, why not share? Or maybe you're following a plant-based diet and want to avoid animal products for your cat too. The problem is that cats didn't evolve to drink plant-based milk of any kind. They evolved to get moisture from prey—which is animal tissue, blood, and organs, not processed grain drinks. Rice milk might be a health-conscious choice for humans, but it's nutritionally useless for cats.

All plant-based milks are problematic for cats, but some are worse than others.

Cats are carnivores. Their bodies expect nutrients to come from animal sources, not from grains. Rice milk is essentially processed rice and water—it provides carbohydrates that cats don't need and can't utilize efficiently. Unlike humans, who can derive energy from carbohydrates, cats are designed to get energy from protein and fat. When you give a cat rice milk, you're giving them empty calories that don't support their health in any way. Rice milk also lacks every nutrient cats actually need—no taurine, no appropriate vitamin A, no arachidonic acid. It's basically flavored water with carbs.

Problems are more likely with regular feeding or sweetened varieties.

Technically yes, but that's a very low bar. Regular milk causes digestive upset in most adult cats because of lactose. Rice milk doesn't have lactose, so it won't cause that specific problem. But rice milk has its own issues—high carbohydrates that cats can't process well, potential additives, and zero nutritional value. If your cat is lactose intolerant and you want to give them something milk-like, lactose-free cat milk is infinitely better. It's formulated for feline digestion and provides at least some appropriate nutrition. Rice milk is just grain water.

If you want to give your cat a special drink, skip the plant-based milks entirely. Lactose-free cat milk is designed for cats and comes in flavors they actually enjoy. Plain water is always the best hydration choice—fresh, clean, and available all day. Low-sodium bone broth made specifically for cats can be a nice occasional treat that actually provides some nutrition. Wet cat food is 70-80% water and gives hydration along with proper nutrients. But the honest truth is that cats don't need milk at all after they're weaned. The idea that cats should drink milk is a cultural myth, not a biological need.

Absolutely not. Kittens need either mother's milk or kitten formula. Rice milk provides nothing kittens need for growth and development.

If your cat had a small amount of plain, unsweetened rice milk, they're probably fine. But check the label and monitor for symptoms.

No. Rice milk is lactose-free, which means it won't cause the specific digestive problems that dairy milk causes. But lactose-free doesn't equal cat-appropriate. Rice milk is high in carbohydrates that cats don't need. It lacks protein, taurine, and other nutrients cats require. It's basically just rice-flavored water with empty calories. If you need a lactose-free milk option for your cat, use lactose-free cat milk that's specifically formulated for felines. It's designed to be digestible and palatable without causing the problems that dairy milk or plant-based milks create.

No. Daily rice milk would be terrible for your cat. Even though it's not toxic, regular consumption provides nothing beneficial and can cause problems. The high carbohydrate content could contribute to weight gain, especially if your cat is indoor and not very active. Cats don't process carbohydrates efficiently—they're designed to run on protein and fat. Over time, regularly filling your cat's stomach with nutritionally empty rice milk means they're consuming fewer calories from actual nutritious food. This could lead to nutritional imbalances. Plus, if your cat gets used to flavored drinks, they might start refusing plain water—and that's a real problem if they ever get sick and need to stay hydrated.

Rice milk doesn't contain common allergens like dairy, soy, or nuts, which might seem like it's safe for allergic cats. But cats with food allergies are typically allergic to specific proteins, most commonly chicken, beef, or fish. Rice milk doesn't help with these allergies because it's not providing an alternative protein source—it's providing carbohydrates. If your cat has food allergies, they need a limited-ingredient diet or hydrolyzed protein diet recommended by your vet, not rice milk. Rice milk doesn't solve food allergies; it just adds unnecessary carbohydrates to their diet.