While cats are often depicted in popular culture as drinking milk, the reality is that most cats are lactose intolerant and should not consume cows milk. Drinking milk can cause digestive issues like diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. However, if a cat tries milk and doesnt have any negative reactions, they can consume whole, skim, or lactose-free milk in very small amounts. Cream is also an alternative since it has less lactose than whole or skim milk. Its much safer for cats to avoid milk altogether, and its up to the owner to provide their cat with healthy food and avoid unhealthy ingredients. There are lactose-free milk substitutes for cats, such as CatSip and CatSure, that have been developed to lessen the risk of digestive problems in cats. These products can be purchased online, in several large grocery stores, and in most pet supply stores. However, its important to note that drinking special lactose-free milk does not guarantee that a cat will not have an unpleasant reaction, so its best to avoid feeding it to kittens. The only milk that should be fed to orphaned kittens or those needing additional supplementation is milk produced by female cats or products that have been designed to mimic cats milk as closely as possible, such as PetAg KMR liquid milk supplement and PetAg KMR powder milk supplement.