Newborn kittens or kittens that are not yet adults may experience indigestion when fed cat food due to their fragile intestines. They need to be breastfed to obtain the necessary nutrients to sustain their lives. However, due to various reasons, not all kittens can drink enough breast milk. In cases where the mother cat is nursing too many kittens or the kittens have been adopted prematurely, the kittens may need to be artificially fed.
Artificially fed kittens, especially those only one or two months old, have weak and underdeveloped digestive systems. They cannot eat dry, hard food and may not even eat on their own. Therefore, kitten milk powder is the best choice. This refers to kitten-specific milk powder, not infant formula or formula for both cats and dogs. However, the pet market has low barriers to entry and lacks the rigorous vetting mechanisms of countries like the US, resulting in a wide variety of kitten milk powder of varying quality, including many cheap and substandard products. Faced with these consumer pitfalls, how can we ensure our kittens receive safe and reliable milk? As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. When choosing kitten milk powder, quality is paramount. It's better to pay a little more than to compromise your kitten's health for a cheap option. 
Common types of milk include cow's milk, goat's milk, lactose-free milk, cat milk powder (made from processed cow's milk), and infant formula. Both cow's milk and goat's milk contain lactose, which can cause diarrhea in lactose-intolerant kittens. However, lactose-tolerant kittens can drink them. Both cow's milk and goat's milk are low in protein, and compared to cat milk, they are nutritionally insufficient. This may lead to chronic stunted growth, wasting death, or even if the kitten survives, stunted growth and a weak constitution. In such cases, if you have limited resources and can only choose between cow's milk and goat's milk, please prioritize goat's milk. Goat's milk fat globules are smaller than cow's milk fat globules, making it easier for some fat-intolerant kittens to absorb. Goat's milk fat also doesn't cause diarrhea as frequently as cow's milk fat.
Lactose-free milk is made from cow's or goat's milk and is better for kittens with lactose intolerance. If the kitten also has fat intolerance, low-fat lactose-free milk should be used. The fiber content in some lactose-free milk may not be suitable for all kittens because kittens' constitutions vary greatly. For kittens with sensitive constitutions, even slight differences in composition can cause gastrointestinal upset. However, for kittens with good constitutions who are not very sensitive to the fiber in lactose-free milk, it is safe to give them this milk. However, lactose-free milk is also low in protein, and like cow's and goat's milk, long-term consumption may lead to chronic stunted growth, wasting death, or even if the kitten survives, stunted growth and a weak constitution. Therefore, purchasing high-quality, lactose-free, low-fat kitten milk powder through legitimate channels is the best choice. There are many world-renowned brands of cat milk powder. For buyers with limited resources, if your cat is lactose tolerant, and considering that some milk powder may be adulterated with lactose-containing formula, you can buy Dutch Vibram kitten milk powder or German Ginger kitten milk powder. However, for safety, prepare lactase tablets. If a definitive test confirms that the kitten's diarrhea is caused by consuming these smuggled cat milk powders, it is necessary to immediately change its food and give the kitten 1/4 of a lactase tablet (crushed into powder with a spoon and mixed with warm water or warm milk).
You might be a little disappointed by the quality of cat milk powder after reading this, so be sure to check the ingredients carefully when choosing. For example, goat milk powder uses goat milk as its main ingredient. Some better quality goat milk powders are fortified with vitamins, trace elements, lecithin, unsaturated fatty acids, amino acids, taurine, fructooligosaccharides, and many other nutrients, making them rich in dozens of natural antibodies, various active immune factors, and growth-promoting factors. All of these are beneficial to cats.
However, if you haven't lost faith in domestically sold infant formula, you can choose that option. But as everyone knows, many imported and domestically produced infant formulas in China also have quality issues, so feeding kittens formula-mixed with baby formula isn't 100% safe; there's always a chance and risk involved. If you're going to feed your kittens formula-mixed with baby formula, please be sure to buy stage 1 skimmed lactose-free infant formula and consult with kitten breeders who have extensive experience feeding kittens formula-mixed with baby formula. The ratio of baby formula to baby formula requires skill and is quite complicated to calculate; you need to patiently convert the protein content to the appropriate volume of water.
Finally, when buying kitten milk powder, be sure to carefully read the mixing ratio and the recommended feeding amount based on the kitten's weight on the instructions. Only feed the kitten according to the recommended feeding amount in this summary if you don't know its weight (the recommended feeding amount in this summary is generally a lower limit based on actual observation of the daily feeding amount of sick kittens; healthy kittens actually need more milk). The total daily feeding amount in this summary may be lower as the kitten's actual weight increases. If you find that your kitten's total daily feeding amount under normal circumstances is higher than the total daily feeding amount in this summary, as long as the kitten can digest the milk, has normal bowel movements, and doesn't have diarrhea, it is normal and there is no need to panic.
