New Kitten!!!

**KRISTEN14** · 04-23-2003, 09:48 AM

I got a kitten for Easter!!! I have wanted one for the last 12 years, but my Dad is alergic to cats. We went to a friends house near Baton Rouge and they had cats, but the cats didn't bother him. So we got to take home a kitten!!! I named him Mokie. Mokie is six weeks old and was eating both Moms milk and dry cat food. I can get him to eat cat food with cows' milk in it but I can't get him to drink formula or water. He only weighs 17 oz. Does any one know how to get him to drink somthing? I tried both bottle and a dish.

**ramanth** · 04-23-2003, 10:36 AM

Congrats on your new addition.

Wish I had advice to give, but I don't. Hopefully someone can help you!

**kimlovescats** · 04-23-2003, 11:03 AM

Congratulations on your new baby!

Cows milk can give kittens and adult cats diarrhea ... so watch for that!!! A kitten with diarrhea can dehydrate really quickly! I would recommend giving your kitten a high quality canned kitten food. Wet (canned) food has lots of water in it ... so until baby is used to drinking water from the bowl ... it will not dehydrate! You can by Iams kitten foods at Wal-Mart ... they are very good quality! They are a little more expensive .... but you can change over to something more affordable (if you need to) when the kitten is a few months old! Pick up a few cans of Iams canned kitten food (in the purple cans) from Wal-Mart and kitty should be fine with that! Still leave a fresh water bowl out as well, because she needs to learn to drink from that too!

Good luck, keep us posted on her!

Kim

**moosmom** · 04-23-2003, 07:09 PM

What Kimlovescats said!!

Also...you can ask the vet for a syringe without the needle on it and try pushing fluids that way. Cats are by nature, lactose intolerant (most are anyways) so cow's milk isn't good for them. KMR mixed with a little canned food might do the trick.

Keep us posted and pictures please!!

**jenluckenbach** · 04-23-2003, 07:51 PM

Congratulations on the new kitten!

**krazyaboutkatz** · 04-23-2003, 11:13 PM

Welcome to Pet Talk and congrats on the new kitten.

I can't wait to hear more about him and see some pictures too.

**IttyBittyKitty** · 04-24-2003, 05:59 AM

I just got myself a new kitty too after two years of not owning a cat so I know it is a great feeling! As the others pointed out, cow's milk does not agree with their little tummies. I think it is probably a good idea to visit your vet or local animal shelter for some advice and to get kitty looked at.

Good luck!

**KRISTEN14** · 04-24-2003, 08:09 AM

ok ok, milk did make him loose. He went all over me.

Now I'm giving him baby food chicken mixed with dry cat food. He thinks its better than milk. I don't have pictures yet.

**emily_the_spoiled** · 04-24-2003, 10:50 AM

If you aren't close to a store that sells KMR or other kitten milk you might want to try Lactaid milk. You can buy it in your local grocery store, since the lactose sugar has been treated you should not have problems with diarrhea.

Congratulations.

**kimlovescats** · 04-24-2003, 11:55 AM

Hi again, Kristen!

Yes, chicken baby food is fine to give kittens! My vet suggested it for one of my litters as their first solid food. Good 'old Gerbers!

Pictures soon PLEASE!

**KRISTEN14** · 04-24-2003, 12:18 PM

I don't know how to put pictures on the computer yet. Mokie is mostly grayish black with white paws a white nose and a little white around his neck. I get annoyed with the chicken baby food because he gets it all over his nose and front paws. So now insted of being white his nose and paws are almost always orange.

He started to drink water though.

**Ally Cat's Mommy** · 04-24-2003, 01:18 PM

Congrats on the new addition - Mokie sounds adorable! Cant wait to see photos.

There is a really good article at Petsmart.com which is worth reading!

http://www.petsmart.com/articles/article_539.shtml

Ally sends Kitten Kisses