I like the idea of the guinea pig bottle for water, if his tongue doesn't work. I've seen cats that learn how to use those; it's a lot less messy in the cage if they can learn to suck on the bottle. Since he's a kitten and sucking comes naturally to him, this might be a good time to try to train him to use a guinea pig water bottle.

Good luck! He's a "Dirty Bird"! (1999? Atlanta FAlcons.)