weaning kitten off milk

amy85

hey everyone.. just need a bit of advice about our kitten. she is roughly about 7 months old now and we had been giving her milk but now we have started to give her water as i read that some cats are intolerant to cows milk or something along the lines off that.. i have noticed that she does go to the toilet alot more after drinking milk and makes a big old mess in her litter tray :-/

the trouble is she doesnt seem to like drinking the water though and we end up feeling bad and giving her milk again! we have caught her drinking from the toilet a few times,and said it to the vet,he said that all cats do it from time to time(again i didnt really know this) haha.. if anyone has any suggestions about getting her used to drinking water i would be very greatful.
thanks amy

iora_rua

Have you tried mixing some water into the milk and gradually increasing the volume of water? Could be your kitten doesn't like the taste of tap water (it can be a bit strong!), so try bottled water. Also, there's milk produced by Whiskas and Felix especially for cats that's low in lactose (the main reason to wean cats off ordinary milk, I believe). You'll find it with the cat food in the supermarkets in small plastic tubs - again, would be a good idea to add just a little water as it's better for the kidneys! Another trick I've tried with my cats is to mix a dessertspoon of bottled water into their tinned food at feeding time to make sure they're getting enough liquid.

amy85

ya i have tried mixing the water and milk idea... she just has a look at it, as if to say,'whats this murky mess', turns her nose up and walks away!! spoilt so she is!! i dont wanna go down the root of getting the cat milk from the supermarkets cause id say it could end up been an expensive option in the long run,so just gonna keep at it.
ya i read somewhere alright that cats dont like taste of chlorine in water so give them bottled water instead.(god there fussy little creatures) i have tried this trick aswell... actually i think i have tried every trick in the book at this stage!!

but i will mix some water in with her food, cause im afraid she will get dehyrdated otherwise. thanks for your tips

Sigma Force

Methinks you might be a bit soft on her, I know it's hard not to give in but I'd cut out the cows milk completly straight away. It's not good for them and she will never touch the water if you give in with the milk. She won't die of thirst if she's thirsty enough she will drink the water.
Try a few different brands of bottled water or get a jug of water from the tap and allow it to sit over night and then put it in her dish.

Or perhaps collect rain water, which is very easy to do at the moment.

There is also a water fountain type thing you can get that cats aparently love, someone on here might have the name Hadook I think has one for her cats and they love it.

My parents are very bad at giving in to their cats, I eventually convinced them to stop using cows milk, not sure if they always do as I say but they do buy the cat milk and water it down. Even if you don't water it down at least it's better than the cows milk, even goats milk doesn't really agree with cats but it's milder than cows milk so you could perhaps start with that.

Whenever I've had to mind the parents cats even for a short time I've always just given them water same with any other cats and cat milk only as a treat.
They give up eventually and drink the water.

Just make sure in the mean time that you don't use any chemical cleaners around the toilet and none of those toilet blocks or freshners if the cat is partial to it.

I think Lidl or Aldi now do the cat milk as well and Maxi Zoo do a cat milk which is cheaper than Whiskas.

iora_rua

Some very useful info there from Guineapigrescue - I must look at the Lidl/Aldi versions of cat milk. Adding water to tinned food is definitely the best way to guard against dehydration while you try everything else. If you have the time and inclination, another liquid treat for your cat would be to make a quick stock of any left over chicken bones. Just cover with water and simmer the bones for one to two hours - no need to add anything else - skim, strain and cool down, and before it turns to jelly give some to the cat and freeze the remainder in an ice cube tray, so you have a supply to hand. My cats love anything to do with fresh chicken (also handy to add to your own sauces/gravies as well!). Before I turn into Rachel Allen, I think I'll leave it at that

planetX

one of my cats loves the catmilk - but it's strictly rationed to a small amount once a day. I wouldn't worry about dehydration, if your cat is going outside they will drink from puddles rather than touch anything from the tap. If it's an indoor cat def try bottled water. I've never had a cat who would touch tap water - except down the toilet, they all try that one;)
thanks to last poster for great idea re chicken bones. I always throw mine away (in disgust as I'm a veggie myself), but am gonna try boiling them up for the cats. I'm guessing it's going to smell pretty bad tho???

Dudess

This won't be a problem - leave a container out to gather rainwater and put it in her dish. Any cat I've had always loved rainwater - tap water has too much chemicals which are far, far harsher-tasting to a cat, given their heightened senses.

The Sweeper

Yep if the cat's crawling down the loo for water, then she IS thirsty, and she WILL drink water. The diaorrhea she's getting from the cow's milk can be very dehydrating, and she may spend a lot of time feeling bloated and uncomfortable.

Try buying a brita filter jug and filtering her water through that before it goes in her bowl (and filter yours too, you might as well get some use out of it!) Otherwise water that stands overnight loses a lot of the chemical taste and smell so they can prefer that.

If you want to check if the cat is dehydrated, very gently take a pinch of her skin - or you can scruff her very gently if she won't mind that - and when you let go, see how quickly the skin retuns to its normal position. One of my guys is a water fiend and is always extremely well hydrated, and his skin is like an elastic band. One of the others can be dehydrated some when he wakes up after spending the day fast asleep in the heat, and when he is, his skin is slower (he always goes to his water bowl on waking so I don't stress much about it).

amy85

thanks very much for all your replies and advice.. i really will take it on board and start trying some of the things ye said. i feel like i have never worried about a cat more than this one,we had cats when we were younger but they were always outdoor cats mainly because we lived in the countryside, but now that i live in an apartment in town we have to keep the kitten indoors. we rescued her from a shelter and she is not used to being outside so gets very nervous when she sees other people, animals etc.

i am gonna try the chicken stock one though cause that seems like a great idea and thanks for the tips on cooking(making) it,i wasnt sure how to.i might also buy a brita filter aswell even though we always just use bottled water cause tap water isnt great.
thanks again everyone!

Growltiger

many cats are lactose intolent, they have a problem especially with cow milk. products for cats can be quite pricey, so try some goat milk or lactose free cow milk both available in most supermarkets but at her age she really doesn't need any milk except the occasional treat. if its not there she will drink water just make sure the bowl is very clean, if it smells bad to cat's sensitive nose,even if people can't smell the odour, they will go for the rainwater instead. plastic bowls tend to maintain odour mre than glass.