New kitten advice

anamaria

Hi,

I got a kitten the day before yesterday, he's about 7 weeks old according to the woman who gave him to me. He was the last of a litter they were rehoming.

I'm a bit worried that he isn't drinking anything. He's eating fine and is a bouncy confident little guy, but I've noticed he has drunk very little/nothing at all.

Any advice?

kowloon

Don't take this as an alternative to properly informed advice, but in the past I've folded up a clean cloth tightly and dipped the corner in whatever I want to feed the kitten, they'll sometimes take the liquid that way.

anamaria

thanks, I've had kittens this young before and never had this problem so I'm a bit stumped

lorebringer

Are you feeding wet of dry food? Is he drinking any else other than water (milk etc.)? Sometimes cats who eat wet foods will not drink too much at all, they get the hydration from the wet food (which usually has quite a high % of water in it). If he is in good form, eating well and acting like a normal kitten I wouldn't be too worried. Just be sure to leave clean water out for him in case he gets thirsty and needs a drink - when he is thirsty, he should drink.

boomerang

Bit sad to hear he's the last of the litter and was rehomed so young.

They shouldn't leave mum so early - they miss out on learning valuable skills from mum and siblings.

At a minimum, kittens can leave mum in pairs at eight weeks and singly at about ten weeks.

If you're feeding wet food he's getting a lot of moisture from that and will be less inclined to drink plain water from a bowl.

quickbeam

If he's peeing then he's getting enough water, I think.

If you're really worried, try him with syringe of water or cat milk - my young one didn't drink when I first got him, but would take a few mls from a syringe.

anamaria

thanks for all the advice. I was a bit taken aback myself when I saw how young he was. I had replied to an advert looking for a good home for him.

I'm feeding him wet food at the moment. They were feeding him a mixture of wet and dry but I don't want to give him dry food just yet especially if he;s not drinking very much.

He seems to be perfectly healthy and happy so maybe I'm worrying too much