Kitten Shivers After Drinking Goat Milk

Just as the title reads, my 5 week old kitten shivers every time after he finishes drinking goat milk. I am currently weaning him off of it, by diluting it with more and more water every day, but now I am wondering if I should take him off of it completely.

For a better description of what happens, he drinks, and then his whole body is quivering, and then it stops after a couple of minutes. Maybe it should be warmer? Though I am serving it at room temp...

Your advice is conflicting for me. I've heard that Goat Milk was an ideal milk replacement for kittens taken away from their mother too early. Even better than KMR. Can you share your reasoning why this is not good for them either?

It's fine. Cows milk is bad.

And the shivering is simply the kitten getting a little chilled. You can try warming it a little more, but usually what happens is that the milk (or even canned food) will start out warm enough and by the end of the meal has chilled a little.

Just put the kitten somewhere warm after he's done eating so he can warm up and (if he's doing this yet) groom himself. He'll stop doing this in a couple weeks as he gets bigger and is able to stay warm better.

You should be able to start mixing a little canned kitten food in with that milk soon.

Thanks. He actually has been eating wellness canned food, goats milk in the morning (I take it away and give him water for the rest of the day after that) and raw meat at night. He has no issues eating any of this, and is quite ravenous. I am also happy to say that he prefers the raw meat, so hopefully he will be off all canned food soon.

Goat's milk is fine- it has basically not started to be altered with growth horomones and other gunk. I would wonder if kitty has a temp? Have you checked him for fever recently? Cats like things at room temp. so don't serve it straight out of the fridge, Or add some warm water to it to warm it up- don't nuke it because then it can spoil.

Good luck with your kitty-

Thanks. He shows no signs of illness. I will start mixing it with warm water, that's a great idea. For anybody reading this with a similar problem, here's another thread I've found on this issue:
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...ight=kitten+sh

I would err on the side of caution and take his temp. It only takes a few seconds and it should read between102-102.2 no markedly higher or lower temp than that.

Will do! Thanks Hissy :-)

Hi,

Whatever the reason, shivering is not normal, he may be reacting badly to the milk. I would give him formulas made for cats or those posted on this forum.



Good luck,

Originally Posted by Nath 1

Whatever the reason, shivering is not normal

Click to expand...

It's normal. This even happens with KMR. It's simply because food in a dish doesn't have a mother cat keeping it at a constant temperature with her body. Every young kitten I've had has shivered if their food cools too much before they're done eating.
Short of reheating their food halfway through the meal (or turning off all fans and AC in warmer months) there's not really much that can be done to prevent it.

The only time this has every occurred with kittens under my care, is when the kittens are sick- but then I don't serve my kitties cold liquid.

I usually end up with multiple kittens that take forever to eat... and end up half covered in their food. A blanket/towel and settling down with them for a little bit (on me) would take care of it.

Originally Posted by Jillie

Just as the title reads, my 5 week old kitten shivers every time after he finishes drinking goat milk. I am currently weaning him off of it, by diluting it with more and more water every day, but now I am wondering if I should take him off of it completely.

For a better description of what happens, he drinks, and then his whole body is quivering, and then it stops after a couple of minutes. Maybe it should be warmer? Though I am serving it at room temp...

Click to expand...

Jillie I'm allergic to milk, many kinds, and other foods. I sometimes get that reaction - an allergic reaction can cause a drop in BP and that can set of a chain that incl. the shivering... it's a form of shock. Medical professionals don't like to use the word shock since it's too, well, shocky, but it refers to anytime the body has been exposed to soemthing that brings on a hypovolemic response. It's a mammalian response, skin and fur based.

Thanks! I am trying very hard to wean him off of his goat milk. He's even less interested in it when it's so diluted. He is on a raw diet though, so he really should require less water anyway.

I have given kittens extra milk when their young rescue mommy was struggling.

This recipe was given to me by Dr. Nancy Scanlon, DVM.  Kittens (and cats) need the fat

in whole goat milk.  The exact amount of milk ratio escapes me - maybe a cup or two- 

I will look it up at home later - but it included a fresh egg yolk (I try to only buy free range)

and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and maybe (if memory serves) a teaspoon of honey.

I am not sure if I ever gave the honey!  However, they definately lapped up the goat's milk,

egg YOLK (not white, not good for them) and olive oil mixture.  They are big and healthy

13 year olds now.  And egg yolk, by itself, is full of B vitamins and healthy fats. 

Good luck!

I wonder if you could mix it with canned food and then warm it in a water bath.  Just heat up some water and then place the bowl in the water for a few minutes.

This thread is a couple of years old, just FYI.