When will she learn to drink from a saucer?

Hello, it's nice to meet all of you. My name is Ann and we have 3 cats. An almost 34 month old male Maine Coon, an 11 month old female Tabby kitten, and now we have a 5 week old female Tabby kitten. We got her off of Craigslist (how we got all our cats), on Sunday, May7th when she was only 4 weeks old. Her birthday is April 9th. We were not supposed to get her til June 4th, but the couple wanted to get rid of the whole litter of kittens ASAP. She called me out of the blue that Sunday and to paraphrase, she said if you don't come and get her now, I will find someone who will. I strongly felt the kittens should not be away from their mother at this young age, but the thought of my kitten, or really any of them remaining in a home where they were not wanted spooked me even more. What prompted the call out of the blue was that the kittens had gotten into a bag of treats meant for the mother cat, who this couple had adopted a few months ago, and who they didn't know was pregnant. They were very unhappy she was pregnant. And now, basically, the kittens were becoming mobile and driving the couple crazy. Within minutes of her call I was there picking up Misha. My profile pic is a picture taken of Misha the other day.

Okay, so for the first week I fed Misha around the clock, day and night, every 4 hours, a syringe of KMR and a saucer of 1/3 of a can of Fancy Feast kitten food. Misha walked a little wobbly when we first got her but now she can climb up our couch and our bed. She even got up our first step in our stairs today. (!) That was pretty exciting.  She walks great now and runs and hops around in a happy free-spirited manner. She's as cute as can be. She will run halfway towards you and then quickly turn sideways and it's so hilarious. She loves to climb up your arm and nestle in your neck and nibble at your ear. Our 2 kids that are still in our home (aged 11 and 16) absolutely adore her. I have her sleep at night and take all her naps in a spare bedroom to get away from all the noise. She's had some exposure to our other cats. Our 11 month old is crazy about her and loved her almost from the first. Our 3 year old Maine Coon, Tails, has taken longer, but he's not had as much exposure as Comet, our 11 month old. He ran out of the room for the first week anytime he saw her, and then he hissed at her for a day or so, but just today they smelled noses and butts. So I can see a friendship on the horizon.

I keep the older cats in a another room when I bring Misha into the living room to play for a few hours, a few times a day. I want Misha to get to know our home and all the sights and smells, unencumbered from 2 curious cats wanting to watch her every move.

Okay for my question. Misha eats canned food voraciously. She's really gotten the hang of it.  I also give her KMR, around 10-20ml after she eats, to make sure she gets enough liquid in her diet. She will NOT drink out of a saucer. Period. I'm afraid she wont ever learn, as silly as it sounds. I mean, she eats well, she's used the litter box (her own litter box) perfectly, and she is getting bigger and stronger each day. Oh, i should say I took her to the vet the day after we got her and they gave her a perfect bill of health. No fleas, mites, parasites or worms, and she wasn't dehydrated. I told our vet that I was concerned that Misha wasn't drinking out of a saucer yet, but the vet said she would soon. She said just feed her in a separate room (I do) and leave a saucer of fresh water in it and she will eventually start lapping liquids. Well, she hasn't. Don't get me wrong, I love feeding her with a syringe. Its a precious experience for me and I treasure these quiet moments with her. My concern is her getting enough liquids and learning to drink on her own. I've never had a kitten before 7 weeks, so I'm new to taking care of such a young kitten. I give all my cats fresh water with ice every day. Plus my older 2 drink out of the faucet anytime they want. If any of us walk into the room with the cat on the counter we turn on the faucet for them. Plainly put, our cats are beloved members of the family.

Am I doing something wrong?  How can Misha eat canned food out of a small saucer, but she won't drink water? I've even put the water on the exact same type of saucer next to her saucer of food. It wasn't easy, lol,  since it's not a bowl, but I did it. She ignored the water.

Should I just not have an expectation of her lapping til 7-8 weeks? Because if that's the case, I'll just chill for the next 3 weeks. Thanks in advance, and again, it's nice to meet all of you.

Ann

I think mine started doing the end of five weeks first of six. They are seven weeks today and three looks just like yours. Maybe add the KMR to your food and make a mush. That may get her started lapping. Also chicken broth made without onions. 

Nice to meet you Ann and welcome!  I think the kitten will eventually start lapping water from a bowl, maybe it's just not time for her yet.  I know that the advisors would say to get a scale and weigh her daily.  I recall a 4 week old should weight about 1 pound and an 8 week old about 2 pounds.  Not sure how much they should gain every day though.  I'm so glad this kitten got you as a mama.  I can't believe there are people out there who don't like kittens but that person did call the right person when she called you.  @sarthur2  can tell you more about kitten care. 

Cats prefer to get their water from their food and it sounds as though she's getting plenty from her wet food and her kmr. She probably isn't drinking because she is well-hydrated. When she transitions to solids she will be more interested.

You've taken excellent care of this little one. She's lucky to have found you!

Thank you so much for your replies, and your kind words. Misha just a few minutes ago ate 1/2 of a can of the kitten food. She ate it as if she were a starving baby pig.  I gave her 1/3 of the can and she finished it in no time, and she kept sniffing and looking around the saucer as if hoping more food would magically appear, so I gave her more which equaled 1/2 the can and she ate it in a couple of minutes. When I took her to the vet, she weighed in at 14 oz.. She must be gaining weight since she is getting stronger every day. She's thriving.

It's funny. I grew up with ONE cat, and as an adult I've always had ONE cat, but then a few years ago, when my kids were older, and my cat passed away of old age, I decided when I got another cat, that I would never have just one. So now were up to 3, and its great!

As for the water issue, my other 2 cats only eat dry food. I was heartbroken to see that when they were young. They refused, almost to the point of starvation, ALL wet food. Even now, they have NO interest in the canned food. I wish they would eat it. I know it's healthier for them. But they won't. So, I'm thrilled Misha loves it from the get go.  I did add KMR to her food a few times but she didn't lap it nor the gravy, well, what little of it there is with the food,.

My mom, age 83, had 2 cats (who both died of old age a few years ago) and they ate canned food once in the morning and once at night and she left dry out for them to nibble at during the day. They would wake her up at 5 am meowing at the top of their lungs for their food, and she faithfully fed them. I'm experiencing the same with Misha. She may be small, but her little meow is heard in all corners of the house. lol I'm an early riser so she hasn't woke me up yet.

Anyway, thank you again for your responses.

She is small enough that she should have constant access to food. Are you free feeding her now? With little ones, we normally recommend a high quality dry kitten food down all the time and meals of kmr and wet food throughout the day. You never want her to have to ask to be fed.

Oh yes, definitely. There are bowls at the ready for Misha, one with dry food and one with ice water for her to partake in at any time, and for the first time I saw her walk up to them in the living room a few hours ago. She sniffed both bowls and then walked away....But that's a start I suppose...

We have food bowls and water bowls and litter boxes stationed  throughout the house, since it's a 2 story house.

I'm afraid if I moistened the dry food, that bacteria would set in and make her sick, if the food sat out for very long. I figure at this age the dry food would have to be moistened?

They make dry food for kittens. Royal Canin is a great brand. It's little tiny pieces that are easy for them to eat.

You sound very well set up for her!

Yes, dry kitten chow available 24/7, and she needs wet food in unlimited amounts 4 times a day for the first few months. It's almost impossible to overfeed a growing kitten.

She is getting plenty of liquid from her wet food and syringe feedings. She knows how to drink water, she just doesn't want it or need it yet. She will easily drink it when she's ready!

Thank you for rescuing her! Those people need to spay their cat! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Mine hardly drinks water. She will not drink the water when I'm watching but eventually she drinks when everybody is not seeing her. Very weird.

She just drank from a saucer!  Hooray!  I'm so proud of her! She had just finished her 1/3 of a can of Fancy Feast, and was sniffing the saucer for more, when I quickly poured some of the slightly warmed KMR I was going to give her via syringe on a saucer, and put it down in front of her after moving the other saucer out of the way.

She curiously and ever so carefully smelled the KMR, which she loves, and then all of a sudden she started lapping it. I was inwardly freaking out with joy but I didn't make a peep or move a muscle for fear of distracting her. I didn't want to break the spell.

She's now been put to bed upstairs in her room, fully satiated. Since it's technically Friday now I can say she's 5 weeks 5 days. I think that's a pretty respectable time frame to learn to lap. 

Thank you so much for your advice, I plan to stick around here..

Ann

That's wonderful! [emoji]128149[/emoji]

Yay!!!  Smart lil kitty!

Thank you! She's now drinking her KMR regularly from the saucer, no more need for the syringe.

I admit, I miss those quiet moments of feeding her that way, but I am so glad and relieved she learned how to lap, so that she can hydrate herself in the amounts she wants. I'll wean her from the KMR around 8 weeks. Since she was taken away from her mother a month too soon, I want to give her the best start in life possible.

She can stay on the KMR longer than 8 weeks if you think she needs it. I prefer to use it until 12 weeks. They are getting their adult teeth at that age. It's a good turning point, and many kittens are still nursing at 12 weeks.

Oh, OK. I will keep her on it until 12 weeks then.  Thanks for the advice about it.

Misha had her first vaccine today at the vet. She's doing great!  She's upstairs on my bed napping quietly. At 4 weeks old when we got her, she weighed 14 oz, but now at 6 weeks, 5 days she weighs 29 oz, which is 1lb and 13 oz.  Misha was so sweet during the exam, letting the vet do whatever she needed to do in terms of checking her to make sure she's healthy.At the end of the exam she picked Misha up, and put her against her neck,  near her shoulder and Misha sniffed the vet's whole face and looked her in the eyes so sweetly. The vet said she could just stand there all day holding her.

I told the vet that Misha doesn't want to be fed every 4-5 hours anymore. She wants to eat every 6 hours or so. I mentioned I tried several times at the 4 hour mark on different days to feed her, but she turned her nose up at it, and wont eat until it's 6-7 hours. The vet said don't worry about that, and by all means don't try to force her to eat. Cats will eat when they're hungry. 

She sleeps through the night, and now we're feeding her 3 times a day, around 7am, 1pm and 8pm. We started her out on Fancy Feast Wet, but today my order at Amazon of ProPlan Focus Chicken and Liver kitten food arrived, and I gave Misha her first meal of it and she devoured it. I can tell she liked this brand of food a lot better.

But one interesting thing, she completely turned away from her saucer of KMR earlier today. I told the vet she did that, and that for the last day or so she's barely touched the KMR, and she said Misha is fine to be on water now, because she is doing so well, gaining well, has no health issues and is active and very curious. She said you've obviously socialized her well since she is so comfortable with me. I said well with 2 adults, 2 kids and 2 other cats, there's no way she couldn't be used to people and activity.

So, we''re going to put out a fresh bowl of ice water for her when she wakes up. I doubt she'll go for it at first, but eventually she'll want a drink....I've also had dry kitten food out for Misha all this time, but she still has no interest in it.

Sounds like she's doing great! It's wonderful to hear how sweet she is, and how well she's eating. Thanks for the update! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Thanks, Sarthur2!

Misha lapped water for the first time today!

All concerns of mine are now over. And since I bought her the Pro Plan Focus canned kitten food, she's doubled her eating. She now eats almost half a can at each of her 3 feedings. I guess kittens at 7 weeks can definitely have their favorite foods.

Wonderful! [emoji]128522[/emoji]