2% milk?

i have friend who raised kittens all her life and has given them milk instead of formula. she said her vet said it would be fine and they never had problems going poop. she told me to give him some milk and that should help eliminate the waste and after that to dilute the formula because it may be to thick. Now i filled about 1/2 of the bottle with milk warmed it up and he drank some and put the rest it in the fridge. what do you think? think this is ok and will it help? it will probably be another week or two before i can afford a vet when i had my terrifying event the vet said he had diareah however i havent seen anything so i dont know what she was talking about. it wasnt a vet it was whoever brought him out to me.

Cats really shouldn't have human milk, and I would recommend against this. Azriel's formula contains the nutrients he needs right now.

well i heard milk will make kittens go to the bathroom i was only going to do half of a bottle maybe a little less im not going to discontinue his formula i was going to dilute that more from now on. i was just giving him the milk for maybe 2 feedings to see if it would start his bm a little more since he doesnt go very often and right now i am financially strained. will this harm him? i hope not...i hope it will make him eliminate some waste

Locate a cat rescue group in your area (search online) that will help you find a low cost vet to help you care for this kitten/kittens without breaking your bank. If a kitten's belly is swollen, they may have issues a vet will have to evaluate.
I have heard that cats do not digest cow milk very well and have never given it to any of our (too many to list) rescued kittens. KMR formula should be enough for him to gain strength and maintain his health, like dawn said.
You will also need to have him neutered when he's old enough (so he won't produce any kittens) to prevent someone else from experiencing a similar situation as you find yourself. A local cat rescue group will help you with this issue as well.
If you plan to keep him/them you need to be prepared!

Good luck and please keep us posted, you sound like a very kind hearted person!

Many kittens are lactose intolderant, so cows milk may cause diarreah and irritation of the digestive tract.
I would think the kitten needs more water... just a little bit more water to the formula.
How old is this kitten now? Is it old enough yet to try lapping some formula from a saucer?

hes a month old. well i already gave him some milk but i wont give him any more.. i was told that since it does cause upset in the stomach it would help him go # 2. I made him formula 10 minutes ago and instead of 2 tablespoons formula 4 water i did 1 tabelspoon formula 4 water....his tummy does look swollen but it looks that way after he eats as if hes full it doesnt seem bad after he wakes up and is ready to be fed. im not sure about anything low cost here. i am in nevada if you find a phone number or a website please let me know as i said no one cares here and if they do i havent found them yet...also he doesnt want to be stimulated anymore. i will stimulate him to go pee he wont go but 5 minutes later he will go and always on my bed...last night i tryed to run and make it to the liter box so there would be some smell hoping next time he will get it but i doubt it....some people tell me i need to rub his tummy and opening to get him to go poop others tell me you shouldnt have to rub plus you could accidently hurt him...i dont know what to do....uhhh

http://kitten-rescue.com/four_to_five_weeks.html

If he won't let you stimulate him anymore, then I would suggest getting him a small litter pan and keeping him there for about 5 min after he eats (as it seems like he's starting to go on his own).
Also, when you clean up his messes, put the soiled tissue in the litter pan and bring him there several times a day to smell and scratch around.
It took my stray cat babies until they were 8 weeks old to really use the litter correctly, though they had mom doing clean up duty for most of that time.

And remember, a phone call to the vet is free!

~Julia

You don't want to upset his tummy in order to get him to eliminate properly...this is basically sacrificing one healthy practice for another. Diarrhea is dangerous in a kitten this young...dehydration works quickly in young kittens, and can most definitely kill.

Cats are mostly lactose intolerant. KMR is really all he should be consuming at this point, with small amounts of wet food mixed with KMR...introduced slowly. This is around the time when many kitten begin taking an interest in sampling small amounts of wet kitten food.

I would stay away from the milk. Please don't hesitate to make payment arrangements with a vet, so that he can receive the type of care he needs.

Good luck! He's a little cutie!

Yes I would definitely be starting him on wet food now if he is a month old, and introducing the litter box, usually just a shallow pan with clay litter in it.

I think it is best to use the KMR....

If your vet said he was seeing diahrea then it's possible that there have been bowel movements that you haven't seen and that's why you think there multiple days between him going. Your kitten is ready to start taking solids and that has made a big difference in firming up my kitten's stools. In about 8 day's time my kitten has gone from no litter box to nearly all litter box trained and from taking all KMR to getting about half his meals as solids. If your kitten does already have diahrea and you aren't recognizing it, then the milk is likely going to make the situation worse.

Can you CALL a vet and talk to a tech? Maybe someone will give you an answer over the phone!

Here is a group you can join that has vets on it to answer questions.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/petvetcafe/

Good luck!

the first time i put solid food down he ran right to it took 3 or 4 bites by the time we went to grab the camera he was done..i thought maybe he is full but no he sucked the bottle right down..i am off on saturday i will be working on solid food all day long since i will have the whole day free....also i read on that kitten site to put them in a bigger box to introduce a liter box....do you think the reason he wont stay in the liter box is because its on the floor and he has so much room to run around? what kind of box should i put him in and will putting the liter box in there work.....i know hes ready for the reason that he pees by himself on his blankets and all over my bed

There's no need to work on solid food all day long. Simply offer it to him a few times and when he's ready, he'll dive in.

I think the reason he doesn't stay in the litter box likely has nothing to do with the fact that it's small (mine uses an 8x8 aluminum disposable pan). I think it simply has to do with the fact that it's new to him. You only put it out a few days ago so it's totally foreign and he just hasn't figured out what to do there yet.

Both of things are transition issues and you can't rush them. Make it available to him and he'll catch on soon enough.