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Pat - 21 May 2005 18:29 GMT

I haven't had to wean an IBK for such a long time that I can't remember how
I did it. Beatrice is definitely old enough to be weaned and I am not sure
what to do.... So how do I get her to start drinking plain water from a
bowl???

This has been my approach so far: I let her suck on my earlobe while her
bottle is warming up, then I let her have a bit less milk than she really
wants. About half of her attempts to nurse I put her down at a dish of wet
food or a saucer of milk, instead of giving the bottle.

She's down to two small-quantity bottle feedings a day and eating more solid
food by the day, however, she has not figured out how to lap plain water
from a bowl. I've even gotten down on the floor and lapped water from the
bowl with her watching me... She goes to the bowl and sniffs it or lets her
nose touch the water for a millisecond, but she will NOT drink from it and
insists on having her bottle.

I am afraid that she will get dehydrated if I take away the bottle feeding
altogether. She will lap milk from a bowl, but I don't want to keep giving
milk, I think the reason she puked yesterday was she drank too much from the
bowl.

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Debbie Wilson - 21 May 2005 18:45 GMT

> I am afraid that she will get dehydrated if I take away the bottle feeding
> altogether. She will lap milk from a bowl, but I don't want to keep giving
> milk, I think the reason she puked yesterday was she drank too much from the
> bowl.

Can you dilute the milk you offer her in the bowl with more water
gradually over time, so over a week or two she is eventually drinking
milky water, then just water? Start with just a little water added, so
she still wants to lap it. Make sure she is eating enough solid food
during the day so she gets all her nutrients too.

Deb.

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"He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would;
He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield

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Ted Davis - 22 May 2005 00:43 GMT

>I haven't had to wean an IBK for such a long time that I can't remember how
>I did it. Beatrice is definitely old enough to be weaned and I am not sure
>what to do.... So how do I get her to start drinking plain water from a
>bowl???

<snip>

Thirteen years ago I was given a couple of kittens that didn't know
how to drink from a bowl. It took me a couple of days to figure this
out, but I eventually noticed that the kittens spent a lot of time
with their heads over the water bowl but never drinking. I held each
kitten, dipped my finger into the water, and carried a drop to the
kitten's mouth - the kitten licked the water off my finger. Then I
kept holding my finger ever closer to the water so the kitten had to
reach for it. After a few minutes, the kitten's tongue hit the
surface of the water itself and there it had a 'eureka moment'.
Problem solved, go on to the next kitten.

They both grew into fine cats - Sam disappeared about four years ago
(I think a disgruntled neighbor had something to do with that), but
Fluffy is still with me.

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T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu)

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Denise VanDyke - 23 May 2005 16:46 GMT

>>I haven't had to wean an IBK for such a long time that I can't remember how
>>I did it. Beatrice is definitely old enough to be weaned and I am not sure
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> Problem solved, go on to the next kitten.
> <snip>

Or start her doing what Brenna does - dip her foot into the water and
let her lick the water off of it. This is Brenna's preferred method for
drinking plain water out of a dish.

Denise Brennasmeowmy

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