Due to circumstances which I wont bore you with I have now taken ownership of a two year old male cat. Having moved him to a completly new area I am keeping him in the house for a while to get him used to his new home. He has previously always been given milk but now I have him indoors I can see he has diarrhoea.... not sure if he ever did have before as he used to be an outdoor cat but as I said he is stuck indoors for a bit. Now this could be due to stress but having spoken with my vets and confirmed it with them I could really do with getting him off the milk - but he will not drink water!

Any suggestions as to what I can try? Dont want to leave him without a drink as I'm worried about dehydration but need to get him off the milk......

Thanks

My two very rarely drink water. If he is on a solely wet diet there is little need for him to drink as he is getting lots of moisture from his food. This is one of the many reasons dry food is not recommended as they need to drink a lot to get enough moisture to compensate for the dry food.

Also, to a cat milk is food not a drink so it doesn't really help with keeping them hydrated.

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Hello ClareH, firstly well done you for taking on this cat and welcome to the PF.

A couple of thoughts re the milk. Firstly, what are you feeding him? Dry food and/or wet food. If you feed him an exclusively wet diet than I don't think you need to be worried about him getting dehydrated as cats get most of their moisture need from the wet food.

Having said that, it is always a good idea to leave some water out for them, no matter what you feed. So, how about you starting to dilute the milk with water - just a little water to start off with and over the next few days/ week or two weeks adding more and more water while reducing the milk until he is happy just drinking the water. Alternatively, a very diluted bit of milk might also be acceptable if he is dragging his paws with water.

If he has always had milk it is perhaps more stress that is the culprit. Though, has the vet suggested taking a stool sample to rule out any parasites or bacteria that could also be the cause? Also, are you feeding him the food that he was previously fed?

Hi,

Thanks for the replies people - think I'm getting more stressed than he is!! lol. I am feeding him Tescos canned cat food in Jelly which is what he always used to eat at his previous home (was trying to keep at least one thing constant in his life).

Have tried mixing milk and water to dilute it - he wont touch it. Brought the milk up to mix a bit more in and make it stronger, he drank a bit whilst it was mixing in then left it once it had all settled and mixed together

If he's drinking milk then this is filling him up and he won't eat as much food which he needs for the nutrients. I'm afraid I'd go for a complete break with a cat this age. He's not stupid and he will hold out for milk if you let him. If you are worried about him getting enough fluid then mix his canned food with a little extra water.