kitten not drinking

Question
Just had this kitten a little over 24 hrs. It is 5-6 wks old.It appears in good health. It is curious, playful, follows us around, enjoys sleeping in our laps, ate some soft kitten canned food and had a couple of what looks like normal bowel movements in a litter box. But this kitten will not drink water or kitten milk. We even tried to force it on him but he will not have any of it. Should we be worried?

Answer
Hi Eddie, thanks for your question and yes, I would be somewhat concerned. It sounds like your kitten was pretty young to be taken from his mom and some kittens at this age don't even know how to drink from a bowl yet !
If he has had a bowel movement then he is not in any distress yet but you will want to make sure he gets some more liquid down him! keep up with the canned food and mix it with a little water to make it more liquid for him. you can also try using a baby bottle with some water or kitten replacer milk in it to feed him. He may take to that quicker than to a bowl of milk. Do not give him cow's milk as he will get diarrhea.. and you don't want that in such a young baby. Pet stores sell proper kitten milk in a powder form that you can mix up and use. They also sell kitten sized bottles.. but often a regular baby bottle will work at this age.
good luck !
Teresa