diff --git a/oslo_messaging/_drivers/impl_kafka.py b/oslo_messaging/_drivers/impl_kafka.py
index 61655deee..15eca79aa 100644
--- a/oslo_messaging/_drivers/impl_kafka.py
+++ b/oslo_messaging/_drivers/impl_kafka.py
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ class Connection(object):
         self.producer = None
         self.producer_lock = threading.Lock()
         self.consumer = None
-        self.consumer_timeout = float(driver_conf.kafka_consumer_timeout)
+        self.consumer_timeout = driver_conf.kafka_consumer_timeout
         self.max_fetch_bytes = driver_conf.kafka_max_fetch_bytes
         self.group_id = driver_conf.consumer_group
         self.url = url
diff --git a/oslo_messaging/_drivers/kafka_options.py b/oslo_messaging/_drivers/kafka_options.py
index 7989288ea..47f90743a 100644
--- a/oslo_messaging/_drivers/kafka_options.py
+++ b/oslo_messaging/_drivers/kafka_options.py
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ KAFKA_OPTS = [
     cfg.IntOpt('kafka_max_fetch_bytes', default=1024 * 1024,
                help='Max fetch bytes of Kafka consumer'),
 
-    cfg.IntOpt('kafka_consumer_timeout', default=1.0,
-               help='Default timeout(s) for Kafka consumers'),
+    cfg.FloatOpt('kafka_consumer_timeout', default=1.0,
+                 help='Default timeout(s) for Kafka consumers'),
 
     cfg.IntOpt('pool_size', default=10,
                help='Pool Size for Kafka Consumers'),