diff --git a/IPython/frontend/terminal/console/interactiveshell.py b/IPython/frontend/terminal/console/interactiveshell.py
index 743537a..919c2e7 100644
--- a/IPython/frontend/terminal/console/interactiveshell.py
+++ b/IPython/frontend/terminal/console/interactiveshell.py
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ class ZMQTerminalInteractiveShell(TerminalInteractiveShell):
             self.km.shell_channel.get_msg()
         # shell_channel.execute takes 'hidden', which is the inverse of store_hist
         msg_id = self.km.shell_channel.execute(cell, not store_history)
-        while not self.km.shell_channel.msg_ready() and self.km.is_alive:
+        while not self.km.shell_channel.msg_ready() and self.km.is_alive():
             try:
                 self.handle_stdin_request(timeout=0.05)
             except Empty:
@@ -389,7 +389,7 @@ class ZMQTerminalInteractiveShell(TerminalInteractiveShell):
         # ask_exit callback.
 
         while not self.exit_now:
-            if not self.km.is_alive:
+            if not self.km.is_alive():
                 # kernel died, prompt for action or exit
                 action = "restart" if self.km.has_kernel else "wait for restart"
                 ans = self.ask_yes_no("kernel died, %s ([y]/n)?" % action, default='y')
diff --git a/IPython/kernel/inprocess/kernelmanager.py b/IPython/kernel/inprocess/kernelmanager.py
index b31f271..cc103f4 100644
--- a/IPython/kernel/inprocess/kernelmanager.py
+++ b/IPython/kernel/inprocess/kernelmanager.py
@@ -298,7 +298,6 @@ class InProcessKernelManager(Configurable):
     def signal_kernel(self, signum):
         raise NotImplementedError("Cannot signal in-process kernel.")
 
-    @property
     def is_alive(self):
         return True
 
diff --git a/IPython/kernel/kernelmanager.py b/IPython/kernel/kernelmanager.py
index 384f183..9012d07 100644
--- a/IPython/kernel/kernelmanager.py
+++ b/IPython/kernel/kernelmanager.py
@@ -985,7 +985,7 @@ class KernelManager(Configurable):
             # most 1s, checking every 0.1s.
             self.shell_channel.shutdown(restart=restart)
             for i in range(10):
-                if self.is_alive:
+                if self.is_alive():
                     time.sleep(0.1)
                 else:
                     break
@@ -1100,7 +1100,6 @@ class KernelManager(Configurable):
         else:
             raise RuntimeError("Cannot signal kernel. No kernel is running!")
 
-    @property
     def is_alive(self):
         """Is the kernel process still running?"""
         if self.has_kernel:
diff --git a/IPython/kernel/kernelmanagerabc.py b/IPython/kernel/kernelmanagerabc.py
index 038e4de..b3c4370 100644
--- a/IPython/kernel/kernelmanagerabc.py
+++ b/IPython/kernel/kernelmanagerabc.py
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ class KernelManagerABC(object):
     def signal_kernel(self, signum):
         pass
 
-    @abc.abstractproperty
+    @abc.abstractmethod
     def is_alive(self):
         pass
 
diff --git a/IPython/kernel/multikernelmanager.py b/IPython/kernel/multikernelmanager.py
index 9b148ed..9e4b130 100644
--- a/IPython/kernel/multikernelmanager.py
+++ b/IPython/kernel/multikernelmanager.py
@@ -154,6 +154,19 @@ class MultiKernelManager(LoggingConfigurable):
         """
         return self.get_kernel(kernel_id).restart_kernel()
 
+    def is_alive(self, kernel_id):
+        """Is the kernel alive.
+
+        This calls KernelManager.is_alive() which calls Popen.poll on the
+        actual kernel subprocess.
+
+        Parameters
+        ==========
+        kernel_id : uuid
+            The id of the kernel.
+        """
+        return self.get_kernel(kernel_id).is_alive()
+
     def get_kernel(self, kernel_id):
         """Get the single KernelManager object for a kernel by its uuid.
 
diff --git a/IPython/kernel/tests/test_kernelmanager.py b/IPython/kernel/tests/test_kernelmanager.py
index 0d70da8..0bdec16 100644
--- a/IPython/kernel/tests/test_kernelmanager.py
+++ b/IPython/kernel/tests/test_kernelmanager.py
@@ -23,8 +23,10 @@ class TestKernelManager(TestCase):
 
     def _run_lifecycle(self, km):
         km.start_kernel(stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE)
+        self.assertTrue(km.is_alive())
         km.start_channels(shell=True, iopub=False, stdin=False, hb=False)
         km.restart_kernel()
+        self.assertTrue(km.is_alive())
         # We need a delay here to give the restarting kernel a chance to
         # restart. Otherwise, the interrupt will kill it, causing the test
         # suite to hang. The reason it *hangs* is that the shutdown
diff --git a/IPython/kernel/tests/test_multikernelmanager.py b/IPython/kernel/tests/test_multikernelmanager.py
index 49a5ac2..29a5f9b 100644
--- a/IPython/kernel/tests/test_multikernelmanager.py
+++ b/IPython/kernel/tests/test_multikernelmanager.py
@@ -25,10 +25,12 @@ class TestKernelManager(TestCase):
 
     def _run_lifecycle(self, km):
         kid = km.start_kernel(stdout=PIPE, stderr=PIPE)
+        self.assertTrue(km.is_alive(kid))
         self.assertTrue(kid in km)
         self.assertTrue(kid in km.list_kernel_ids())
         self.assertEqual(len(km),1)
         km.restart_kernel(kid)
+        self.assertTrue(km.is_alive(kid))
         self.assertTrue(kid in km.list_kernel_ids())
         # We need a delay here to give the restarting kernel a chance to
         # restart. Otherwise, the interrupt will kill it, causing the test