Help Something Is Wrong !!

Ok Lilly had her babies 8 days ago and they seem to be doing alright. She on the other hand is not. She has been sneezing a ton like out of control for the last 2 days. She sneezes and when she breathes you can hear wheezing like her nose is completely stuffed up. However she has no snot running out of her nose and no discharge from her eyes. Today when giving her a bath we discovered she has one HUGE nipple!! It has to be at least 4 times as big as all the others. I don't know if these two problems have anything to do with eachother but now that I saw that huge nipple I am totally freaking.

In case you haven't read the other posts about this cat, she is not mine I am taking care of her for a relative. Said relative doesn't care about the cats and probably will not incur a vet bill. I will be calling my animal shelter bright and early tomorrow but I need some advice to get me through the night.

why are you calling an animal shelter? I would be calling a vet...asap.

It could be mastitis. Definately call and have it checked out in the morning though. The infection can spread and cause her to get very sick.

What is Mastitis?
Mastitis is inflammation of the mammary glands, usually are a result of bacterial infection in the milk glands themselves. This infection usually comes in from the outside and only occurs when the animal is producing milk or, more commonly, when they have just finished producing milk. At other times the opening to the gland ducts are sealed.

What are the signs of mastitis?
One or more of the mammary glands will be swollen, hot and hard. It is a very painful condition and the cat or dog will often be depressed and react when the affected lands are touched. The milk produced by the affected glands will often be changed in thickness and colour – often watery and brown but can be blood stained, thick, clotted or even pus like. In severe cases the infection may burst out onto the skin like an abscess, discharging pus. A dog or cat with mastitis will often appear depressed and will have a fever.


What is the treatment for mastitis?
Mastitis is treated with antibiotics, often combined with anti-inflammatory painkillers since this is a pretty painful problem. Courses of antibiotics often need to be prolonged, at least 1 week but often more.

Severe mastitis can leave open sores on the mammary glands that may take a few weeks to heal. In rare cases, so much damage is done that one or more of the glands must be surgically removed, but this is a rare complication.

It usually necessary to prevent the pups/kittens from suckling when the mother has mastitis. If they drink the infected milk is can make the puppies/kittens ill. If they are not old enough to be weaned, it may be necessary to bottle feed the puppies/kittens. If only one or two glands are affected, it may be possible to supervise feeding so that the affected gland is not used, then supplement any that still seem hungry. Mastitis is painful, so the mother may no feel like feeding anyway.

I am calling the shelter in the morning because I am a foster for them and I know the lady there will let me bring the cat in to see the shelter vet at no charge. This vet is experienced with small kittens which most vets here arent at all and she will give me at least an opinion for free!!

Wow Kitties thank you for that wonderful post!! have you had experience with this illness?? I will be getting this cat to see a vet tomorrow asap but you have calmed my nerves a bit.

If there is anyone with experience with this please let me know!!

Originally Posted by junglebutterfly

I am calling the shelter in the morning because I am a foster for them and I know the lady there will let me bring the cat in to see the shelter vet at no charge. This vet is experienced with small kittens which most vets here arent at all and she will give me at least an opinion for free!!

Wow Kitties thank you for that wonderful post!! have you had experience with this illness?? I will be getting this cat to see a vet tomorrow asap but you have calmed my nerves a bit.

If there is anyone with experience with this please let me know!!

Click to expand...

My only experience with it was myself while nursing my daughter LOL
The symptoms fit though so I thought it might be a likely guess...
I hope she feels better soon, I know from experience how much it hurts!

I think this is what is happening with my cat and kittens, and why two of them just died recently.

Glad you are taking mum cat to the vet - it does sound like mastitis..lets see what the vet says.

Fingers crossed for mum cat...keep us updated x

Oh I hope everything is well for this momma. Its really important to get her checked over as mastitis can be very dangerous.

Please keep us updated on how mom and babies are doing when you get a chance.

Emma x

Kristen, as well as possibly having mastitis in that one nipple, it sounds like this girl may have cat flu. It is very contagious and it's quite possible she will pass it onto her kittens. Keep your own cats well away from her and wash your hands and forearms well after going into her room or touching her or the babies.

She needs vet treatment ASAP, as she can become too sick to look after her kittens.

i hope your little one is ok , let us know how what the vet says. sending healthy vibes her way .

This morning I was checking her out again and she is not hurting. she doesn't mind at all if we squeeze or prod her at all. the sneezing and coughing and wheezing have calmed down a lot. in fact since I have her cage covered i kept getting worried through the night that something was very wrong because I wasn't hearing her sneezing or coughing or anything. She isn't cleaning up after the babies but I am not worried about that this time. As you may have read a month ago this cats 'sister' Lucy had her babies and they were losing weight and she wasn't cleaning after them but they are all doing great now!! This cat is also a first time mom and both litters have the same father. I will be calling the shelter around 10 am wish me luck!!

I really think she needs to see the vet right away. Please let us know what you find out!

The lady at the shelter says they are swamped with kittens right now and she doesn't know when the vet will be back at the shelter. She suggested that I put warm compress on her and see if it helps and call tomorrow as she might know if the vet will be at the shelter this week. Now I don't know what to do. If I take thsi cat to the vet I will most likely get stuck with the bill and we scraped today to get milk eggs bread and cat litter. I don't know what to do.

I think her and the kittens will be OK for another day if it's just one nipple. Try the warm compress and see if it gives any relief.