Engorged momma

My cat has a litter of 5 kittens, now 9 weeks old. They have stopped nursing, by what I think was mom's doing. Everytime any of them would come to nurse, she would get up and walk away from them as if she no longer wanted them to nurse.

Now, her breasts are extremely engorged. Just by running my hand across her stomach I can feel the hardness from all of the milk that is there. She must be in pain, anyone who has ever had a child and who has been engorged knows that it's a painful experience, I imagine it would be painful for a mother cat as well.

Should I be concerned? Is there something I should do? The babies have not nursed in 3 days. My mother-in-law told me that they can get sick and die from this. I don't know if that's true or not, as she is senial and exaggerates everything, but it does worry me and I was unable to find any information on it.

At nine weeks old the kittens should be fully weaned. They should be on solid food (canned)as well as kitten chow. Are the glands hot, swollen tender when you touch them? Are there dark circles around the nipples themselves? Dark purple or red?

I don't know how long you allowed them to nurse off of her, but the extra milk could be as a result of the long nursing period. If she will tolerate it,and you don't see any danger signs like up above, place a warm towel on her belly and hold it there until it is cooled.

If she is hot, swollen or has any of the above symptoms, get her to the vet immediately.

I thought that they should be weaned. I read it should have been even earlier, but I figured that the mother would wean them when she was ready.

They are completely on solid food (wet food twice a day and dry food available always), aside from the nursing. I started them on solids at about 4 weeks. When they did nurse, it was only once or twice a day and seemed to be for comfort and not nutritional value.

Her nipples are extremely light pink in color, very pale. She doesn't seem bothered when I touch them or hold her, and there aren't any dark circles around her nipples.