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How long does it take for milk to dry up?

post #1 of 6
1/18/11 at 5:52pm
Thread Starter 
Our cat was finally separated from her two kittens who kept nursing well past the age of 6 months. I feel sorry doing that but obviously she was not going to wean them herself! I don't want to keep them separated longer than necessary, so when do you think it would be safe to bring her back? And will she start lactating when around kittens again even if her milk supply has already dried up? The kittens were spayed and neutered a while ago so the onset of puberty won't change their scent while she's away and she should be able to recognize her babies.
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post #2 of 6
1/18/11 at 6:14pm
When I got my cat Rowan, it took her about a week to almost completely dry up without any kittens present and by the end of the next week she was already starting to show signs of starting to come into heat. I got her spayed soon after cus my dog was torturing her cus she knew she was in heat and would constantly groom and make Rowan feel good and Rowan would try to "cozy up" to my dog if you know what I mean , It shouldn't take too long provided there are no kittens around (at least from what I observed in my one time of experience of course, so I am unsure if this is the norm). I didn't do anything special with her, just treated her like a normal cat.

The vet I got my cat from said that animals can continue to lactate provided there is stimulation such as that you described, with her kittens suckling. It is the same as in humans. You might want to get her spayed if you weren't planning on having her bred any longer if you want to prevent this from continuing Regardless of being away from them, I am sure if she was reunited with them, she would recognize them
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post #3 of 6
1/19/11 at 7:27am
Thread Starter 
Oh no, in heat in seven days! That's what our vet warned me about, but I would prefer to wait a little before having her spayed. They're comfortable spaying her even now while she's lactating but I don't want to take chances, I fear the surgery will be complicated enough without engorged mammary glands, because of her age and weight :/ How can a cat gain weight while nursing kittens! She was skin and bones when I found them, and I thought free feeding wouldn't harm her, being so underweight and nursing... she ballooned in 6 months!
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post #4 of 6
1/19/11 at 8:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by def kitty View Post
Oh no, in heat in seven days! That's what our vet warned me about, but I would prefer to wait a little before having her spayed. They're comfortable spaying her even now while she's lactating but I don't want to take chances, I fear the surgery will be complicated enough without engorged mammary glands, because of her age and weight :/ How can a cat gain weight while nursing kittens! She was skin and bones when I found them, and I thought free feeding wouldn't harm her, being so underweight and nursing... she ballooned in 6 months!
my cat gained a ton after she came home with me, cus I was feeding her a ton cus she looked so small You must have been feeding them well if she gained a ton even while nursing :P I was told that having kittens young could stunt their growth a bit cus of all the stuff going on, but once she was spayed I swear it looks like she grew taller (just a tad) and filled out more. she is still a small cat though.

I am kinda surprised though your cat isn't all like "Ok guys! You are BIG kittens now, get AWAY from me!" LOL.
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post #5 of 6
1/19/11 at 12:51pm
Sonja let Scotty nurse until he was nearly a year old. . .even after she was spayed. I don't think she was actually producing milk, it was most likely just a pacification situation. When he was about 11 months old, she wouldn't let him near her anymore. He was sad but he got over it. So she will cut them off eventually. It just might be a while, LOL.

If the vet is willing to do the spay now, I'd probably do it. It's better if she's a bit too heavy than for her to be underweight. How engorged do her mammary glands feel? I don't think they're normally a problem for the vet doing the spay. They just cut around them. If she goes into heat it'll really complicate matters.
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post #6 of 6
1/19/11 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
I haven't really felt her up () but their nursing sessions have become rarer and shorter, so I assume they're not as engorged as they were when the kittens were little. So I am thinking maybe in two weeks she will be good to go, unless she goes in heat, then we will have to wait for it to pass. :/ I think she will go to surgery from her temporary home, I'm afraid the kittens would latch on if we bring her back and jumpstart lactation all over again! I trust our vet and I'm sure he's spayed many lactating cats, but I like to keep risks minimal if possible, especially since she's at least 7 years old and I am quite a bit apprehensive about the surgery.
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