1 week after birth, mother cat has a lump?

My cat gave birth 7 days ago. The day she gave birth, after the last kitten was out, I felt a lump in my cat's abdomen. I thought it would be her 6th kitten (I felt each kitten in her abdomen as they moved toward the birth canal during labor), but I guess it wasn't.  I can still feel it right now. It feels small, lumpy, and tubular.. It is really hard, too. It's about half to 2/3 the size of her kittens, and I swear it feels like a kitten (or I'm crazy.)

Mother cat is not showing any distress and is caring for her kittens very well. Has anyone had this issue before? Should I be concerned?

I have read that a cat can carry two different litters at the same time and give birth to each litter days apart. I also heard that its rare. Is there a chance that this could be one of those rare occurrences?

On the other hand that isn't concerned about her lump, our five little kittens are doing very well and are putting on weight. Their eyes are beginning to open and one is trying to walk, although the poor thing staggers horribly. Mother cat is producing milk well, and doesn't mind if I need to grab them to weigh them. She does have a habit of flinging and dragging kittens out of her nest when a can of food is opened.

Our mother cat was treated for worms a few weeks ago, just got her flea drops a few days ago, and the kittens got a warm bath in Dawn dishsoap. No more fleas, no more worms, and everyone is gaining weight.

Is the lump near her nipples? Is it painful, or uncomfortable? If so it may be Mastitis.

I have heard of cats having split litters, but it's usually only a few days apart. A week seems long to me.

Has she seen a vet? Post some pictures of the lump as well.

Her lump is in her belly area, not in her mammary gland area. I can't see it, but I can feel it. It doesn't seem to bother her, its just THERE. Its where her kittens were.

Best to take her to a vet.

Cats can have problems especially if it was her fist litter with some of the placenta remaining Inside from one of the kittens after birth or with a internal tear due to a difficult birth. My parents bred siamese for years and I have seen cause infections which should be easily cleared up with antiboitics.

There is probably no problem because hard areas sometimes form after birth (especially if it's the first one) or after a cat is speyed for example that sometimes last months. But best to check.

Brian

I would be concerned that it might be the sixth kitten, but it is not alive.  I know that our momma kitty had 5 kittens, but the last one was stillborn.  Birthing that last one was very difficult for her compared to the first four.  Even the placenta passed much easier than that poor little thing.

I agree that a vet would have a better idea of what is going on.

My cat also has this... I have a call into the vet. I was wondering what happened
Thank you.

@McAdam mom

What did you find out about the lump? I'm concerned because my cat has the same lump as described in the first post. 3 days ago she gave birth to 6 kittens, has a good appetite and appears healthy.

Is your cat's lump still present?

Our vet said that it was her bladder and she had some nerve damage. We were told to massage her lump a bit a few times a day, whenever it was big. We did and she would run to the litterbox right after. It went away after a few days and everything is normal now.

Oh, mcadammom am happy to hear it went away and everything is normal now [emoji]128512[/emoji] Thanks for responding to my question.

Had she just given birth when you felt the lump? If so, how many and how are the kittens?

She had 5 kittens in the night (on our bed) and we felt the lump sometime in the morning. It didnt feel like a kitten was stuck as it felt smaller than a kitten. One week old and doing great.

In your bed? LOL sorry, but at least she was somewhere safe and accessible. It's wonderful to hear they are doing great! Mommy and kittens are adorable, beautiful [emoji]128512[/emoji]

Sasha is a stray pregnant who was terribly thin & looked malnourished which was the other reason I panicked. I'd called the vet in the middle of the night 1 day after the kittens were born to ask about the lump and Sasha's fast breathing. Thankfully it appeared she was just too warm and the lump was her uterus contracting.

Mommy and sweet kittens all seem healthy although can't see all 6 here [emoji]128522[/emoji]