Milk drying up??

Hello everyone! I'm new here - but I have a few questions and would appreciate any advice!

I took in an abandoned stray cat about 2 months ago, took her to the vet and low and behold she was pregnant. The Vet estimated that she was very young (around 7-8 months) as well as very petite with a large litter.. After weeks of worrying how the birth would go, she gave birth to 5 beautiful and healthy kittens without a hitch on January 6th. Last Friday (January 15th) I went to check on her and found a huge hole in her stomach (she stays completely indoors; has not been around any other household pets since giving birth) I rushed her to the emergency vet to find that she had two ruptured mammary glands, which caused immediate swelling. The vet concluded that continuous clawing/kneading of 5 kittens on tight and tender skin caused the laceration. Long story short she underwent emergency surgery to remove those ruptured mammary glands and the dead tissue. I went ahead and had her spayed per his recommendation (which I was going to do after she finished nursing anyway) and she returned home the next day.

Now the vet said that she could resume nursing 24hrs after surgery with all 5 slowly being reintroduced to her. I was incredibly worried about them clawing at her incision (which seemed like a wonky stitch job to begin with) and that she might not be able to handle all 5. Well, here we are a week post-op and she can still only handle 2-3 kittens in with her at a time. I'm bottle feeding all of them and rotating the kittens out with mama at each feeding so that they each get a chance to be with her several times a day. But my main concern through all of this is that I think her milk is drying up!!!! I asked the vet if getting her spayed during surgery would cause this, and he said no because they preform spays on cats who have c-sections all the time. However, since she has come home she has had issues with her milk. The babies still nurse but I'm not sure how much milk they're really getting. When I swap them out the kittens that come from her often seem hungry and I have to feed them formula. When they're with her they sleep soundly and never cry (as hungry kittens do) so I assume they're getting something? I tried to gently express milk myself when she was laying in my lap earlier, but nothing came out (perhaps i was being too gentle?) and her teats did not feel "round" or filled with milk-but rather "flat" like you could feel her muscle underneath. Some of her nipples and skin on her belly seems chapped-nothing too serious, just kind of like chapped lips.

Anyway, all of this to say do you think her milk has dried up? Is there anything I can help to increase her milk supply if there is still one? The babies are only 2 weeks and 2 days old, so I would love for them to still be able to get the nourishment from her milk...I'm just not sure what to do! She is my first queen, so I am learning each step along the way.

Thanks for any and all help!!!

It sounds as if she developed mastitis which caused the abscesses. I've had 2 momma cats do this. I've not ever had to have the mammary glands/tissue removed as a result of this; however, each case is different and she may have had a severe case.

With that said, based on your descriptions, it does seem as if her milk is drying up. Having the kittens nurse on her usually increases milk production; but, momma' body may simply be saying it's had enough.

Are you weighing the kittens daily to make sure they are gaining adequate weight (at least 10 grams a day)?

My advice would be to continue doing what you are. Allow them to nurse on mom as, even if they aren't getting much milk, the suckling and cuddling with mom is still very much needed. Adjust the amount of formula you give them based on how much weight they are gaining.

At 2 weeks old, all should be around half a pound. They should be a full pound at 4 weeks old.

Did the vet give her any antibiotics?  If it was mastitis she need antibiotics to clear it up.

I agree. Weight them every day, that is the trick to know if they gets enough if you arent very experienced.

Normally they add 10+ grammes a day, ie about 0,4ounce.   If they were born very petite, somewhat less is allowed.

What kmr do you use?  If you can get raw goat milk - fresh or frozen, it is always a nice supplement, even if you do have a good kmr.

Otherwise, you seem do it with the kittens, as it should be done.