From 8 to 13??? Help

My mama cat is expecting any day now... she was born with 8 nipples I rubbed her belly last night and she literally grew 5 more she's up to 13 is this normal... all of them producing milk

My cat has at least 8 nipples that I can easily find, she's long haired, but only had 4 kittens. [emoji]128522[/emoji] Are the two supposed to be related?

They can have more than 8 nipples if that's what you're asking.

this is surely unusual...  I havent never heard about as many.  Thinking on - normal, although unusual variation - or could it be some sort of tumour.

but perhaps she is going to have unusually many kittens - and Mother Nature is helping her prepare.

C curiousmama2b

Goodness! That's a lot. I've heard of 10, but not 13. Can you get a picture for us?

Yes I can get a picture might b a few days... she had 5 kittens?!?! So confused

She has given birth now to 5 kittens? When? How are they doing?

What are you confused about?

sarthur2 said:

She has given birth now to 5 kittens? When? How are they doing?

What are you confused about?

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She's confused about why her cat suddenly has 13 nipples that are producing milk but the cat only had 5 kittens, I believe.
This does sound really unusual.

I have heard of dogs growing more nipples to accommodate a large litter (we have one such dog in our rescue.). I suppose a cat could do the same.

I still don't see the confusion. :dk: It's not uncommon for a cat to have 10 nipples. It doesn't mean 10 kittens are coming. 13 is a bit much, but I wouldn't worry about it.

Correct. There is no correlation between the number of nipples and the number of kittens. Conversely, there can be 8 kittens and 6 nipples.

But how are the kittens doing? Unused nipples tend to dry up eventually.

The nipples are hard to see bcuz of her hair but I've counted them a dozen times there's 13.... N yes was just confused on y so many have appeared with a normal litter of 5

The nipples go up to almost her neck and only one on a side more to make 13

Here's my mamas

Interesting. Mom is pretty! She looks sweet. [emoji]128149[/emoji] C curiousmama2b

How are the kittens doing?

And her litter all 5 made it thru and are doing great... in 6 weeks they will all be available if any ones interested I live in dexter mo

C curiousmama2b

Precious! When were they born?

They should not be separated from mom until they are at least 8 weeks old, preferably 10-12 weeks.

Figured if ur on this site ur a caring cat lover... and that's whom I want the babies to go to...

Krissy Marissy said:

I still don't see the confusion. :dk: It's not uncommon for a cat to have 10 nipples. It doesn't mean 10 kittens are coming. 13 is a bit much, but I wouldn't worry about it.

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The confusion is the sudden appearance of nipples that were not there previously. While cats can be born with more or less, it is not typical for nipples to "sprout" with a pregnancy. However, hormones are a funny thing and can certainly lead to this occurrence, though it is more common with larger litters (like the body is adjusting to handle the load.)

It is much more common for there to not be enough nipples for a large litter than too many for a smaller.

I always thought it was 6 wks old every litter I've ever had I gave awAy at 6 good to no they were born 6 days ago