Questions about Mammary Hyperplasia

[Aafia Ijaz]

Sounds like you are dealing with Mammary Hyperplasia. Hormones cause the breasts to swell like they have milk in them and the symptoms mimic mastitis even though the cat isn't nursing kittens. I dealt with this in one of my girls. It can be serious if the skin splits and ulcerates. Best solution is spaying. She will likely be coming into heat soon since this is happening. I would speak with the vet now about spaying her, before it gets worse and is a much more involved (and expensive) surgery. My girl was fine,even though I did not spay her - she was pregnant with her first litter of kittens (I am a breeder) when she developed it. Poor baby looked like Dolly Parton on steriods! The swelling went down after she had the kittens and we were lucky there was no tearing or ulceration. This sometimes happens to young cats around their first heat, although from what I have read is fairly uncommon.

So if a cat has mammary hyperplasia and the skin splits and ulcerates, how serious is it? I mean what do you mean by "it can be serious"?

 

[Maurey]

So if a cat has mammary hyperplasia and the skin splits and ulcerates, how serious is it? I mean what do you mean by "it can be serious"?

Ulceration means it’s been infected. The risks will depend on how bad the infection is. Generally not something to risk waiting on, imo, especially since it’s not always possible to distinguish hyperplasia from cancer just by looking at it. 7 months is very young for cancer, but has been known to happen.

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

Ulceration means it’s been infected. The risks will depend on how bad the infection is. Generally not something to risk waiting on, imo, especially since it’s not always possible to distinguish hyperplasia from cancer just by looking at it. 7 months is very young for cancer, but has been known to happen.

Have you seen any cat less than 1 year old developing this kind of cancer?
And have you seen a young spayed cat developing hyperplasia?

 

[Maurey]

Have you seen any cat less than 1 year old developing this kind of cancer?
And have you seen a young spayed cat developing hyperplasia?

Not personally, but there are case reports on kittens developing cancer — as long as a cat has reached sexual maturity, mammary cancer is a theoretical risk, especially if the cat isn’t spayed, or was spayed after sexual maturity. There have also been rare cases of spayed cats developing hyperplasia, but that had to do with retained ovarian tissue.

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

Thanks. My regular vet is on vacation and we saw a vet who was standing in for him. Do you think it is likely that it is not a mammary gland mass?

What was it

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

Have you seen a YOUNG spayed kitten developing mammary hyperplasia? Please make this post to the top i really want answers from experienced people

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

For those who need more information, here is a thread that gives a lot of details: Mammary gland

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Not really. She has developed a seroma so we're giving her half a dose of lasoride in her food as the vet prescribed. But the seroma is too big we have to give her 5 more days and it is still big idk if it will disappear. Other than that, my cat has lost 1 kg of weight, she's lethargic (she'd sleep all day, would only come for food, water and litter), she seems really sad and she's been drinking too much water ever since her second surgery

That lasoride is a diuretic, which can make her dehydrated. That would explain the excess water drinking. Although it sounds like it started before that medication. They've been doing bloodwork on her all along, right? (Just to make sure everything is ok with all her organs?)

Just as an FYI, my hubby had surgery last summer and he developed a huge seroma. It took months to go away, but they didn't give him any medication or try to drain it or anything. Said it would eventually go away, which it did. That was the 2nd time it happened to him after surgery.

So, was the third Vet able to do anything? What is her status now as far as the healing goes? Did they fix the hernia and is she still draining? I don't think it's unusual that she is sleeping most of the time. Her body is desperately trying to heal and that takes lots of sleep. The fact that she is still eating is a good sign. A very good sign. But this entire issue is worrisome. Are you comfortable now with this third Vet? If not, I would definitely try to find a specialist.

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

That lasoride is a diuretic, which can make her dehydrated. That would explain the excess water drinking. Although it sounds like it started before that medication. They've been doing bloodwork on her all along, right? (Just to make sure everything is ok with all her organs?)

Just as an FYI, my hubby had surgery last summer and he developed a huge seroma. It took months to go away, but they didn't give him any medication or try to drain it or anything. Said it would eventually go away, which it did. That was the 2nd time it happened to him after surgery.

So, was the third Vet able to do anything? What is her status now as far as the healing goes? Did they fix the hernia and is she still draining? I don't think it's unusual that she is sleeping most of the time. Her body is desperately trying to heal and that takes lots of sleep. The fact that she is still eating is a good sign. A very good sign. But this entire issue is worrisome. Are you comfortable now with this third Vet? If not, I would definitely try to find a specialist.

Well, i have no other choice but to have him treat her as I live in Pakistan, Islamabad and there are no specialists here i suppose. This vet has more experience in veterinary medicine, the reason why i took her to him and because he was recommended by a few people. The West have comparatively better vets, that I know. Getting back to your questions, no she is not draining and yes the hernia was fixed. She had ongoing infection after the third surgery. They only did CBC and informed me that she had increased number of WBCs and that she also had sepsis which was treatable

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

OMG. Sepsis is not good, but I'm glad it is treatable. I'm guessing she's been on some heavy duty antibiotics, and possibly still is. That, naturally, will mess up her digestive tract, so she probably has diarrhea now. Poor baby. She can't seem to catch a break But I know you are pretty well versed in treating minor things, or don't hesitate to ask, so you probably already know that probiotics would be good for her at this point, and if she IS still on antibiotics, not to give those two things at the same time of day?

Hoping this is the last of her surgeries and that her health start picking up.

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

No she's not on antibiotics anymore thankfully. She had them for a week. Just pray she recovers fully now I don't want her to suffer anymore. She's already been through a lot and i blame myself for that. If only i hadn't gotten her spayed in the first place, non of this would have happened. Or even if i had got her spayed, I should have been very careful and responsible. I should have let her used the newspaper litter instead and that way that second surgery could've been avoided. I miss her old self a lot. She was such an active kid, always interested in playing with almost everything and teasing my other cat. Now she's not interested in anything. She seems drowsy all the time.

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

Have you seen a YOUNG spayed kitten developing mammary hyperplasia? Please make this post to the top i really want answers from experienced people

does anybody have any information?

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

I assume that one of the vets would have mentioned an infection if there were one, but since you have had recent medical treatment for her, I would call and bring up your concern. Scar tissue can definitely be prominent after major surgeries.

Right, but the lump was felt under the skin. Like nodules. It couldn't be seen. Still could be scar tissue?

 

[fionasmom]

Scar tissue can be visible or palpable for a long time after surgeries. There can be internal scar tissue after surgeries, adhesions, and they can form inside the body, sometimes causing problems. Not being a vet, I can't say if what appears to be a nodule could be scar tissue or vice versa.

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

Scar tissue can be visible or palpable for a long time after surgeries. There can be internal scar tissue after surgeries, adhesions, and they can form inside the body, sometimes causing problems. Not being a vet, I can't say if what appears to be a nodule could be scar tissue or vice versa.

But do adhesions feel like hard nodules under the skin?

 

[fionasmom]

Adhesions usually don't. They are bands of scar tissue that are more internal, at least in humans. Keloid scar tissue can be raised and lumpy. In my experience only, nodules seems more moveable and internal whereas external scar tissue is firmly attached to the surface of the skin.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

No she's not on antibiotics anymore thankfully. She had them for a week. Just pray she recovers fully now I don't want her to suffer anymore. She's already been through a lot and i blame myself for that. If only i hadn't gotten her spayed in the first place, non of this would have happened. Or even if i had got her spayed, I should have been very careful and responsible. I should have let her used the newspaper litter instead and that way that second surgery could've been avoided. I miss her old self a lot. She was such an active kid, always interested in playing with almost everything and teasing my other cat. Now she's not interested in anything. She seems drowsy all the time.

It's natural to blame yourself, but I don't think that's fair. You are a loving cat caregiver and unfortunately this happened. I really don't think you did anything wrong. Did anyone advise you not to use your regular litter? I'm pretty sure when I had my little one spayed no one gave us any directions to use paper litter. I mean, the incision is supposed to be closed for crying out loud! And if you've ever been around a cat in heat, that's not pleasant for either the caregiver OR the cat, unless they actually mate, so that really isn't a good option either (not to have gotten her spayed). There are no guarantees that any procedures will go as planned, so we do the best we can. Now, hopefully, she is on the mend and will be good as new shortly. How long ago was that last surgery? I was somehow under the impression that it was very recent until you mentioned she's already done with the antibiotics. If she isn't perking up by now, I'd discuss that with the Vet again.

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

The last surgery happened a month ago which was a major one so it was a long road to recovery. She's been through a lot. 3 surgeries one after another (hardly getting any break, having too many vet visits and stays) are too much for one little cat.
Nobody advised me not to use the regular litter, i searched the internet and it was mentioned that it's better for cats to use shredded paper after spay surgery or any other surgery that involves close contact with the litter while using it. Yes, the stitches were supposed to be closed but one of them was pulled out so there was a little bit of an opening, still don't know how this big amount of cat litter went inside her muscles and skin. When one of her stitches was pulled out after the spay, she got an infection and i asked the vet if i should change her litter and make her use shredded paper because that's what i had read on the internet and he still had the nerve to tell me it wasn't needed. Wish i hadn't listened to him

 

[Aafia Ijaz]

It's natural to blame yourself, but I don't think that's fair. You are a loving cat caregiver and unfortunately this happened. I really don't think you did anything wrong. Did anyone advise you not to use your regular litter? I'm pretty sure when I had my little one spayed no one gave us any directions to use paper litter. I mean, the incision is supposed to be closed for crying out loud! And if you've ever been around a cat in heat, that's not pleasant for either the caregiver OR the cat, unless they actually mate, so that really isn't a good option either (not to have gotten her spayed). There are no guarantees that any procedures will go as planned, so we do the best we can. Now, hopefully, she is on the mend and will be good as new shortly. How long ago was that last surgery? I was somehow under the impression that it was very recent until you mentioned she's already done with the antibiotics. If she isn't perking up by now, I'd discuss that with the Vet again.

Also, do you think or have you ever seen ot heard any type of cancers being caused by surgical complications?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Also, do you think or have you ever seen ot heard any type of cancers being caused by surgical complications?

I am not familiar with surgery causing cancer. As to your post about your Vet not even advising you change litter after you asked, that is another reason why you should not blame yourself for what happened