What causes teats or the area between the hind legs to be filled with liquid in a spayed female cat? What should I do?
I'm taking care of 2 cats that belong to a woman who is unable to take care of them at this time but is now saving for her own place, where they'll be able to live with her again. She rescued both of them from bad situations several years ago, and then she went through a bad situation herself. Both cats are indoor-outdoor cats. The one I'm concerned about is Jelly, a 12-year-old long-haired spayed female.
Jelly is small (about 8.5 pounds) with a light build but with a distended abdomen although her long coat keeps it from being as noticeable as it might otherwise be. She's had that at least as long as she's been with her current owner. That is on the list of questions we have for whenever her owner can afford to take her to a vet. Coming from sleeping in her truck at night, she doesn't have money for a vet yet, and neither do I.
Anyway, last night when I picked her up, I noticed that it felt almost like milk in her teats between her hind legs. (I've had cats all my life and have fostered cats as well, so I remember teats with milk.) It wasn't quite like milk, though, just liquidy, and not firm like full teats. Jelly didn't like me touching that area, and it was late at night, so I left it.
This morning, that area felt more puffy, with more liquid/puffiness on one side than the other. Also, I can't be sure, but I think her abdomen was less distended. Again, she didn't want me to touch the puffy area. And being a mostly outdoor cat in the summer, she was anxious to get outside.
Please let's not turn this into a discussion about whether cats should be indoors or outdoors. My own cats are indoors only, and that's the choice I would make for most cats. However, Jelly is not my cat, and she has spent her life as an indoor-outdoor cat. She gets destructive if she's kept indoors when she wants out. And fortunately, we live on a quiet dead-end road. Her being an indoor-outdoor cat is not the issue here.
The photo is one I took a while ago, just to give you a picture of Jelly. It doesn't show the current development.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
I'm taking care of 2 cats that belong to a woman who is unable to take care of them at this time but is now saving for her own place, where they'll be able to live with her again. She rescued both of them from bad situations several years ago, and then she went through a bad situation herself. Both cats are indoor-outdoor cats. The one I'm concerned about is Jelly, a 12-year-old long-haired spayed female.
Jelly is small (about 8.5 pounds) with a light build but with a distended abdomen although her long coat keeps it from being as noticeable as it might otherwise be. She's had that at least as long as she's been with her current owner. That is on the list of questions we have for whenever her owner can afford to take her to a vet. Coming from sleeping in her truck at night, she doesn't have money for a vet yet, and neither do I.
Anyway, last night when I picked her up, I noticed that it felt almost like milk in her teats between her hind legs. (I've had cats all my life and have fostered cats as well, so I remember teats with milk.) It wasn't quite like milk, though, just liquidy, and not firm like full teats. Jelly didn't like me touching that area, and it was late at night, so I left it.
This morning, that area felt more puffy, with more liquid/puffiness on one side than the other. Also, I can't be sure, but I think her abdomen was less distended. Again, she didn't want me to touch the puffy area. And being a mostly outdoor cat in the summer, she was anxious to get outside.
Please let's not turn this into a discussion about whether cats should be indoors or outdoors. My own cats are indoors only, and that's the choice I would make for most cats. However, Jelly is not my cat, and she has spent her life as an indoor-outdoor cat. She gets destructive if she's kept indoors when she wants out. And fortunately, we live on a quiet dead-end road. Her being an indoor-outdoor cat is not the issue here.
The photo is one I took a while ago, just to give you a picture of Jelly. It doesn't show the current development.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
