Expert: Ali - 1/28/2009

Question
I have a 1 1/2 yr. old female cat who recently was spayed but continues to nurse other kittens in the house that are approx. 7-8 wks old and now has an inflamed milk duct. Is this normal and how can I stop them from nursing on her?

Answer
Barbara,

I wanted to ask a few questions to clarify what's going on here which will hopefully allow me to give you the best possible answers.

- Are these kittens the offspring of the female cat in question?

- Did you recently bring these kittens into your home?

- If the mother cat lives in your home did you separate the kittens in order to wean them?

- Does the mother cat is in your home?

- Has she begun to wean the kittens early - say from around 4-6 weeks of age?

- Has the surrogate mother to the kittens been diagnosed with a case of mastitis which is an infection of the mammary glands?

- In the event that these kittens aren't related to this female cat is there any medical reason that she shouldn't be allowed to continue to mother these young babies?

- Do you personally have an issue with this cat continuing to mother these kittens for the short term until they are old enough to go to their forever homes?

I wanted to let you know that the behavior you're seeing isn't uncommon, in fact it's completely normal in multiple cat households and cat colonies. Females within a colony of cats will often care for and feed each other's babies to allow everyone to hunt and survive. This is a characteristic that has served cats well for a very long time. Spaying a cat doesn't prevent them from lactating, in fact if your cat has only recently been spayed the drop in hormones would mimic that of a queen that has recently given birth which may have been a factor in her deciding to mother these kittens. It's also quite possible that this little girl has a condition caused by hormonal imbalances that causes people and animals to develop symptoms of pregnancy which can include producing milk. 7-8 week old kittens are quite young to be kept completely away from their mother. Normally queens will continue to care for their kittens for several months in a colony type situation. Some moms will allow their kittens to nurse throughout that time others will wean their babies anywhere from 5/6 weeks to 8/10 weeks depending on how tolerant the cat is. If these kittens are recent additions to your household it's possible that they weren't completely weaned yet and they went looking for a surrogate mother. If you received these kittens through a free to a good home ad or similar situation it's quite possible that these babies may be younger than 7-8 weeks, the best way to determine that is to have your family veterinarian assess them physically and developmentally to determine their approximate age. Unfortunately many people believe that as long as a kitten can eat solid food they are ready to be adopted, sadly nothing could be further from the truth. The first few months of a kitten's life are crucial in helping to determine how an individual will respond to handling and lessons about bite inhibition and following rules are also part of a number of things kittens learn in the first several months of life. Just because a kitten can eat solid food doesn't mean that s/he's been entirely weaned. I normally recommend that kittens stay with their mother for a minimum of 10-12 weeks because they are generally completely weaned by that point and they've had the opportunity to learn how to be a cat. I would recommend that you leave things the way that they are until the cat and the kittens have been assessed by a veterinarian. I suspect that the cat will eventually tire and wean these babies on her own within a couple of weeks so unless there's a medical reason that she shouldn't be allowed to care for these kittens I think it's best to leave things alone for now. If the time comes that you must intervene for one reason or another I am more than willing to help you to do so.