Expert: Jessica - 9/14/2009

Question
Our cat recently had 7 kittens. They all nursed well and have grown to be fine/healthy kittens. The numbers of kittens dwindled over the course of 3 days. 7, to 4, to 2, to 0. She wasn't regularly nursing them and they ate kitten food and drank water from a dish. The mother is doing good in terms of recognizing the kittens have gone. Unfortunately, her body hasn't. She is SO full of milk, she actually looks like she's pregnant (which I can assure you she is not!) I know that nursing human mothers can get breast infections, can cats get them?  She doesn't seem to be in any pain form it that I can tell, but I worry about her. It's only been 2 days since the last 2 kittens have gone. Will the milk dry up on it's own?

Answer
Hi Lisa.  Poor kitty!  Indeed, cats can get mastitis just like people can.  It tends to be most common after nursing has ended, since nursing actually prevents bacterial build up inside the mammaries.  Signs of mastitis include abnormally colored discharge from the teats, crusting around the area, blue or purple discoloration of the skin and a red vein-like pattern leading away from the area.  The skin may also feel hot to the touch.  If any of these signs appear, you should get her to the vet.  She may need antibiotics.

In the meantime, you can see if she will allow you to hold any compresses to her belly.  Warm, wet compresses, especially those prepared with parsley, may be helpful at reducing pain and swelling.  Parsley may have diuretic properties, so try putting it in a cloth and soaking it for 15 minutes, and then apply it to her belly as a compress.  Cats also enjoy parsley as a treat, so whether she enjoys the compress or not, she shouldn't mind grooming off any leftover parsley!

The milk will dry up on its own.  After having nursed such a large litter, it may take her a while longer than it would other mothers.  On average, it takes about 10 days.  It may take her a few weeks (and then she can be spayed).  However, milk production will stop, and her body will begin to resorb the milk it has already produced.  Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done to reverse the process!

If you're feeding her kitten food or even adult cat food, try mixing half of her food with a weight loss formula.  This has less of the fat and protein that's needed to produce milk.

I hope she doesn't become too much more engorged and is feeling better soon!

Best wishes,
Jessica