Emergency. Friend's Cat Has Mastitis

[Krienze]

A friend of mines cat that she had rescued just gave birth.

The mama cat seems to have mastitis. She tried cabbage, and milking. Neither work.

Ears are cold/nose seems wet so doesn't appear to have a fever.

She CAN'T afford the vet until Tuesday, and even then is on a limited pay. She thought about surrendering her cat so that it could get medical treatment, but no shelters in her area are accepting cats and she doesn't want her to get put down.

This is NOT my cat and in the end, I have no control over what she does - I know she'd move mountains for her cats, but is in a terrible situation where she legit can't go yet and care credit denied her.

Does anyone who has experience with this have any advice?

Please, please, don't spam me with "TAKE HER TO THE VET" - she KNOWS the cat needs the vet, she just can't yet and is really trying her best to stay afloat until she gets paid.

 

[Willowy]

Heat packs, massage, be ready and willing to feed the kittens by hand. I don't think the mother cat is in extreme danger at this point but the kittens could be if her milk is entirely blocked.

She can call the vet for advice and also make an appointment for tomorrow. If caught early it may just be a matter of a round of antibiotics but if it goes on too long it'll be more expensive to treat.

 

[Sarthur2]

The cat needs an antibiotic such as clavamox to clear the mastitis. Perhaps you could front the money for this and your friend could pay you back.

Mastitis will not go away on its own. Warm, damp compresses will help. Poor kitty probably has fever and pain.

If she is unable to feed her babies, they’ll need feeding by syringe with kitten formula every 2 hours until mom feels better.

Do keep us posted and hoping you can help out your friend.

 

[di and bob]

If she can express a little milk out, even a few drops, the cat is not completely blocked. The best thing is to have the kittens massage and get some milk out naturally if mama will let them. Your friend could see if a vet would give her an over-the-counter antibiotic if she explains it is a feral cat and can't be brought in. Call ALL the vets! Heat packs would work wonders too. I pray this gets resolved.....

 

[Willowy]

Oh and if there are any privately run rescues in the areas, tell her to contact them. They may have some leftover meds from previous uses, donated meds, etc.

 

[Krienze]

The cat needs an antibiotic such as clavamox to clear the mastitis. Perhaps you could front the money for this and your friend could pay you back.

Mastitis will not go away on its own. Warm, damp compresses will help. Poor kitty probably has fever and pain.

If she is unable to feed her babies, they’ll need feeding by syringe with kitten formula every 2 hours until mom feels better.

Do keep us posted and hoping you can help out your friend.

Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to be able to help with money right now either since we're still working on repairing damages after Ida and a few new damages from the storm last week, or I 100% would help her.

As for feeding, she says momma cat was able to feed two of them, but that some aren't "acceptable" (not 100% sure what she meant by this.)

I've only ever been there for one cat giving birth and the only issue we had was one simply didn't make it.

If she can express a little milk out, even a few drops, the cat is not completely blocked. The best thing is to have the kittens massage and get some milk out naturally if mama will let them. Your friend could see if a vet would give her an over-the-counter antibiotic if she explains it is a feral cat and can't be brought in. Call ALL the vets! Heat packs would work wonders too. I pray this gets resolved.....

She did say two fed, so maybe they aren't completely blocked? I hope!

The kittens ARE four weeks old now, though. So I'm not sure how much longer they will feed with momma?

Heat packs, massage, be ready and willing to feed the kittens by hand. I don't think the mother cat is in extreme danger at this point but the kittens could be if her milk is entirely blocked.

She can call the vet for advice and also make an appointment for tomorrow. If caught early it may just be a matter of a round of antibiotics but if it goes on too long it'll be more expensive to treat.

I do know she's been trying to heat packs! Thankfully the kittens are 4 weeks and my friend is ready to feed them if need be, though I think she's been trying to get them to eat wet food.


Thank you everyone for replying! I will keep you updated as I hear from her.

She was a little afraid to comment on here herself. =(

 

[cataholic07]

Mom will need antibiotics for sure and I'd take the kittens too. At 4 weeks old she can try some kmr and kitten wet food heated up to see if the kittens will eat. It's very important that kittens eat as they can go downhill very quickly. Mom will be fine until tomorrow it's mostly the non eating kittens I'd be worried about to be honest. Does she plan on spaying momma?

 

[Willowy]

Ok, yeah, at 4 weeks she can try offering canned food mixed with milk (KMR is best but at that age I've used canned condensed milk too---the lactose is cooked out). If they get hungry enough they should eat it.

What kind of symptoms is the mother cat showing?

 

[Krienze]

Mom will need antibiotics for sure and I'd take the kittens too. At 4 weeks old she can try some kmr and kitten wet food heated up to see if the kittens will eat. It's very important that kittens eat as they can go downhill very quickly. Mom will be fine until tomorrow it's mostly the non eating kittens I'd be worried about to be honest. Does she plan on spaying momma?

Yeah. I believe she found a place where she can do it for a fairly reasonable amount. She's on a fixed income, honestly. She can normally afford vet visits but the kittens have been an unexpected arrival, you know?
She hasn't gotten back in touch with me yet =(

 

[Krienze]

Just wanted to update that I believe everything turned out okay! She never contacted me back about how the cat turned out, so I'm hoping that's a good thing as if something had gone wrong I do think she would have panic messaged me!

Thank you all for offering advice!