Mammary Swelling After Spay

[Brian K]

PICTURE INCLUDED

All,
I had a female cat spayed that is an outdoor cat I'm trying to adopt. She is very sweet and loving. I rescued one of her kittens from a storm drain 2 weeks ago during a rainstorm. The vet said I could go ahead and have the mom spayed since the kitten (and others if there are any that made it) was old enough and was being weaned. I waited a couple weeks to be safe and had the spaying done Thursday. Everything was fine 48 hours later (this morning) this evening, roughly 60 hours post op, her mamary gland is swollen up and feels kind of flat/hard. I called the emergency vet line he told me he didn't think it was anything that warranted an emergency visit but to take her back in the morning which I will most certainly do.

Can anyone provide me some peace of mind? With the exception of the lump there and the way she has to lay down, she seems totally fine and resting.

I'm totally stressed here, and just pray she is ok.

 

[abyeb]

Is there any way you can get the emergency vet a picture? That is major swelling that indicates a serious infection. The vet might have thought that you were referring to only slight swelling, around the incision area, which is common.

 

[posiepurrs]

Is the swelling at the site of the incision, or is it the actual mammary gland that is swollen? If it is the gland, it is probably from hormones - mammary hyperplasia. If it is at the surgery site best to have her seen asap - especially if she is acting 'off'. Mammary hyperplasia can be a nasty problem with some cats, but it subsides when the hormones die down. Since she is just coming off spay surgery and having kittens this is a possibility. If you are in doubt take her to the vet - no sense in taking a chance!

 

[Brian K]

I would say it's the mammary gland. I'm taking her to a 24 hour emergency vet clinic at 10:45am EST. I just hate this. I already feel so awful for all the trauma she's been through beings spayed, now I have to put her in the dreaded box again and take her to get poked more. High Anxiety today. Please say a little prayer for her. She's a sweetheart. I'll post later about what the vet said.

 

[Brian K]

I just got back from the Emergency Clinic. She has mastitis in one of her mammory glands. They tried to milk it some to alleviate the pressure. I have 7 days of antibiotics to give her, 3 days of anti-inflammatory medicine and she received a shot of pain medicine which lasts 72 hours. In all, it was NOT any infection where the incision site is. The incision is still closed and healing.

As I have posted in a different thread, the picture on my profile is the female who I just took to the vet's kitten. 2 weeks ago I found the mom distressed during a rainstorm hovering above a storm drain. Her kitten was hanging on for dear life on a concrete pipe as water rushed in and around him. We got the kitten out. I took it to the vet and it was healthy. It was 6-8 weeks old, with teeth already in. I followed mom cat the next day and she led me to the storm drain again, where I saw another kitten. I realized then, that she was actually nesting down there. (It had not rained in 5 weeks except the one time I had to rescue the orange one so she probably thought it was safe) That night it rained for hours. I checked the storm drain and I'm quite certain there is no way her other kitten survived. The vet instructed me to wait 2 weeks and go ahead and have the mom spayed, which I did. The mom was probably still in a cycle of lactation so that's why she swelled up post op. I checked the mom's tummy everyday for the 2 weeks from the storm until I had her spayed. Previously her nipples were chewed on and rough looking because the babies had teeth, but for the past 2 weeks they healed up. I don't think her other kitten made it through the storm. If it did, it would be old enough to fend for itself.

Anyway, I'm planning to adopt out the kitten to a good home and I'm going to try and keep the mom. She has been through hell, I want her to have a good home.