Mother Cat Has Swollen Breasts

[Unreacheabledreams]

Hello, so... I need help
The thing is, my cat gave birth a month ago to five kittens. Two of them died and the rest are still alive. But, for some reason, the mother's breasts are swollen and hard, and they're causing her extreme pain. She's even refusing to feed her kittens because of how much painful it is. She tries to, but as soon as they touch her, she immediately starts attacking them due to her pain. And i don't know what to do... I hate seeing her sudfer, and i don't want the babies to die due to lack of getting fed by their mother. I tried to place a warm cloth on her breasts, but it did nothing. And one breast bleed a bit yesterday. What should i do? Please help.
I'm going to send a picture as well.

 

[Columbine]

I'm no expert, but it sounds like she may have mastitis. She really does need to see a vet. This can be life threatening if left untreated. The kittens will need bottle feeding until she can nurse them again. Given their age, you can start weaning them too, so they can eat some on their own. I remember the breeder telling me about something similar happening with my boys' mama when they were very young (I think only a couple of weeks old), though in her case only one teat was affected. She started the weaning process right then, just in case mama cat didn't make it.
How To Save Your Cat From These 16 Life-threatening Pregnancy Risks

StefanZ and @Sarthur2 may be able to help you in more detail. Hope this helps

 

[Norachan]

It does sound like mastitis. This can be fatal if left untreated, so please get her and the kittens to the vet as soon as you can. The mother will need antibiotics to clear the infection up.

Don't let the kittens nurse from her. If she has an infection it can be passed on through the breast milk, which will mean the kittens will all get sick too.

Can you get some KMR for the kittens? They should be able to lap soon, so you might not need to bottle feed them. Another thing you can try is soft kitten food mixed with a bit of warm water, or kitten food mixed with KMR.

Your vet will be able to advise you on the best food for the kittens. If they suggest bottle feeding ask them to demonstrate how to do that.

Good luck.

 

[StefanZ]

Agree with all said above.
Vet help for momma necessary. (your try with warm damp cloth was OK, but not enough here).

And kittens need handfeeding as now. If you can get raw goats milk is good, otherwise pasteurized or dried goats milk is always an OK alternative to kmr.

Unreacheabledreams

 

[StefanZ]

ps. Does momma conitnue with washing and licking? If so, your task to handfeed is of course easier.

 

[Unreacheabledreams]

Columbine Norachan StefanZ
Unfortunately, there's only one pet shop in my city and they don't have KMR. So I'm looking for a shop outside of here to get KMR for the kittens.
Meanwhile, seems like today is so not my lucky day because it seems like the vet which usually looks at my cats isn't in the country. And idk any good vets who are near other than him.
And i called him and told him what's going on and all, and he said that it's normal for that to happen? Idk
He told me to get some kind of food for the kittens, something that looks like cereals, and to mix them with milk. He didn't specify what type of milk though. Is cow milk a good choice or not?
What kinds of antibiotics should i get for the mother?
He told me to get them to eat from these.
They did eat some of the cereal thingy, but they're refusing to eat from the other

 

[Norachan]

Cow's milk isn't much good for kittens. Can you get goats milk? The kittens might eat some human baby food. Not sure which country you are in or what is available, but if you can get a plain meat baby food, no onions or garlic, try offering them some of that.

I don't know what to suggest about the antibiotics. Where I live you can only get them from a vet, not over the counter.

Could you call your vet again and ask about that?

 

[Unreacheabledreams]

Okay I'll go get goat's milk then.
And yeah, I'll call him and ask him again about it.
Thank you for your help

 

[StefanZ]

Yes, if you can get goats milk your luck is done. Its ok with powdered or canned or...
Otherwise you can try with full fat plain youghurt. Have a little honey in it (if you can get real glucose sugar / dextrose, its even better), and just a little kitchen salt.

You can also try with baby food or wet cat food. Have them on your fingers and entice them to lick off...

 

[di and bob]

The mother desperately needs antibiotics. Have the vet prescribe you some over the phone, and if not, you need to take her AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to another vet. She needs help now or there is the possibility she could die from sepsis. She will help with the kittens again once she feels better. Get goats milk and canned food you can mix in to feed the kittens, and please get her some help. Is she eating and drinking? Please keep us posted!

 

[Unreacheabledreams]

StefanZ okay I'll try that
di and bob He's not freaking picking up. I'm asking about other vets right now. And yeah she ate a bit. She's sleeping now. I separated her from the kittens because they keep on trying to eat from her, and she's in pain so she keeps on hissing at them and attacking them.
I tried to feed the kittens these cereal thingies with warm water, and they ate some. And now I'm going to buy goats goat and see if they'll eat

 

[Unreacheabledreams]

Okay so i just got back from the vet.
He prescribed the mother some antibiotics, which I'm going to be giving her in a bit, and i couldn't find goat's milk. I'll try looking again once i get back from work. Hopefully I'll find some as well
Thank you guys so much for your help

 

[StefanZ]

If you dont have anything else you can give them water with a little honey in.
Its not enough but better than nothing.

 

[Norachan]

At four weeks old the kittens should be able to start eating soon. You could try making chicken broth for them.

shadowsrescue I know you have a video you've posted before on how to make broth for cats, but I can't find it. Could you post it again here?

Thanks.

 

[shadowsrescue]

This is the video where I was first introduced to bone broth. Yet I did not want to leave mine on a stove all day/night. I researched and did mine in a crock pot that took about 24 hours to make. I do believe that you can buy bone broth in some pet stores now when you are in a pinch or until you can make your own. I often save my bones when I make a whole chicken and freeze them until I have enough to make bone broth. I then keep it in the freezer until it is needed.

 

[Norachan]

How's everything going Unreacheabledreams Any updates?