A home is rarely flooded with as much tenderness as those in which a cat has given birth to her litter and takes care of her puppies. The lactation and attention of the mother during the first three weeks will be of great importance for an adequate development of the kittens and an adequate attention to the mother on the part of the owner will be essential to keep the cat in a good state of health, through of the necessary care.

After the pregnancy of the cat can occur certain health problems typical of the stage of postpartum and it is important that the owner is warned about them to detect any disorder as soon as possible, since timely treatment is of great importance for the recovery of the cat.

In this article we tell you about the symptoms and treatment of mastitis in cats.

What is mastitis?

Mastitis is defined as a inflammation of the mammary glands, the number of affected glands can vary in each case. Although it is a common problem in post-partum, it may appear for other reasons.

The death of some kitten, an abrupt weaning, the lack of hygiene or the suction of the puppies are also factors that can predispose the appearance of mastitis.

Sometimes mastitis goes beyond a simple inflammation and also involves infection, in this case, the bacteria that most commonly affect the cats are Escherichia Coli, staphylococci, streptococci and enterococci.

Generally the infection starts in the nipple and ascends to the mammary glands, the mastitis can go from a slight inflammation that scarcely presents symptoms until a serious infection with gangrene (death of the tissue for lack of sanguineous irrigation).

Symptoms of mastitis

The symptoms of mastitis in cats they are very variable depending on the severity of the same, however, from the most mild to the most serious cases include the following signs:

• Litter does not gain adequate weight (set at 5% birth weight per day)
• The cat does not want to nurse her cubs
• Moderate inflammation of the glands, which appear hard, painful and sometimes ulcerated
• Abscess formation or gangrene
• Hemorrhagic or purulent mammary discharges
• Milk with viscosity increase
• Anorexia
• Fever
• Vomiting

If we observe some of these symptoms in our cat we should go to the vet urgently, since mastitis can be very serious for both the mother and the puppies.

Diagnosis of mastitis

To diagnose mastitis the veterinarian will be based on the symptoms and the complete history of the patient, however, it can also perform several of the following diagnostic tests:

• Cytology (study of cells) of breast secretion
• Bacterial culture of milk
• Blood test where you can see an increase in white blood cells in case of infection and an alteration in platelets in case of gangrene

Treatment of mastitis

Treat mastitis properly does not suppose interrupting the nursing of the puppies , which must have a minimum duration ranging between 8 and 12 weeks, in fact, weaning is reserved only for those cases where there is abscess formation or gangrenous mastitis.

Continuing with breastfeeding will favor the drainage of the breasts, and although the milk will be poorer and contaminated by antibiotics, this will not be a danger for the kittens.

The veterinarian will choose a Broad spectrum antibiotic to perform the treatment, the most common being the following:

• amoxicillin
• Amoxicillin + Clavulanic Acid
• Cephalexin
• Cefoxitin

The treatment will have a approximate duration of 2-3 weeks and it can be done in the home, except in those cases where there is a generalized infection or sepsis.

In the case of mastitis with gangrene, surgery may be used to remove the necrotic tissue. The prognosis is good in most cases.

This article is merely informative, in .com we do not have the faculty to prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis. We invite you to take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Mastitis in cats – Symptoms and treatment, we recommend you to enter in our section of Pregnancy problems.