# Nursing Momma cat, with no kitten...



## Alyse1369 (Aug 28, 2009)

My cat Misty, had a kitten about a month ago. Both mother and kitten were doing wonderfully, Misty was doing everything a momma cat should do for her baby, and the kitten was growing, playing and progressing greatly. However, yesterday morning, I found the kitten on the floor dead, Misty was very distressed and kept pacing between me and the kitten. I looked over her body to see if there was any signs of a bite, or trauma, and found none, so I do not know what caused her death. She looked as if she had just gone to sleep.....Now my concern is Misty, the momma cat. She has been very distressed, meowing through the house and very clingy to me, I have been giving her as much extra attention as possible. But my main concern is the nipple and area around it is extremely swollen and turning red. This was not like this before the kitten died, and I assume it is because there is no drainage of the milk in there, however I am worried that this might cause an infection, and I know it is uncomfortable for her. Is there anything I can do to ease the swelling for her? Any help would be appreciated, I just want to try to keep her happy and healthy.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Welcome, and I am so sorry about the loss of the kitten, I can tell both you and the Mamma-kitty are upset. atback 
Unfortunately, sometimes these things happen and poor Misty is doing what any good mamma kitty would do (_being concerned_) but she doesn't have any other kittens to give her attention to, so she is giving it to you. Her milk teats will swell with un-nursed milk and it will become firm and tight before she stops producing milk. It will be a little uncomfortable until it goes down/away. If it gets red, hard, swollen and hot...I think that would be cause for a vet visit to be certain she isn't developing mastitis. At the least, call your vet and describe what happened and how her teats look and they may be able to tell you what to look for. Granted, they aren't going to be able to know how serious it is until they actually look at it, so you may still need to take her in for an exam. At that time, you may also want to tell the vet about the sudden death of the kitten, in the absence of obvious trauma, and discuss spaying your kitty in case this was a genetic problem.
I am so sorry the kitten passed away. Best wishes to you both, 
heidi =^..^=


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