Why is my cat's nipple bleeding, painful, and discharging from kitten?

Question

My nearly 2 year old female, who has never had a litter, recently started letting my 11 week old kitten 'suckle' on her nipple and I have noticed it is quite large compared to her other ones. The problem with that is it's causing it to weep discharge and a spot of blood from the opening of her nipple. I'm really worried as it seems to be causing her pain and I think this may be the conclusion as to why my new kitten has had diarrhoea because he must be swallowing the discharge oozing out of her. Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Female | unspayed

Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA · Accepted Answer

Sometimes mama cat's will let their kittens suckle much longer than is healthy. I would recommend separating the mom and her kitten, or you can have her wear a pet shirt or baby onesie to cover the nipples. You can apply warm compresses several times a day to the swollen gland. If it becomes hard, warm, seems painful, or if Zara has a poor appetite or a rectal temperature over 103, she should be seen by a vet as she may have developed mastitis (or an infection of the mammary gland) and would need antibiotics.

Why is my cat's nipple bleeding, painful, and discharging from kitten?

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