bleeding nipple

Question
I have a 13 yr old femaile cat over the lastg few month one nipple has been swollen & blue, we took her to the vet & he syringed blood out of it. this has had to be done few times. now the other day we found blood on the floor, we took her back to the vet this time it was a diff one. he squeezed it & blood shot out everywhere. he put her on antibiotics. we took her back today & the same thing happened. he said he hasnt seen this in older desexed cats. so is unsure what to do. she has been seen by 2 vets.they did say today if it doesnt stop they might remover her mammary glands.id appreciate any help you might have about this.

Answer
Hi Heidi.  I'm not sure which lines your vets are thinking along.  Did they give you a suspected diagnosis?  I don't know if they feel she has mastitis, but this is what I suspect since they put her on antibiotics.  Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary tissue, often caused by an infection, and cats with the condition can sometimes have a bloody nipple discharge.

But there are some other big concerns.  Persistent bleeding like this is one of the most common signs of mammary cancer.  It's likely your vet would feel a tumor if your cat does have a tumor, but not necessarily if the tumor is small or poorly defined.  Removing the mammary chain (the entire network of mammary tissue) would be the best way to hopefully get rid of this most frightening disease.

However, it would be wise to do some pre-operative blood work for more than one reason.  Older cats should always be screened before undergoing anesthesia.  But cats who are bleeding for unexplained reasons may be experiencing blood clotting issues.  This can be due to problems such as cancer or liver failure.  Running a few blood tests will determine whether your cat's platelet count is normal, as well as the rest of her blood cell counts, and will tell you if her liver and other organs are functioning healthily.

I hope all goes well!

Jessica