Mothers cats warm breasts

Question
Long story short I have a stray mother cat that had 4 kittens.  The kittens are weaned and therefore we took the mother cat to go get spayed 4 days ago.  Now we have the mother cat in our basement to keep her away from the kittens so they won't nurse.  The kittens have been trapped and we are working on socializing them so they are adoptable.

The mothers breasts are firm and of course very painful for her.  She walks like she's waddling and keeps her legs wide at all times when walking.  She cries all the time and is very uncomfortable but I'm assuming it's between her surgery and the lack of kittens nursing her.  

But here's my question:  I had read somewhere briefly that heat in the mothers breast area could be a bad thing.  Her breasts are releasing a lot of heat.   And i mean  A LOT.  Is she okay and this is normal or should I be taking her to my vet?      

Thank you for your time...

Answer
Jessica,

From the description you have given of your cats breasts and actions I would say she has non-septic Mastitis, and that is a medical emergency! It is an inflamation, blockage, and resulting infection of the mammary glands.
It is VERY painful.

Carol