my crying mama cat w/swollen tits

Question
Hi.  We recently adopted a pregnant stray.  She had her babies on April 1st and we just adopted them out at their 8th week.  The mommy cat is looking for her babies everyday and night crying and crying to where we can't even sleep.  she seems so sad.  At the time of their adoption they were eating solid food and I noticed the week before (during their 7th week) that mommy had bite marks on her nipples.  We started weaning the babies giving them hard food.  they loved it!  (also kitty tuna) By the end of the 8th week mommy was kicking the babies off of her tits.  Now that the babies are all adopted out, like I said the mommy is devastated and keeps searching and crying for them.  In the mean time, her tits are SWOLLEN and seem full of milk.  will they dry up soon?  did we adopt the babies too early?  How can we help our grieving queen?  thank you.
Lisa Marie

Answer
Lisa Marie,

At 8 weeks of age, yes, the kittens are weaned.  It will take a couple of weeks for the milk to dry up.  At first it "bags" up and gets hard and is, eventually, absorbed.  While it may be a bit uncomfortable for mama, nature usually does take its course.  You can help a little by using warm compresses and, maybe, a (very) LITTLE olive oil to help soften things a bit.

Personally, I like to wait until the babies are 12 weeks before the are adopted out as their immune systems are in better shape. However, they are away from their mothers at 6 weeks of age, and we get all their shots and socialize them to people between 6 weeks and 12 weeks of age.

As far as the queen grieving, within a week or two she should be over any separation anxiety.

Best regards... Norm.