Drying up cats milk and mastitis

Question
We adopted a mother cat who had kittens just eight weeks ago. She was seperated from her kittens only 3 days ago. Her teats are very engorged and look like they are painful. How can I tell if she has mastitis? And is there anything I can do for her at home to make her more comfortable?

Answer
Hi Shawna.  The poor baby!  When kittens are yanked away from their mother so young, they aren't completely done nursing, and it's very common to see the mama left painfully engorged.  Mastitis is relatively common as a result.

Symptoms of mastitis include swelling, red or purple discoloration around the teats, yellow, pink or brown discharge, crust on the teats, a red vein-like pattern moving away from the nipple and heat upon touch.  If any of these are present, you should get her to the vet.  Antibiotics are usually prescribed for this painful condition.

To help relieve some of the pain, whether due to mastitis or just to engorgement, you can hold a cloth soaked with warm water to the area for 10 minutes a few times a day if she'll allow it.  

There is a drug called bromocriptine that can be administered to dry up the milk if clearly needed.  However, it can cause heavy behavioral side effects such as hallucinations and is generally not recommended.