Swollen Nipple

Hi everyone, sorry it has been so long since we've posted here! I noticed a very swollen nipple on mocha tonight .. She does not seem to be in any sort of pain from it and I plan to call the vet in the AM but was wondering if anyone has dealt with anything like this? I posted a pic on the message board on FB, not sure if I can get a pic to post here .. Thanks!

 

That could be the start of a bacterial infection ... I'd get her in to see the vet tomorrow to be certain what you're dealing with, and to get her on an antibiotic if that's what's needed.

 

Is it warm?
Is it reddened/inflamed?
Is it soft and squishy (floculent) or hard? (soft and squishy suggest an infection/abcess).
Does it move freely with the skin or is it attached firmly to something? (attached suggests some sort of tumor)

 

Have her BG numbers gone up? Infection will usually do that.

 

My Ripley (civvie) had something similar. The short story is it could be any number of things so definitely get it checked out. In his case, I think we decided to monitor based on what the vet observed and it went down on its own. Maybe we gave some kind of med. It could've been so many things from a blocked gland needing expressed to an infection to something more serious so the vet is the right call here. Best of luck to you and dear Mocha!

 

Thanks you guys .. She has a vet appt today at 12, it was the soonest they could see her .. To be honest .. I can't bring myself to feeling it .. She doesn't seem to be in pain by it at all, but one of my first kitties (GA) had a tumor under her nipple and I know if I start messing with it it is just going to raise my anxiety that is already up .. Peter told me not to check her BG's because again, I would freak myself out if it was higher than usual ... Im praying for a positive outcome ..

 

We'll all be looking forward to your update after your vet appt. today ... Thinking all good thoughts for you and Mocha!

 

Just returned home from the vets .. Wasn't real impressed (new vet closer to new home) with what she did .. She looked at it, said yeah, it looks painful .. asked if she seemed agitated by it (she doesn't) and sent me on my way with Clindamycin and Metacam . I thought metacam was a big no no for cats and when I mentioned that to her, she said she had never heard of anything like that before and that she uses it all the time ? I'm supposed to keep an eye on the nipple for another 3-5 days and if it does not get better to take her back in .. She did not mention anything about it possibly being clogged .. When I asked if she had seen anything like that before she kinda scrounged up her mouth as if to say, nope, but instead said we see things all the time .. ? The vet visit did not put my mind at ease ..

 

Regarding Metacam see:
http://www.askavetquestion.com/metacam.php
Note the the Clindamycin liquid tastes terrible. Some cats seems to foam at the mouth.

 

Thank you .. the vet did tell me mocha would most likely foam at the mouth with the Clindamycin .. Most of these reports that I am reading about Metacam were written near 2010/2011 .. Has there been any improvement with this medication? I don't plan to give it to mocha based on the readings I've seen, but was just curious since nothing is "extremely" current ..