>I've got a big problem.  Princess developed mastitis yesterday.  I
>noticed it last night.  It was not obvious in the morning, however, late
>yesterday afternoon, I noticed that she seemed to be totally drained and
>later in the evening I noticed around one of her nipples she was getting
>pretty swollen, about an hour later the area turned real dark with red
>around the perimeter of the swelling.  I immediately took her babies from
>her and started her on amoxi, 30 ml.  Her babies (8 of them) are not
>quite three weeks old.  They will be three weeks on Sunday.
 
>Question #1:  Am I giving Princess enough Amoxi?  30 ml. twice a day.
 
        Pat - I would need to know the strength of Amoxi.  Plus, the dosage of
30ml makes no sense - is that 30 mg. BID, and how much does she weigh.  For
mastitis, which is usually due to coliform bacteria - 20 mg/lb twice daily is
what I would do.
 
>Question #2:  What else should I be doing for her?
 
        Watch her carefully.  Look for other areas turning blue-black.  You may
put warm compresses on the site for 5-10 minutes a day - which will help bring
the inflammation to a head.
 
 
 
 
>Question #1:  Is the kitten milk enough for right now?
 
        You'd do better to talk to someone who fosters a lot of babies - I know
there are some breeders on the net who have a lot of experience here.
 
>Question #2:  Are we at risk of losing the babies?
 
        Yes, for several reasons - 1) - if they get malnourished, or 2) if they
drank infected milk.  Bacterial infections can be passed in the milk, and can
also be passed in the babies nurse from an infected mon - and then they can pass
the infection to another nursing jill.
 
>Question #3:  Is there anything else that we should be doing for the
babies?
        See question 1.  You have to supply adequate warmth, food, etc.
Antibiotics for the newborns are probably not a good idea - you can upset the
normal flora of the intestine and cuase more damage.
 
 
>Question #4:  Is there a risk of any of the babies getting sick due to
nursing on mom while mom was getting sick?  Yes, but there's not that much we
can do in these situations except watch and wait.  If the animals start showing
signs of illness, then I would hit them with Amoxi too, but not if they are
acting otherwise healthy.
 
 
 
       Bruce Williams, DVM                 Department of Veterinary Pathology
       [log in to unmask]         Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
       (202) 782-2600/2602                 Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
[Posted in FML issue 1045]