A queen has 4 pairs of mammary glands, 8 in total, and mastitis almost always starts in 1 or 2 of them rather than across all 8. The whole check takes about 10 seconds per pair, once a day, plus a temperature twice a day. Two red lines decide the next step: a reading of 39.5 C or above with a hot, swollen, painful gland means the queen is seen today, and kittens that fail 2 consecutive weigh-ins while she refuses to nurse means the same. Everything in between is observed for 24 hours, not treated at home.
Four Pairs, Ten Seconds Each
Work from the front pair to the rear pair, left side then right, always in the same order so a change stands out. Normal glands feel soft, slightly warmer than the flank, and roughly symmetric with the pair on the other side. In a nursing queen at peak lactation, expect the rear 2 pairs to be the fullest and the front pair the smallest.
| Pair | Where it sits | Normal in a nursing queen | Log it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (front) | Just behind the front legs | Smallest of the 4, soft, ~1 cm thick | 1x daily |
| 2 | Mid-chest, 2 to 3 cm behind pair 1 | Even, slightly firm, warm | 1x daily |
| 3 | Mid-abdomen | Full, soft, milk easily expressed by kittens | 1x daily |
| 4 (rear) | Just in front of the hind legs | Largest, tight but not hard, 2 to 3 cm thick | 1x daily |
Why 24 Hours Is the Whole Window
Mastitis moves fast because the gland is small, well supplied with blood, and under suction. A gland that is mildly warm at 08:00 can be hard, purple and refused by every kitten by 08:00 the next day. That is why the observation unit is 24 hours and not a week: if a change has not settled in 24 hours, or has clearly worsened in 12, it is a veterinary case rather than a wait.
The same 24 hours applies to the kittens. They are the most sensitive instrument you have, because a gland that is producing less or producing milk the kittens reject shows up as a weight curve before it shows up as a visibly sick queen. Their margin is thin: colostrum in the first 24 to 48 hours carries whatever she was vaccinated against, so vaccination timing shapes the whole first week.
Reading a Gland: Heat, Color, Size, Milk
Heat. Compare side to side and pair to pair with the back of your fingers, not the palm. A difference you can feel without pressing is significant; a difference you have to hunt for usually is not.
Color. Skin over an inflamed gland turns pink then dusky red or purple. A single dark patch on an otherwise normal gland, especially with a small blister or a scab, deserves a same-day photo and a call.
Size. Measure the widest point with a soft tape if you want a number: a gland that grows 1 cm or more in 24 hours is a change worth reporting. Half a centimeter of daily variation in a queen with a big litter is ordinary.
Milk. Look at what the kittens leave on their muzzles and at the gland surface after a feed: thin and bluish-white is normal, clumped, yellow, pink or blood-tinged is not. Do not strip the gland to test it. Handling and squeezing an inflamed gland spreads the problem and hurts.
The 2 Red Lines
Red line 1, the queen. A rectal temperature of 39.5 C or above, together with 1 or more glands that are hot, swollen and painful to a light touch, is a same-day appointment. The same applies to 39.5 C with a queen who stops eating or lies away from the litter. Fever in a nursing queen is not a 2-day watch.
Red line 2, the kittens. If 2 consecutive weigh-ins, 24 hours apart, show no gain or a loss in more than half the litter, and the queen is reluctant to let them nurse, the litter is in trouble that day. Kittens do not have reserves: a 3-day-old kitten that loses 10 percent of birth weight is already behind, and the cause is often a gland rather than the milk supply as a whole.
Two more that skip the queue. A gland that is black, cold or weeping is an emergency, not a red line to schedule. So is a queen who is trembling, breathing fast at rest, or cannot stand.
Taking the Temperature Properly
Use one digital thermometer, rectal, with a little lubricant, and write the number and time down. Normal for a queen in the first 2 weeks of lactation is 38.0 to 39.5 C, and a nursing queen often runs 0.2 to 0.4 C above her pre-pregnancy baseline. Measure at the same 2 times each day, roughly 12 hours apart, and never right after the kittens have been nursing for 20 minutes, because that alone can push the reading up.
A single reading of 39.5 C in an otherwise bright queen with soft, even glands is a re-check in 6 hours, not a panic. The number matters far less than the number plus the gland.
What the Kittens Tell You
Weigh each kitten daily for the first 3 weeks, at the same time, before a feed. A healthy newborn gains 10 to 15 g a day in week 1 and 15 to 20 g a day by week 3. A litter that gains evenly is the best evidence that all 4 pairs are working; 1 kitten falling behind points to the pair it favours.
Watch which nipples each kitten uses for 2 minutes after a feed. A kitten that keeps switching, cries at the gland, or leaves a white blister on its nose is telling you that pair is not delivering. Note the pair number on the same sheet as the temperature.
What Not to Do While You Wait
Do not massage, strip or apply heat to a painful gland. Do not put any ointment, human or veterinary, on a nipple that kittens are using. Do not offer leftover antibiotics from a previous litter, and do not split the litter onto a bottle as a first move unless a kitten is losing weight, because suckling drains the gland.
Warm compresses, milking out, and any medication are decisions for the vet who has felt the gland. Your job in the 24-hour window is to produce 4 numbers: the temperature, the pair number, the change in size, and the litter's weight trend.
Four Steps From Today
- Check all 4 pairs in the same order every morning; 10 seconds per pair.
- Take the temperature twice a day, 12 hours apart, and write it down.
- Weigh the litter daily until day 21; a flat line for 24 hours is a signal.
- Call the same day when red line 1 or 2 is crossed, and bring the sheet.
Frequently asked
How do I tell mastitis from normal engorgement?
Engorgement is even and bilateral: all 4 pairs are full, the milk flows when kittens nurse, and the queen is comfortable and eating. Mastitis is usually asymmetric, 1 or 2 glands, hot to the back of the hand, painful to light touch, and the milk is clumped or discolored. A temperature of 39.5 C or above with an asymmetric gland is the dividing line most vets use.
Can a queen with mastitis keep nursing her kittens?
Often yes, and vets usually prefer it because suckling drains the gland. The decision depends on which gland, how the milk looks, and whether the kittens are gaining. If 2 consecutive weigh-ins show no gain, the litter needs a plan that day, which may mean supplementing some kittens while the queen is assessed.
Is it safe to wait 24 hours before calling the vet?
Only when the queen is bright, eating, has a normal temperature, and the gland change is mild and one-sided. That is what the 24-hour window is for: a baseline, not a delay. If the temperature reaches 39.5 C, a gland turns dark, or the queen refuses the litter, the call happens the same hour.