Cats, like other mammals, breastfeed their kittens from birth. In this case, the number of nipples in a cat, arranged in a random order, can be from 5 to 11. It is not the quantity that plays a decisive role, but their functionality. When an animal's nipples suddenly swell, the owners are interested in the question of their functioning and possible abnormalities in the animal's body.
The anatomy and structure of the glands is normal
The anatomically correct shape of a cat's mammary glands is cone-shaped. The height of the cone is about 1-3 mm; there are no hairs in this part of the body. It can be difficult to find glands in individuals with thick fur, especially in young ones. It's also hard to know whether furry male cats have nipples. This part of the body becomes clearly visible during pregnancy of cats of any breed, then it is obvious how many breasts the cat has. Particular growth and swelling is observed from the third week from the moment the embryos appear.
Mammary glands are needed for feeding offspring
Feeding helps open the milk tubules, so nutritious milk flows through them. Usually there are from 4 to 8 channels. The liquid outlet after feeding is closed with special valves, so the nutritional mixture does not leak out. The number of offspring depends on the number of milk ducts. This factor is regulated by nature. Giving birth to more kittens leads to the death of the offspring.
Important! A larger amount of milk is located at the inguinal glands, so strong kittens try to latch onto this part.
Interesting anatomy features
The formation of papillae occurs during intrauterine development. Normally, their number is the same for all cats, although deviations and anomalies are possible. The type of coat, breed and age of the cat does not affect the number of nipples.
Normally, a cat should have four pairs of mammary glands
The structure and functions of nipples in a cat
Felines have multiple mammary glands. Normally, there should be four pairs of them (although sometimes there are 12 pieces), located from the middle of the chest along the stomach. The papillae are cone shaped. They are not covered with hair and in a healthy, non-pregnant cat they rise above the skin by 1-3 mm. If the pet has thick fur, then the glands are determined by palpation.
When a cat is pregnant or nursing kittens, the nipples protrude 5-8 mm and are clearly visible even through thick fur. Each nipple has 4 to 8 channels through which milk flows while feeding the kittens. Near each papilla there are sphincters of smooth muscle. They prevent milk from leaking out of the glands between feedings.
In cats, nipples are formed in the same number as in cats, despite the fact that they are useless. It is believed that during the intrauterine development of kittens, nipples form before the genitals. Therefore, they are present on the belly of purrs of both sexes.
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Normal location and quantity
Cats have four pairs of mammary glands. Despite the differences in location and number, they perform the function of human breasts - feeding the offspring.
The norm in veterinary medicine is the following arrangement of papillae in cats:
- Thoracic department. One pair in the area of the front legs.
- Abdominal section. Two pairs with the same or different spacing between them.
- Inguinal section. One pair is closer to the cavity near the hind legs. The glands in the inguinal area contain more milk, so kittens usually gravitate towards them rather than the mammary papillae.
The nipple of the mammary gland is intended for feeding the baby. It is interesting that the innervation and nutrition of organs occurs not in pairs, but in rows. On the right side of the body, the row from the chest to the groin is connected by one system of lymph flow, blood supply and nerves, and on the left side - by another system, i.e. the glands have different nutrition. Due to this feature, disorders and diseases often occur on one side.
Features of the structure of nipples in cats
How many nipples should a dog really have?
Experts distinguish several main groups of mammary glands, including:
- inguinal;
- abdominal;
- chest
The abdominal mammary glands are most valuable during the lactation period of females. Do cats have mammary glands of this group - obviously not. There are inguinal and pectoral nipples, which are underdeveloped and almost invisible to the human eye. Unpaired glands are also underdeveloped, since there are no milk ducts inside, this is a dummy. During pregnancy in a cat they do not swell, the condition remains normal.
During pregnancy, a cat's nipples are clearly visible
It is impossible to determine the gender of a kitten based on the number and condition of nipples. The sign is absurd, since whether cats have nipples is important only to professional breeders. This part of the body is present in two species, but in boys they remain in their infancy.
How many nipples cats have is not very important, since they have a different internal physiological structure. The presence of these organs in all mammals is mandatory. They are formed in utero, in embryos, when there are no developed sexual characteristics.
For your information! Cats have nipples, but males simply do not have a special hormone that affects the lactation process. Therefore, although a cat has nipples, they lose their original natural functionality.
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In the animal kingdom, if females have nipples, males usually have nipples too, despite the fact that males do not use them in any way. Very rarely there are species in which females have nipples, but males do not - these are, for example, rats and horses.
This fact has a simple explanation. Males and females are almost identical in the early stages of embryonic development. As male DNA takes effect, male hormones such as testosterone stop the development of some organs - such as the mammary glands - and stimulate the development of others, including the reproductive organs. Since males do not need mammary glands, most mammals do not develop them.
But nipples in male mammals, including cats and humans, do not stop developing. Why? Because their presence does not cause harmful consequences. If cats had full mammary glands that were never used, maintaining them would be a waste of resources (such as energy). These resources could no longer be used elsewhere in the body, such as by the muscles or the brain. But since nipples require very few resources to support, male DNA is not bothered by blocking their development.
If nipples were resource-intensive organs, male DNA would likely have evolved to block their development, preserving resources needed for the development of other useful organs and abilities. Instead, nipples remain in males, since their removal requires an unjustified complication of the process of formation of the organism.
Does the number of nipples depend on the breed?
Breed variety does not play a significant role in the number of teats. Mixing individuals of different breeds also does not affect the exterior of the animal. This feature is inherited, therefore, how many boobs a cat has can be found out from its relatives, and you can also find out whether cats have tits.
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Wild cats, for example, tigers or lions, are distinguished by the paired structure of their mammary glands. How many tits a cat has in nature, usually two pairs. Nature provides for the birth of a maximum of four cubs. If there are more individuals in a litter, the animals do not survive due to the small amount of food.
Important! Hairless sphinxes are distinguished by an asymmetrical arrangement of mammary glands. This phenomenon is considered normal.
Big cat family
Number of nipples and feeding
How many papillae do cats have: a double arrangement is considered the norm, usually four pairs:
- next to the front paws;
- next to the hind legs there are two more symmetrical nipples.
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It’s easy to calculate how many boobs a cat has on its belly. The only difficulty in counting is that they can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.
Important! More or less number of nipples is considered a disease, a deviation from the norm. Boys can have four pairs of nipples, this will be considered normal.
The nutrient produced after lambing is called colostrum. It contains especially many useful components. Colostrum becomes milk gradually during the first days of a kitten's life. The required time to feed a cat's offspring is five weeks. Next, the glands reduce the amount of nutrition produced. Milk production is associated with several factors, the most important of which is hormonal levels.
Even in the first days after giving birth, the cat carefully licks the nipples, thereby achieving:
- High-quality hygiene. The cat prevents the ingress of harmful substances and the development of pathologies.
- Local massage. A cat's rough tongue increases blood circulation in the mammary glands. Without intensive tissue nutrition, mastitis is possible, which leads to severe pain.
Massage helps with feline mastitis
The quality and quantity of feeding depends on the health of the cat, including the condition of the nipples. If the female feels pain or other pathologies, she can stop lactation and abandon the babies. A healthy cat allows even grown-up cubs, who have reached the age of six months, to approach her.
Pregnancy and childbirth are a complex process that is stressful for the cat’s body. Cats, like humans, can experience postpartum depression. In this state, milk does not come to the mother cat, and further developments may be the most unfavorable.
Causes of the problem
The cat's mammary glands are swollen. But why is this a problem? To understand that this is an anomaly, and it shouldn’t be this way, it’s worth finding out what a cat’s nipples look like when it’s healthy. Usually they are pale pink. They do not differ in color from the color of the skin under the white fur. Their shape is neat. The size is small. If the cat is still small or has not given birth, then its nipple will be about 0.5 cm. In an adult cat, or one that has given birth, it can reach 0.8-1 cm.
Is this the reason why a cat's nipples begin to swell? There are several of them
:
- Mastitis.
- Mammary hyperplasia.
- Stagnation.
Cancer or adenocarcinoma. Both male and female cats can develop this fast-growing tumor. The papillae swell, and underneath there is a new growth. Most often, cats that are over 7 years old or those that are not sterilized are affected. The tumor is painful and can occur and develop under several mammary glands. Therefore, the pet’s behavior changes dramatically for the worse.
Mastitis
. Inflammation, which is often accompanied by infection. The nipples of a pregnant or nursing cat become swollen and sore. The cat becomes lethargic, refuses to feed itself, and there are cases when it does not want to feed the kittens.
Mammary hyperplasia or benign tumor
. Most often, the cause of its appearance is hormones that are given to unsterilized cats and female cats. Symptoms: fever, ulcers, pain.
Stagnation in the milk glands
. After the birth of kittens, the cat's nipples swell and a lot of milk accumulates in them. This abnormal phenomenon can develop due to mastitis or because the owners were in a hurry to give away the kittens, and the milk accumulates.
Whatever the reasons for nipple swelling in cats, the most important thing is to take the animal to a veterinary center for a more thorough examination.
Diseases of the nipples in cats and kittens
Medical intervention is required if this part of the animal’s body enlarges for no apparent reason, becomes transparent, or blood appears. Therapy may include both medication and surgery. In the latter case, the affected areas are removed, but such intervention is aimed at preventing the spread of pathology. Therefore, the answer to the question: how many papillae a cat has can be associated with surgical interventions.
Possible nipple conditions are as follows:
- lactostasis - obstruction of milk;
- mastitis;
- cancer;
- hormonal disbalance;
- deterioration of the lymphatic system.
Treatment options
For mastitis, the veterinarian, depending on the severity of the disease, may prescribe compresses, which the owner will do to the animal at home, following the instructions. In more advanced cases, complex treatment will be required, which includes antibiotics, as well as a mandatory course of vitamins necessary to improve well-being and strengthen the immune system.
In case of mastopathy, the doctor performs a biopsy, based on the results of which the following may be prescribed:
- Conservative therapy - carried out in case of a small chance of a malignant tumor, includes stabilization of hormonal levels by taking an individually selected vitamin complex.
- Surgical treatment is a surgical intervention in which the nipple and mammary gland are removed. These tissues are subsequently redirected for more detailed examination.
If a tumor is detected in the early stages of development, the veterinarian performs surgery to remove the mammary glands. If there are reasons why surgery is not possible, the cat is prescribed chemotherapy.
In order to choose an effective treatment method, it is important to accurately determine the reason why the cat’s nipples are swollen. Quite often the problem lies in the development of a malignant tumor and the appearance of cancer
It is not recommended to try to cure such diseases on your own without the help of a qualified specialist.
Anomalies and pathologies
The most common anomalies and pathologies are mastitis and mastopathy. Inflammation can appear not only in individuals who have given birth. The disease affects young cats, and sometimes male cats.
Surgical treatment of cats is indicated for abnormalities
The causes of the anomaly are hormonal imbalance, trauma, bruise. In addition to swelling, cats feel pain, and as the condition develops, purulent discharge appears. Severe cases require surgery.
Mastopathy is manifested by thickening of the tissue adjacent to the nipples. Progesterone is the cause of the abnormality. In addition to the nipples, the animal's paws become swollen. Treatment occurs with antibiotics, but advanced cases require special chemotherapy.
Important! The only preventive measure for mastopathy is considered to be sterilization of cats at a young age, when sexual heat has not yet arrived.
The health of newborn kittens depends on the condition of the cat's nipples. If they are restless, gain little weight, sleep poorly and squeak, it means there is not enough milk. The reasons are as follows:
- low maternal milk production;
- maternal stress;
- diseases and pathologies in cats.
Another anomaly is various tumors, which, like in humans, can be benign or malignant. The development of anomalies is usually slow, they degenerate from one form to another. Rapid progress is observed only with malignancy, but in this case the enlargement of the nipples is visible. The sooner help is provided in this condition, the more successful the outcome can be expected.
Mammary glands are found in both males and females. The normal arrangement is in pairs, but there are deviations from the norm. A different location of the nipples usually does not have a negative impact on the health of the individual. The condition of the skin and the size of the mammary gland must be monitored. This will help avoid a serious incurable disease, and possibly the early death of your beloved pet.
Breast diseases
One of the most common nipple problems in cats is mastitis, which occurs due to the following reasons:
- due to excess milk;
- with a weak sucking reflex of kittens;
- due to early weaning of babies.
Usually, not all of a cat’s nipples become inflamed, but only one or a pair of nipples. If a cat has swollen mammary glands and is experiencing severe pain, help should be provided immediately. Mastitis is treated by applying first cold and then warm compresses based on decoctions of medicinal herbs (most often sage) to the nipples. In order to normalize the furry mother’s condition, she is usually given additional antibiotics.
Malignant tumors are a very dangerous disease of the mammary glands of cats. Such problems most often occur in animals over 6 years of age. Moreover, both large and small breeds of cats can suffer from tumors. Unfortunately, it often happens that owners notice such a problem too late. In most cases, owners find out that the animal is sick only after the tumor opens and metastases begin to spread throughout the cat’s body. To prevent this from happening, it is worth periodically performing a preventive examination of your pet’s mammary glands.
Thus, an abnormal number of nipples in cats is in no way related to pathologies. In terms of bearing offspring and vitality, nature took very good care of these animals. So, for example, the internal structure of a cat has the following interesting features:
- The front legs of these animals do not have a strong bone connection with the spine, which allows them to jump from great heights without harm.
- A cat's molars can last until she dies—more than 20 years.
