2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21
In cats, as in humans, the mammary glands are used to feed offspring. The nipples of these animals are located on the stomach and on the chest. Their functional work begins shortly before childbirth.
How many nipples does a domestic cat have
Normally, these animals should have 8 mammary glands (or four pairs). However, in cats, anomalies related to the number of nipples are very common. An animal can have 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or even 11 mammary glands.
Many owners of cats with a non-standard number of nipples worry that this may be an indicator of the pet's ill he alth or inability to have offspring. However, these worries are completely unfounded. If you have calculated how many nipples a cat living in your house has, and their number turned out to be different from the norm, you should not worry and run to the veterinarian. Such anomalies usually do not have any effect on the he alth of the animal and its reproductive functions. Moreover, all nipples in cats, regardless of their number, are most often "working". That is, milk is formed in each of them. Therefore, the animalWith “extra” mammary glands, even very numerous litters can be fed without any problems. Which, of course, is very good for thoroughbred expensive individuals.
If a cat has fewer than eight nipples, it may have some problems feeding offspring. However, in this case, there is no need to worry too much. If there are a lot of kittens in the litter and there are not enough nipples for everyone, the owners just need to follow the kids. If any of them do not have enough milk, they should be fed from a pipette.
Does the number of nipples depend on the breed
Cats have been bred by humans for several millennia. There are very, very many breeds. The apartments contain small, large, smooth-haired, fluffy and other pets. Often the owners of these animals are interested in how many nipples a cat of a particular breed has. The answer to this question is extremely simple. The number of mammary glands in these animals is always eight. Their number does not depend on the breed.
Small cat breeds usually have very small mammary glands. In large varieties, the nipples differ in corresponding sizes.
Breast diseases
One of the most common teat problems in cats is mastitis, which occurs for the following reasons:
- due to excess milk;
- with a weak sucking reflex of kittens;
- due to early weaning of babies.
Usually, not all of the cat's nipples become inflamed, but only one or a pair of nipples. If a cat has swollen mammary glands, and at the same time sheShe is in severe pain and needs help immediately. Mastitis is treated by first applying cold and then warm compresses to the nipples based on herbal decoctions (most often sage). In order to normalize the condition of the fluffy mother, she is usually given additional antibiotics.
Malignant tumors are a very dangerous disease of the mammary glands of cats. Such problems occur most often in animals older than 6 years. Moreover, both large and small breeds of cats can suffer from tumors. Unfortunately, it often happens that the owners notice a similar problem too late. In most cases, the 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 doing a preventive examination of the mammary glands of a pet.
Interesting features of anatomy
Thus, the abnormal number of nipples in cats is not a pathology. With regard to bearing offspring and viability, nature took care of these animals very well. So, for example, the internal structure of a cat is distinguished by the following interesting features:
- The front paws of these animals do not have a strong bone connection with the spine, which allows them to jump from great heights without harm to themselves.
- A cat's molars can last until her death - more than 20 years
Featuresstructures of the mammary glands
How many nipples a cat has, we thus found out. Most often there are four pairs. The very structure of the mammary glands in these animals is rather unusual. Unlike many other mammals, the cat's nipples are completely devoid of cisterns. The ducts simply open onto the surface of the gland with two openings. Most milk is produced in the nipples, located closer to the groin.
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