SHE CAN NURSE THE KITTENS EVEN WITH MASTITIS, people.
I had mastitis so bad I was hospitalized once. They made sure baby (6 months old) was with me in the hospital because he was the best pump ever made.
The same with these kittens. The best thing for mommy cat is to have them drain her at this point.
You people so worried about spaying her at this time are out of line. FIRST get Mama back to health. then worry about major surgery for her.
The spay-happy are so cruel, even with their good intentions. Do you know how many rescue kitties die from the forced too-early spaying, and anesthesia??? More than you ever hear about. Spaying is wonderful — but should be done on a cat in PRIME health, over 5 months of age. Let this kitty get up to full health before forcing her under the knife.
The kittens nursing her seem to be the trick - everthing looks better now. It just hurt her at first because she was so engorged. And there sure are a lot of fat little tummies around here, LOL!
The warm, wet washcloths seem to be soothing for her too. I’ll keep them up this evening.