Last Updated on January 9, 2021
If you ever asked a question concerning your cat’s nipples, you will find the answers here. You may be wondering… “Who the heck would be talking about cat nipples!?”. Well, I guess I am and plenty of people are curious! I know it is a funny subject but you may learn something new. So here are the most common questions asked on Google about feline nipples! Woo!
Do Male Cats Have Nipples?
Yes! Like other male mammals, male cats have nipples too! It is believed that the nipples are developed in the womb of mammals before the sex is determined. This is why males have nipples, even though they don’t really have any purpose.
How Many Nipples Do CATS HAVE?
There isn’t one set answer for this. Cats almost always have an even amount but cats have been known to have odd amounts as well. As for the number, cats can have as little as 4, but as many as 10! The average number being 6. Yes, this includes male cats as well! Some kittens from the same litter may have different amounts. You can have 2 kittens with 6 nipples and 4 kittens with 8 nipples. Sex doesn’t change the number, but purely genetics.
Is Nipple Size a Sign of Pregnancy?
Sure is! When a female cat is pregnant, much like other mammals, her nipples will change. Around 35 days, her nipples will become bright pink and larger. This is because the breasts are preparing to feed the kittens. Everything swells up and becomes sensitive.
Think your cat is pregnant? Check out Is My Cat Pregnant? for information on what to do next!
Where Are Cat Nipples Located?
When looking for a cat’s nipples, you have to look on the belly. Unlike humans, cats have nipples below the chest area. You will find them in even rows an inch or two away from the pelvis. Because of fur, it may be hard to find all of them but two can be found on the fine fur lining of the lower belly.
Some cats do have balding around the nipples making them very visible but this is completely normal and nothing to worry about. If you notice the bald spots are getting larger and they are becoming uneven in shape (often caused by excessive licking), it could be a sign of an infection or skin irritation on the nipple. If you notice any swelling or discharge and your cat is not pregnant, take them into a vet ASAP.
Shaved cat belly showing the nipples
Photo Credit: The Mad Cat Lady
Do Cats Leak Milk? Is It Normal?
Just like pregnant women, pregnant cats can leak milk just the same! This is actually quite common and normal. You may see her licking it off but do not worry, it is perfectly fine. She likely doesn’t like her fur being wet. Leaking nipples doesn’t necessarily mean your cat is close to giving birth. It can happen anytime throughout the pregnancy but it is more likely to happen the closer to birthing she is.
Did My Cat’s Nipple Fall Off?
The short answer to this is no. To learn more, please read our article Did My Cat’s Nipple Fall Off?
Pretty sure my cat is pregnant. She has dried blood around nipples should I be concerned or is this normal?
My kitten’s name is Amara. She just got spayed 2 days ago. And I noticed that she has nipples on her belly. She’s 6 months old and has never been in heat. Do I have to be worried ?
All cat’s have nipples, even if they’ve been fixed.
Hi, my 17 yr old neutered orange taby licks his two bottom nipple areas raw and has for years. His top nipples get a white toothpaste consistency stuff I squeeze out every now and again to ease pressure ( at least that’s what I think I’m doing. He has fatty lumps on him which the vet said aren’t too worrisome. But..beside his two nipples are lumps, under his skin like the fatty lumps. Size of grapes. I’m woundering if these are built up same stuff that builds up in his upper nipples or just the fatty lumps. The important part is there is one on each side beside these two nipples that cause him I think is pain. Coincidence? I will save up money for a vet visit but until then any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi. I saw now my male cats 1 nipple is reddish like there is a small amount of blood. What can this be?
My male siamese is almost 3 years old and has man boobs. His bottom two glands are kind of lumpy his nipples are not swollen. But they hang low like he breast fed lol. But he also has these lumps behind his hind legs should I be concerned
Thanks for your comment Aileen. Male cats will develop sagginess sometime after they have been neutered. It starts around 2 years old and will continue as they age. This is nothing to worry about. You will, however, want to take him in to a vet to check the lumps behind his legs as they can be a number of things.
My cat has fur growing out of her nipple
I trapped a young feral and had her spayed, etc. The vet said the way she was stretched down below looked as if she’s already had kittens. She got loose in my condo while recuperating from the office visit and has refused to leave. It has been a couple of weeks and I just noticed her nipples are long but not swollen. Now I’m worried and feel bad if young kittens were left out alone? She is skittish so I don’t get to see much of her, but she is beginning to relax.
Thanks for your comment, Laury. Unfortunately, if she did have young kittens the best you can hope for is that someone else found them and took them into a shelter. Kittens without a mother have a very low survival rate because they rely so heavily on their mother for the first 2 to 3 months of their life. If she was taken away before they were trained to hunt and eat without her providing milk, I am sorry to say they would not have made it a few weeks without her. Most only last 2 or 3 days at best. This kind of thing happens often so don’t be too hard on yourself. Now that she is spayed, she will no longer be at risk of having more kittens and is less likely to catch or spread feline diseases. If you do intend on keeping her, feral cats can become perfectly fine indoor-only house cats with some work and patience. Her showing signs of relaxing a very good thing. If it is at all possible, I hope you do keep her or she is able to find a forever home and be off the streets. However, I know in some cases this is not an option and they have to be rereleased. Again, you did a good thing for her and her future so don’t feel bad over the what if’s.
I recently got a male kitten on Craigslist he is about 3 months old. I just got another kitten which is female and I think she may have not been ready to leave the mother yet She is maybe 8 or 9 weeks old. She is very very small and has a fear of people.hiding most of the day but she does play with boy kitten well. As for food she is eating wet canned food. I woke up in the night to see her sucking on the males teits. I’m concerned is this bad? What should I do?
Thanks for your comment Jeri. She was taken from her mother too soon. 12+ weeks is ideal. She likely still needs milk. You can get some kitten formula and a bottle from a pet store, some larger grocery stores carry it as well. The stuff you want is KMR (You can see what it looks like here: https://amzn.to/2ZV2GBT). You can choose between the powder and the liquid in the cans. The powder gives you more for your money but you have to mix it with warm water for every feed. The same brand as the formula makes the bottles as well (https://amzn.to/300UH6q). You will want to feed this formula to her for 3 weeks and see how she is doing after that. I recommend taking her to a vet when you can to make sure she is not severely underweight.
My adult 5 year old spayed cat has two breasts that are very enlarged. Nipples are fine. I just rescued her. She is eating and was recently shaved, so her breasts which are near her hind legs are more pronounced, she is eating fine and seems happy. I don’t know what or if there was any trauma in home previous to mine. I’ve looked at pictures of different conditions and can’t find one that looks like hers. I would like advice and a link to help with any vet costs if you could please help
Thanks for your comment, Maisey. Do you know if she has had kittens in the past? Or how long ago she was spayed by chance?
My female kitten does not have nipples. Should I be concerned ?
Thanks for your comment Lisa. Depending on her age, they might not be developed enough to see them. Look for round patches of fur that is thin or missing. That is where her nipples will be as she gets older.
Hi! My cat is 5 years old, not spayed. She recently had to go to the vet because one of her nipples developed a white bump at the tip which turned out to be filled with white fluid and caused by an inflammation. We had that treated but as I started to pay more attention to her nipples, I noticed that the top ones are much smaller and paler in color than the bottom ones. Is this normal?
Oh and she had never had kittens.
Thanks for your comment Olga. This sounds like it can be down to circulation. Because she is 5 years old, not spayed, and never had kittens she is more prone to issues with her nipples and breast tissue such as poor circulation, fluid build-up, and abnormal growths.
Is it possible for a female cat to be pregnant n only have 2 of her 6 nipples engorged? The 2 kittens my other female had were suckling on the female with the 2 engorged nipples. Never saw that before. Please help.
Thanks for your comment, Becky. The milk supply might be more abundant to those two nipples. Are you sure she is pregnant? Females who have previously been pregnant can lactate again when around kittens that are not their own.
She feels pregnant she’s eating more extremely more affectionate she’s never had kittens I’ve just never seen this before only the two bottom nipples are engorged. I’m totally stumped.
They are likely receiving more blood flow. I don’t think there is anything to worry about but you can always take her in to get looked at by a veterinarian to make sure.
I have a question is it okay if you find out your female cats nipples have dried blood on them?? She’s a outside cat and I don’t know if, well I’m not sure if she has babies or anything but is it possible if she did they were maybe sucking to hard or something I’m way worried about her!! Please tell me the answer I’m dying to know!!
This is my mom’s daughter btw I’m just asking
Thanks for your comment, Estella. As kittens get older and start to develop teeth, it is possible they can bite down too hard on the nipples can cause minor tissue tearing. Since she is an outdoor cat, I think it is wise to take her in for a check-up. Many cats contract FIV and FeLV from other cats and both can put the possible kittens at risk as well as her. I never advise letting house cats free to roam outdoors unless they are feral or farm cats.
I’m worried about my cat, I have a female cat that is 4 years old, she never been outside and never got pregnant, I noticed that one of her nipples is white and the rest of the nipples are normal, does she have a infection? she has 6 nipples.
Thanks for your comment, May. Has she been spayed? Is her skin complexion multi-colored? Is there a chance that she may have injured it on anything in the home like a gap between floorboards for example?
She’s not spayed, she’s a american short hair, her fur is grey and white, I’m not really sure if she got injured at home…
There is a good chance this is related to her not being spayed. Try cleaning it off with some warm water and applying coconut or olive oil to it (both are safe edible oils for cats as she will likely lick the area). If it continues to appear white, she may have lost blood flow to that nipple or may have an infection and will need to be seen by a veterinarian.
My cat just hsd her first litter of 8 kittens a few days ago. . Im worried because I until thid evening I only seen 6 large nipples but this evening I did find another small one, is it possible that because she had 8 kittens there are actually 8 nipples
Thanks for your comment, Sharen. The nipple count doesn’t always match the number of kittens a female will give birth to. Just make sure all the kittens are getting enough milk by weighing them once every few days. If you notice one is falling behind in weight, you can supplement in some kitten formula.
My cat has 12 Nipples 6 on each side is it normal and he is about 3 months old…
Thanks for your comment, Saba. Normal yes, common, no. It is rare for a house cat to have this many nipples but this should not be an indicator to poor health or anything to worry about.
I am trying to figure out if my cat is pregnate. Her nipples are large swollen pink and chapped.does this mean that she is??
Thanks for the comment Jaime! Your pregnate kat may need some lip balm. I highly recommend the Burt’s Bees honey lip balm or the Kheil’s cocnut one they are v moisturizing and provide a wonderufl sensation for the cat nipples I use it on my cat lall the time who unfortunately just got ran over in a starbucks parking lot. Thank you for your time and good luck with your cat’s crusty nips.
My cat is pregnant for sure but what worries me is that her nipples are sunken and around the nipple it is very hard and are pretty big I still that normal please answer as soon as posible..
**is that? Her nipples are also very white.
Thanks for your comment Rocio. Do they feel dry by chance? If she is far enough into her pregnancy, she could be leaking and her milk can be drying up around and on her nipples. You can use come virgin coconut oil to moisturize them. If it is an issue with the circulation that can be why they are appearing white (more severe circulation issues would be purple, however). Take a warm damp washcloth and gently rub the area. You can also give her belly rubs to improve the circulation. As long as she is producing milk when the kittens are born, you have nothing to worry about.
If you want to be prepared, you can purchase a small amount of kitten formula and a kitten bottle for backup just so the newborns are getting food. If she isn’t producing milk once they are born, you will want to take her to a vet ASAP. You will have to bring the kittens with her as well. I won’t be able to tell you if something is seriously wrong with her, you will have to take her in for a vet checkup if you feel she needs medical attention.
Thank you ?
She is not far enough into her pregnancy she is about 4 – 5 weeks
Hello there, I found a cat outside my work and took her home about a week or so ago. My biggest concern is that she may be pregnant. My housemate says she may have had kittens before, since she’s got visible nipples, but we’re not sure if her belly is from food, pests, or babies. Her nipples aren’t very big, if it wasn’t for her bright white skin underneath that black fur, I’d never have noticed! She’s a sweet cat, already got one of my dogs following her about and flopping over like she hung the moon.
Take the cat to the vet! Especially if you’re letting it come inside your home.
I would like to ask a question about my cat.My cat had kittens 4 weeks ago and now how nipples are purple.i think she is pregnant again but I am not sure .What does it mean if her nipples are purple.also I can feel 2 little solid ovals in her belly and I don’t know if they are kittens.please reply and answer my question.
Thanks for your comment Keira. There can be bruising beneath the skin or loss of circulation. It is best she gets the issue checked out by a vet to make sure it is nothing serious.