Male cat nipple problem.

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Judy, thanks for your question.

There are a few things that could cause a cat to have a large nipple.

One possibility is if the skin is infected. This could happen as a result of any sort of break in the skin. It then becomes a vicious cycle that the skin is irritated and so he licks it and irritates it more. Irritated skin can get infected quite easily.

Unfortunately if it is infected then the only effective treatment is likely to be antibiotics prescribed by your vet.

The other possibility is a tumor. A mammary tumor is not common in a young male cat. However, if it is a tumor, the sooner it is treated the better. 50% of mammary tumors in cats are benign and the other 50% are cancerous tumors that can spread to other parts of the body.

Unfortunately there is not a lot that I can advise to fix this up at home. You can put an Elizabethan Collar on him to stop the licking, but this would be a very temporary fix.

I would highly advise a vet visit as soon as possible to have this checked out. Hopefully it is nothing serious!

Dr. Marie.

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