Lactating

[Ninjakat]

We rescued what we thought were two female siblings but turns out they were a male and female. We thought the female was pregnant but she either had and killed the babies or aborted them according to the vet. When we got her she started lactating and has continued to do so for the last week and half. When should this stop and do I need to do anything feed or hygiene wise to keep her healthy? She was on a horrible diet before and has really bad teeth, that we will be fixing once she is healthier, but we are having trouble getting her to eat and she is also having really soft stool. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[Eepster]

How old is she?

[Ninjakat]

They are both five months old. 

We visit a harvest festival every year and during the festival this year we found out that at the end of their harvest season they sell off all the animals and put down the rest or release them onto the property. We took the last one a few months ago, he is now nice and healthy. Found out from a friend that two came back and were living outside in a hutch. Our current weather conditions have been down to -15 degrees with 30 to 60 mph winds. We contacted the people and when we went to pick them up they had been living in a small hutch with only soiled straw for food/bedding and their water was frozen. The other animals were all locked up with the same conditions. Def. NOT what the type of conditions they were living with during the festival. We went back to where we got them after we realized they were male and female when we got home and searched though their bedding. There was a pile of hair in the corner but after searching through it and the rest of the soiled mess we couldn’t see anything that looked like blood or babies. My vet advised that most don’t start lactating until after they give birth but sometimes they can lactate up until a week before giving birth. Since we don’t know if she had babies and could be possibly pregnant again my vet will not spay her for a month, giving her a chance to heal and just to make sure she is not pregnant again. He also wants her to gain some weight and gradually introduce her to a better diet so she will recover better after surgery. I would just like to know when she should stop lactating, seeing as she doesn’t have babies and as far as we know she is currently not pregnant. So far I am not finding much information in any books or on the net. I also want to know if there is anything suggested I should do, just to make sure she doesn’t get any infection or become septic. Her teeth are in bad shape and we have had a hard time getting her to eat. Her stool is also normal at times and other times like pudding. Thanks to anyone who responds.

[Author]

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