* My cow has gangrene mastitis---New pics added Fri Oct 4

[ashleep]

I'm so upset. My 2 yr old Jersey, first freshener Laverne has gangrenous mastitis. Wed night milking was fine, Thurs am she wasn't waiting at the gate and wouldn't walk across the pasture when I called her. She was just standing there looking funny. I knew something was wrong when I got close. She just stood there with this dullness about her. I couldn't get her to budge. I noticed her front right quarter was quite large and had a drop of milk on the teat and the quarter was hard. I thought she had some mastitis coming on, but was more worried about possible ketosis or milk fever. I called the vet and when he arrived informed me it was mastitis only, and likely an e coli strain. Great. He gave her abx Excede. Said sheshould.d be up and about by this afternoon and to milk out whatever I could, whenever I could. Hard to do when she won't get up. She wouldn't eat or drink either.

I got a bit milked out in the pasture and managed to get her to the milking stall that evening. She was really shakey. Only a few drops of gross brownish liquid came out of that quarter, and the other three only gave about 1/3 of their normal.

This morning the teat was bruised looking. No change in her energy levels. She still wouldn't eat or drink or get up. By mid day the bruised treat had become gross. The skin was suddenly like a tomato that rotted on the vine, hanging loose on the teat. Only a few squirts of blood came out and then nothing. Vet had suggested an anti inflammatory so I went and picked that up along with some B12 and other abx from the feed store. Showed the vet a pic of her teat and he broke the news that it was gangrenous mastitis. We'd lose that quarter and likely this whole lactation, but she'd probably live. Got home and the teat was worse. Barely had any meat left to it.
A dairy man nearby gave me a tube of b vitamins and calcium so I gave her that.

So now we wait and hope she's still standing in the morning. Meanwhile I read what little info I've found about managing this. Any advice or just moral support is appreciated.

[samgorman]

I don't have much to add, other than I'm hoping the best for you and your girl. Sounds like you did a great job getting the vet involved so quickly.
Hopefully she has a good night and starts healing.

[wyomama]

Oh goodness, I'm so sorry! We've had a few cases of gangrene mastitis on the board. It's a serious thing, but not necessarily a death sentence.

The teat needs to come off to facilitate the drainage and sloughing. It should be dead, and if you cut it off with a scalpel, she shouldn't even feel it. Make sure that you glove up when you are working with her, and be careful not to spread to other animals, yourself, or the other quarters.

[dunderi]

i'm so sorry for you to have this. One of our members (elnini) has just been through this with a sheep - she had a single side mastectemy, and is recovering well. lots of hard work though, let me see if i can find the thread for you to read.

[dunderi]

familycow.proboards.com/thread/65187/udderectomy-advice try that one

[renee7008]

Oh my heavens...iam feeling for ya !...you must be sick over this...I can't imagine.
I pray your girl gets healed very soon...so glad you're on top of things it could have turned worse....keep us posted.

[twistedwillow]

My favorite cow had this happen years and years ago (1993 I think- long before we had internet = no KFC). It was her first calf as well. She never acted like she didn't feel well, no milk fever, nothing- but her back left quarter did the same thing you are describing. It was e. coli. The vet cut the teat off so it would drain. The entire quarter turned black (which is why the old farmers called it 'black bag'.) As it died it started to pull away from the healthy tissue around it. I would clean up in that crevasse that was forming with a mild antibiotic soap three times a day. After about a week that quarter fell off. It was really interesting to see the walls inside the udder. Because they are so separate, and because that tissue was dead, there was really no blood. So it wasn't all that gross- it was actually fascinating. Anyway, the hole it left slowly started to heal together, and she ended up with a triangle shaped udder. She was still a good milker. She never had another case of mastitis of any type. She died 15 years later of a brain tumor.
What my vet said to me at the time was, "This doesn't mean that you did anything wrong- it's just one of those things." Your girl could still have a long, happy, healthy life; and give you many nice calves and a lot of good milk. These girls with 3 quarters don't make good show cow though. I did show my Olivia one year..... the judge made a comment that sometimes those quarters sometimes come back! HA! I think he didn't notice that it was GONE- and thought it was just dry...
Anyway- good luck. I'm sorry you are going through this. Keep us posted.

[elnini]

{{{Hugs}}} Will keep you in my thoughts.

I'll try and update Molly's thread tomorrow with the latest, she's healing well and I have a couple more photos.

[Nonesuch Melissa]

So sorry you are having to go through this. Maybe see if she will drink some molasses water. If not get the vet to give her some IV fluids. She probably will not die of the mastitis but dehydration can kill pretty quickly.

[elia]

I have a friend who treated a sheep with a similar infection (blue bag) by injecting hydrogen peroxide into the bag at the places where it looked bruised, and it healed up. They were less concerned with how much udder they saved than with just saving the ewe's life. I am sure there was some loss, but they stopped the infection and the ewe lived to breed and milk again. Not sure how it would apply for your cow, and I have also heard of someone (it was mentioned on this board) who used peroxide for mastitis and it did kill the quarter, but in the case of gangrene, it might be worth considering if it would help stem the tide. Probably wise to consult your vet and others on this board on the advisability of this!

Good luck.
Elia

[ashleep]

Thanks everyone. Last night she looked incredibly thin. She calved almost 4 weeks ago and was in great condition when this started Thur am. Fluids are my biggest concern right now. The vet thought a mastectomy sounded 'extreme' and rather uninterested in helping us further. I could have been reading him wrong but that's the impression I got. There's another vet I plan to call for advice. Thank goodness for the internet. It's nice knowing I'm not the only one that's experienced this.

How contagious is this stuff? She's in a separate paddock from other animals, but what abt people?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using proboards

[wyomama]

Once everything starts dying and sloughing off, you are mostly dealing with the after-effects of the clostridial bacteria (probably) that caused it - so for the most part, there's not going to be a lot of live bacteria in it, although there will be some. But that necrotic tissue is perfect food for all kinds of nasty things - other bacteria and maggots. You don't want the nasty stuff coming into contact with any open sores or scratches on your hands, or contacting teat openings or scratches on her. Use gloves and wash your hands and arms well and you don't need to worry.

[ashleep]

She's up and eating grass! Woohoo!
Sent from my SCH-I535 using proboards

[wyomama]

Great news!

[ashleep]

Should I assume if she's grazing that she's also getting water?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using proboards

[Hubert Karreman]

Hi,
Put her onto to penicillin (Penicillin G) today, 50cc in the muscle twice daily for 5 days (a whole 250cc bottle is what you'll need). Use different muscles, one hand in front of shoulder blade in meat of neck, either side, as well as back leg muscles in the line which divides the two long back leg muscles. Hydrogen peroxide would be OK to spritz on. Sounds like the teat is already cold and dead - take scissors and cut it off to release the gas in there. Really no need for an udderectomy (major, major procedure), just let the quarter slough off.
The 50 cc penicillin twice is a day is the most critical at this time. Sounds like you have a local vet that is used to dairy animals - great: have the vet give IV fluids like dextrose with flunixin in it (Banamine), lactated ringers solution (3-5 liters) and maybe 1 liter hypertonic saline to get her to drink. Also pump in (via stomach tube) 5 gallons of water + alfalfa meal and other goodies (probiotics of any type, etc). That should get her over the hump short term and the penicillin should help keep her going the right way. I don't usually call for antibiotics, but in this situation they are absolutely needed - the penicillin will work against either of the two likely bugs that started it (clostridium or staph aureus).
HJK

[kristi]

Just wanted to offer my sympathy to what you're going thru. Listen to Hubert, he knows what he's talking about. I would also use alcohol or iodine on the other quarters to keep them clean. Definitely use gloves when working with that quarter. Good luck. Sounds like she's feeling a bit better if she's eating. It's amazing how quickly they become ill but they can bounce back too.
Hugs!

[ashleep]

The vet had me get LA 200, agrimycin. Is that effective against those bacteria?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using proboards

[sherrye]

I wanted to come on here and say sorry. I know how hard emotionally and physically this can be for you. some times things happen. we can not control all things. so sending you hugs love and a prayer today.

[Claire]

At this point the antibiotics are more to ward off her getting any secondary infections while her immune system is dealing with the aftereffects of the mastitis. Flush the dead quarter out often, keep the other teats as clean as possible, etc. Pour food into her so she has the energy to heal- warm molasses water, good hay, grain, etc.