Cat persistently licking and chewing his paw pads.

vsvpflex

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My almost 2 yr old boys has had quite the year. Starting with 3 urinary blockages, and ending in not one, but two perineal urethrostomy surgeries. Thankfully he is able to pee completely normal now, but throughout the process of getting the urinary issues sorted out he spent a lot of time in a cone. Upon removing the cone he seemed to have an issue with overgrooming, the main focus area being his feet. It was thought to be behavioral at first but behavioral meds didn’t do the trick, and he genuinely seemed to be itchy. About a month ago we took him into the vet for this and they did a flea treatment (even though no fleas were found on him) and put him on a round of prednisolone. During the time of being on prednisolone he didn’t chew or lick his paw pads at all, it was fantastic. BUT, due to his urethral surgery, he is more susceptible to UTIs, and the steroid is an immunosuppressant. While on it he got a uti (no big deal, treated it with antibiotics), but obviously him being on steroids long term for relief of his itchy feet isn’t really an option since it makes him so much more likely to contract UTIs than he already is. Seeing that it seems to be only his paws that are proving to be an issue, I went today and picked up some Unscented Dr Elsey litter and cleaned out and replaced the litter in all of his boxes. The stuff we were using was scented and I’ve read that fragrances in litter can cause allergy issues for some cats. I will also add that his paws seem to get dry pretty fast, he’s an indoor only cat and there are 3 other cats in the household and none of them get dry paws or are suffering from any itching. We don’t use any cleaners on the floors aside from an extremely diluted all natural cleaner on our kitchen floor about once a month, aside from that just water to clean it. For now we have been using antibacterial/anti fungal/steroidal wipes on his pads and using a paw balm to rehydrate his pads. Looking for any ideas of why this is happening, and/or tips on how to combat it. This had never been an issue before him going through all of his urinary issues this past year and while it was a stressful time for him, it was an extremely stressful time for me as well. Wanting a solution to get him back to his normal kitty self ASAP.
 

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Alldara

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If he stopped while on Prednisolone I would think your first place to begin would be allergies. Allergies can develop at any age. Our late cat developed them at 17.

You may want to discuss with your vet and try allergy medication first.

Our vet had us put our cat on a Limited Ingredient Diet until no allergy symptoms and then reintroduce the suspected allergen.

Another poster on this site found that their floor cleaner contained pine, which is toxic to cats and was potentially causing the allergy symptoms.
 
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vsvpflex

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If he stopped while on Prednisolone I would think your first place to begin would be allergies. Allergies can develop at any age. Our late cat developed them at 17.

You may want to discuss with your vet and try allergy medication first.

Our vet had us put our cat on a Limited Ingredient Diet until no allergy symptoms and then reintroduce the suspected allergen.

Another poster on this site found that their floor cleaner contained pine, which is toxic to cats and was potentially causing the allergy symptoms.
With him being a cat prone to blockages he had to remain on a prescription urinary diet, and non of the available choices are limited ingredient or hypoallergenic.
 

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There has been discussion here on TCS that a d-mannose supplement mixed with food can help with urinary issues. So in theory you could feed any diet which would be healthier than prescription.

Did the vet rule out pododermatitis or other skin issue?
 

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Hi. A few things come to mind - somewhat prompted by the above posters.

For allergies, you might talk to the vet about an antihistamine, in lieu of a steroid.

If there are bacteria involved in his previous UTIs, the pure D-Mannose can help to flush out the bacteria, so that is does not build up in the bladder lining. Other members on this site use it just for general bladder health. Below, I have included a link to the D-Mannose I use, and simply add 1/4 tsp. to Feeby's food once every day, to ward off UTIs brought on by bacteria.

Regarding his paws - ever consider something like olive oil, salmon oil, or even coconut oil, to rub onto them daily - rather than the balm? It is possible that the antihistamine might take care of this issue but adding some oil rubs to his paws can't hurt.

Amazon.com: UTI Pets Pure D-Mannose Non GMO Organic Source Powder 65gram jar : Pet Supplies
 

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Another thought - are you feeding your cat canned food or dry food? Dry food contributes to urinary issues because of the lack of moisture. If the prescription food your cat is currently eating is available in canned, switch to that and add in a bit of extra water to keep the body hydrated and the urinary tract working optimally.
 

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It's hard to tell from the pictures, but are his paw pads drier than normal, or are there little scabs on them? How is his skin (red, itchy, normal?) Is he having any trouble walking on any of his feet? Anything skin/itch related can be so frustrating. It could be stress from all he (and you) have been through, but then again you said he was on behavioral stuff that didn't help.
Vitamin E oil (preferably D-alpha vs. DL-alpha but that might be a nit pick) might help, it's very soothing, healing, and if he licks it off it won't hurt him at all (might even help!)
 

iPappy

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Another thought - are you feeding your cat canned food or dry food? Dry food contributes to urinary issues because of the lack of moisture. If the prescription food your cat is currently eating is available in canned, switch to that and add in a bit of extra water to keep the body hydrated and the urinary tract working optimally.
I had a male cat that blocked several times. Any kind of moisture rich food has kept him out of the emergency room. If I get lazy and give him dry food for a few days, he starts straining! No more kitty crack for him.
 
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vsvpflex

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It's hard to tell from the pictures, but are his paw pads drier than normal, or are there little scabs on them? How is his skin (red, itchy, normal?) Is he having any trouble walking on any of his feet? Anything skin/itch related can be so frustrating. It could be stress from all he (and you) have been through, but then again you said he was on behavioral stuff that didn't help.
Vitamin E oil (preferably D-alpha vs. DL-alpha but that might be a nit pick) might help, it's very soothing, healing, and if he licks it off it won't hurt him at all (might even help!)
His paws are drier than usual. Not cracked, but dry. We have 3 other cats in the house and he is the only one who gets dry paw pads. I’ve been using a natural paw balm on him which contains lots of natural oils, and it helps to keep his paws hydrated but if I don’t use it on him, he’s right back to dry paws. His skin everywhere seems normal for the most part, he gets salmon oil added to his food and has very silky fur. He gets occasional dandruff but that’s it. His paw pads don’t particularly look red, but the skin around his paw pads that attach them to the rest of his foot looks a tad bit pink/irritated. He has no problem walking on his feet either and shows no signs of pain in them. When he was overgrooming before he would chew his paws to the point of bleeding/self mutilating and thankfully we got him healed up from that and it’s not to that point currently, but I’m terrified it’s going to get back to that. This past year has been nonstop panic about him for one reason or another and I just want to get him AND me some relief. It took so long to fix his urinary issue and I understand that this issue is nowhere near as serious as that, but it’s frustrating none the less.
 

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His paws are drier than usual. Not cracked, but dry. We have 3 other cats in the house and he is the only one who gets dry paw pads. I’ve been using a natural paw balm on him which contains lots of natural oils, and it helps to keep his paws hydrated but if I don’t use it on him, he’s right back to dry paws. His skin everywhere seems normal for the most part, he gets salmon oil added to his food and has very silky fur. He gets occasional dandruff but that’s it. His paw pads don’t particularly look red, but the skin around his paw pads that attach them to the rest of his foot looks a tad bit pink/irritated. He has no problem walking on his feet either and shows no signs of pain in them. When he was overgrooming before he would chew his paws to the point of bleeding/self mutilating and thankfully we got him healed up from that and it’s not to that point currently, but I’m terrified it’s going to get back to that. This past year has been nonstop panic about him for one reason or another and I just want to get him AND me some relief. It took so long to fix his urinary issue and I understand that this issue is nowhere near as serious as that, but it’s frustrating none the less.
I completely agree that this issue is frustrating despite the urinary issues. As weird as this is going to sound, do his feet have an odor? You said he started overgrooming after all of his urinary problems. Did he ever do this before he was put on a prescription diet?
 
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vsvpflex

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I completely agree that this issue is frustrating despite the urinary issues. As weird as this is going to sound, do his feet have an odor? You said he started overgrooming after all of his urinary problems. Did he ever do this before he was put on a prescription diet?
His feet do not seem to have an odor, and he did do this prior to the diet change but nowhere near as severe
 

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V vsvpflex Did he have crystals before and if yes do you know what kind?

Most studies have shown that wet food of any kind is the best way to get rid of urinary issues. There are many over-the-counter urinary foods that work just as well (Nobel has had FLUTD for nearly a decade with calcium crystals, and no flare ups for 7 years. Many food changes).

You could change to a different 'flavour' of the urinary food -- like a different protein as often it is the protein that is the allergy and chicken is usually the culprit. I know there are fish and turkey options available for sure. Some prescription foods have dual purpose if you need it.

Getting rid of clay litter and moving to something else if you haven't already. Paper litter is the least dusty, I've had good results with wood ones as well (though he did flare up with pine litter).

Lastly, they've noticed that urinary issues have to do with stress. The cat has the bladder swelling before the infection in most cases, and then the infection is able to settle in. Increasing the amount of your cat's enrichment is SUPER helpful in saying goodbye to the flare ups. There are many articles and such on that.

The above are all just ideas for you, if you decide to go the route of addressing the allergy without medication long term. Though, with medicine first as a test would be best so you aren't giving him any changes unnecessarily.
 
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