Pink Lump / Growth On Cat's Paw Pad.

[Ivy12345]

My cat has what appears to be a pink lumpy growth on her paw pad. It is bleeding but I think because it is bothering her and she has been gnawing at it. She is limping and not really jumping. She is also tucking her bad paw underneath her body. I have a vet appointment tomorrow for her but just wondering if anyone has an idea of what it is. Pictures aren't great because she doesn't want me touching her paw. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[white shadow]

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Hi Ivy12345 and welcome to the forum !

It looks very much like a form of something that's a real mouthful to pronounce: "eosinophilic granuloma"....something that expresses itself in several varieties, yours likely commonly known as "pillow foot".

Here's a plain-language explanation: Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex - Mar Vista Animal Medical Center

These require a steroid to suppress the immune response and sometimes an antibiotic if an infection has developed. When these occur 'out of the blue' and in the absence of any environmental changes (and, assuming she's an indoor cat), there's usually no point of looking for an allergen - cats' immune systems are so sensitive that sometimes they're 'fooled' into believing an attack is occurring or they react to innocuous proteins.

So, you'll need the Vet but, most probably for a one-time treatment.

Let us know what happens.


Oh............could we have some more pics.....of the upper portions of your princess ?
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[mrsgreenjeens]

Yes, it could definitely be that. Good thing you're taking her in tomorrow. Do keep us posted!

 

[Ivy12345]

Thanks for your replies! I'll be researching that pillow foot more!! I took her to the vet this morning and she would not let the doctor look at her paw. She had just gotten her blood pressure and bloodwork done so she was angry in addition to in pain. The vet gave me a liquid sedative to give her and I have to bring her back Saturday morning so they can thoroughly examine her. The vet said it could be her nail, possibly a growth under her nail, but she couldn't really tell. Ugh. And we wait!
In the meantime, here is a picture of my favorite senior lady, Ivy. :-)

 

[white shadow]

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Oh, wow! What a beauty she is ! (and, very happy to be back home, by the look of it!)

It's so encouraging to hear of a Vet who's informed enough to understand the importance of checking for hypertension as part of a senior cat's wellness exams. Yours is one of the first, if not the first, reports of this that I've read here over the span of many years.

Did the Vet use earphones while taking the measurements? The sounds from the machine are otherwise very frightening to cats. There are other things that can be done as well to 'acclimatize' the cat to/around the equipment prior to doing the testing - the problems with making them part of the process can be chalked up to both ignorance and time constraints. With just a pinch of creativity though, a smooth and non-threatening procedure is easily accomplished (resulting in a much calmer cat - and, more importantly, accurate BP counts).

You say that it's a "liquid sedative" that she'll get.....do you know exactly what it is? We are most familiar here with using a drug called Gabapentin in capsule form that's mixed in with wet food and given a couple of hours before appointments.

How old is she?
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[Ivy12345]

I should have mentioned my cat has some other ailments going on! She has hyperthyroidism, very early stage kidney disease, asthma, and hypertension. She was due for a check so they did that first. I wish they had started with the paw instead! She is on a very low dose anti-hypertensive that is keeping her blood pressure in check and they have been monitoring it every few weeks along with thyroid levels to regulate them on the new medications. When they take the blood pressure reading they do it in the back so I am not able to see the process. However, I think I am thankful for that. Too distressing!

The medication is Gabapentin. I had the option of either getting it in liquid form in a syringe or treats. I chose the liquid because I know I can get that into her. I'm used to giving her liquids for her thyroid, as well as for her asthma.

I don't actually know how old she is. I adopted her about a year and a half ago from a shelter that found her wandering in the streets. They said that she was definitely 10+. So, she's somewhere in the vicinity of 12, but could be as old as 15 or so.

She hasn't been limping as much on her paw but the pink lump on her pad has turned completely brown and has not decreased nor increased in size that I can tell.

Looking forward to getting her seen tomorrow and finding out what is going on. Thanks for your responses. They are greatly appreciated!

 

[white shadow]

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Well.....if there's any consolation to be had, it's that she seems to be getting comprehensive care for a number of issues.

She's very fortunate that you found her, and she deserve every bit of that!

We'll stay tuned.
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[Ivy12345]

Sorry for the delay. The vet said on Saturday it was either a split paw pad or a growth. She cleaned it. Wrapped it. And gave her an antibiotic injection.

Fast forward to today. Vet took off the bandage, said no changes. He put an imprint under the microscope and said he believes it is a bad infection. Gave me a topical steroid, a liquid antibiotic, and wants me to wrap her paw in a baby sock every night (which, even on the sedative hasn't proved particularly easy). The vet said they'd call on Monday to get an update and go from there.

Feeling pretty stressed out between the vet bills of $500+ this week, and the not really knowing what is wrong, in addition to having trouble with the treatment.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Are you at least able to get the medication in her? I think that's the most important thing. The baby sock is probably to keep her from licking it, and if you can't get the sock on it (which I understand would indeed by difficult), maybe you could use a cone of shame instead, or just let her lick it if she wants. The topical steroid should make it less bothersome to her, so she may not gnaw on it as much as she was. If you are only to "sock it" at night, you should be able to tell how much she is bothered by it during the day and evening hours. When one of our cats needed a topical cream, I asked the Vet about her licking it off, and she said just to monitor her for a few minutes and then let her be. She said if she licked it after that it would be ok . I was surprised, but did just that. She healed very quickly, but didn't have this same issue...it was an anal gland rupture...still an open wound needing antibiotics, etc.

Yes, whoever said having pets keeps us humans "healthier" obviously didn't have sick pets . It's very stressful on us when our furkids aren't well. Stressful to our own health, and our financial health. But we love them with all our hearts, so it's worth it in the end

 

[Ivy12345]

Yes, I have been able to get all her oral meds into her. I'm hoping the new antibiotic will make all the difference. I have kind of been doing what you suggested. I give her the topical steroid (after doping her with the sedative) and then make an attempt to put the sock on. I make sure she doesn't lick it for about half an hour and then kind of throw my hands up and say I tried my best. I ordered medical paw mitts for cats that should come tomorrow and am hoping those stay on better.
She is a million percent worth it! I just get upset because I want to help her and make her feel better. But I guess no matter what you do you always feel like you could do more.
Thank you for your kind words!!