Cats bleeding paws

[rick830]

I have a BIG problem. I have a 10 year old male cat, recently his paws started bleeding. We took him to a vet and they asked us if he was an indoor cat, which he is, but sometimes he does sit outside on the porch. We feel he stepped on something, fertilizer perhaps that gave him an infection. He is declawed on the front, and three of his paws are bleeding. It's been almost two weeks now. The vet gave him an antibiotic (shot), and drops for pain. As of right now the biggest problem is one of his back claws is bleeding from the nail bed, the other claws seem to be healing up, slowly but surely. My biggest problem is I feel he may be biting on the nail trying to pull it out. I hate to see him like this, and I really don't know what to do. I think if this doesn't get better soon, I may consider taking him back to the vet and having him stay there so they can keep him off his feet to give this thing a chance to heal, but I would hate to do that. ANY advice for me would be good. Thanks  

[opus88]

hi Nadine.....its possible your kitty has plasma cell pododermatitis...click on the link below for lots of info on this condition.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Cats/Plasma-cell-pododermatitis/show/1666260

[nadine1205]

I have been reading all your posts guys, Joey, my cat licks his paws and has bleeding on the back paws that doesnt seem to stop.... same symptoms... do you think it would be possible that he is sick too? plus he keeps myawing all the time, painful myaws sometimes in the middle of the night :( please advise

[zodiacqueen]

Hi Rick,  It sounds like your family is holding up well.  And, it's great to hear that you've got a new kitten!  Sorsha, is such an exotic name.  It sounds sort-of Russian and what a very cool mix-Maine Coon and Himalayan.  You've got to post a pic of her so all of us can check her out!  I can't even picture what that mix looks like.  LOL

As for Rusty and the new kitten, there will be lots of hissing, growling, etc.  But, you knew that!  It might take longer than a month for them to get along/tolerate each other.  They will establish who's the king (or queen) of the throne in your house.  You should let them settle it between them, unless it gets really out of hand-like them hurting each other.  There's a possibility that things could get a little ugly.  I hope not, but there's still that possibility there.  While you and your wife are not home, I would keep them in separate rooms for a while...just in case.

I hope that both kitties will eventually become buddies and bring you and your wife much joy to your lives.

Please keep us posted and if you've got any more questions.....bring it on!  =)

[rick830]

Thanks for all your warm thoughts everyone.
Well, we got a kitten. She is 6 months old, her name is Sorsha, and she is Himalayan Mainecoon. She's adorable.
We got her for our 10 year old male cat because he seemed like he missed Smokey so much, but he doesn't really seem to like her. We knew this would happen.
Rusty is an orange tabby, and he's kind of a girly boy, lol. He cries all the time, he's not a big people cat, he's skittish, and the only time he's really happy is when someone is petting him, which is difficult because he just won't lay down. He's still active, likes to play and all.
Sorsha is a lap cat, she loves to play, and is all over the place. She hasn't been fixed yet or (gasp) declawed. She seems to know Rusty is the boss but when we introduced them there was a lot of hissing from both sides. Things seem to be getting better, he's gone up to her and sniffed her a couple times, and the hissing seems to have stopped, but we are hoping that this doesn't take like a month for him to get used to her, we are going on 4 days.  

Any advice would help.

[Jade59]

I read your whole thread and did Not see this coming.  I'm so very sorry for your loss.  

[FurballsMom]

I'm so sorry for your loss, too.  I remember what it was like when I lost my previous cat to cancer.  I swore I wasn't going to get another cat.  But, my friend, who is not a pet person, could see that I really needed to have a cat in my life to fill the void.  So, she suggested that I consider getting another cat.  Then, my friend who used to own my kitty I have now, asked me to cat sit for her while she was away for a few months.  The cat and I bonded while in the friend's apartment.  When she came home, the cat missed me.  My friend asked me if something happened to her if I would take care of the cat.  Between my one friend prompting me to get another cat and the fact that I had fallen in love with this cat, I couldn't say "no".  My friend knew how much I loved and cared for this cat already for six solid months.  It's too bad that it was only six months later that my friend died from complications of Lupus.  None of her most recent friends knew she had Lupus, including me.  So, now I have this wonderful chocolate tortoise shell.  I'm really glad I have her.  My friend who isn't a pet person was right about my needing a cat.  She knows me that well.  She knew I needed to fill that void.  I knew this was the right cat for me before I even got her.  I was shocked that I got her as soon as I did, though.  I'm really glad I have this cat, too.  I love her dearly and she knows it.

[zodiacqueen]

Hi, I was wondering how you and your family have been holding up!  Glad ya came back!  It's gonna take a while to heal, our pets wind up being another family member.  There are lots of people that don't understand this and make rude remarks!  GRRRRR

I think it's a great idea to get another kitty!!  Have you thought about rescuing a kitty at the animal shelter?  That's something you can feel good about!  =)

I've got some ideas for you to think about when you get your new kitty.  I know how much fun kittens are, but a kitten might be a little too wild for your older kitty.  A kitten will want to play all the time!  This would depend on your other cat's personality, whether you decide on getting a kitten or a cat that's a year old.  Here's one other thing to think about-whether you want a male or female.  Rusty is a male, right?  If he is, and you get another male there could be territorial fights later.  This might also cause some spraying problems in the house (this doesn't matter if they're fixed or not).  I have seen this!!  My mom's got 7 cats-6 males and one female.  The older male spray( he is fixed).  I think he feels threatened by the younger ones.  They all get along great, but the spraying still goes on.  The older cat is letting the younger ones know who the boss is.  That's my opinion, anyway.  Others might see it differently.  

This is your call. I think it's great that you're feeling better now and thinking about another kitty.

I hope that this has helped!  Maybe some of the other forum members will come up with some more ideas.

Take care....and post some pics when you get your new kitty!!

ZQ

[rick830]

Well, life without Smokey is tough, but it's getting better, time heals. We miss him, but more importantly Rusty misses him. Rusty is our other cat, and he's 10, just as Smokey was, (two males)  they've been together since they were 6 months old.  We're considering another cat to keep him company and to fill the void. I'm a bit worried though how Rusty is going to react to another cat probably less than a year old. I was told they would probably walk around and hiss at each other for a couple days but then would get used to each other. I dunno, any advice?

p.s. Rusty has no front claws and a kitten probably will, a bit worried about that too.

[Maddie6]

Hi,
Oh my, I am saddened to hear about your kitty.  I was following your story and, like Zodiacqueen, I also thought it may be an infection that would clear up.  I am so sorry for your loss.  

[zodiacqueen]

Oh my God!!!  That is horrible!  I am so very sorry for your loss.  I thought it was a simple infection that would've cleared up with some strong antibiotics.  You and your wife must be so very shocked and heart broken right now.  With time, the hurt will get better and maybe both of you will find it in your hearts to adopt another kitty again.

Take care!

ZQ

PS-NO, I am not a tarot reader.  By the way, there is a forum on MedHelp that has REAL vets.  All ya gotta do is look!

[rick830]

Well, I didn't think I'd be back so soon, but things are not good. We admitted "Smokey" to a 24 hour emergency facility yesterday, and they felt that he may have a fungus or bacteria that is being spread to all of his paws simply because he gives himself a bath and licks all of his paws. They kept him overnight and he saw a dermatologist and an internal vet, and after an x ray it was determined he had lung cancer and had 3 to 6 months to live. After long and and difficult meeting with them and my wife, we decided to put him down. This was tough because he seemed to be perky still, but they said he would never walk and would go downhill fast. Thanks for all the posts and best of luck to you.

[zodiacqueen]

WOW, you've got one patient kitty-keeping those cute socks on for a while.  =)

I'm glad that you found a kitty litter that he likes.  I bet that litter will help his paws to heal much quicker.  HMMMM, you said newspaper pellets?????  Are you talking about that litter called Yesterday's News?  I thought about getting that stuff before because it's dust free and great for people with allergies and asthma.  Instead of that, I use this corn based cat litter that's dust free and healthier for me and my cat.  People don't realize how unhealthy that clay based clumping cat litter is to cats.  Cats are naturally very clean animals and lick their fur.  They also wind up licking that clay clumping litter that sticks to their fur and this winds up getting clumped up inside their stomachs and intestines.  So, you can imagine the health problems that can result.  I wish I had found that info when my cats were kittens.  I would've switched a long  time ago.  If you're interested, there's some info on the web about this.

Well, I do wish you and kitty well!  I can tell you're a good mom to your kitty and can bet that he will be all healed up in no time.

Take care!
ZQ

[rick830]

Actually, he kept them on for quite awhile, they were put on with tape. I couldn't see putting him through that though, he probably would have bumped into things and made matters worse.
Today we followed more advice from the vet and got a gate and put it in the master bedroom. This will keep him from going up and down the stairs. We also abandoned the shredded paper for litter made from paper shaped in pellets, petsmart sells it and he's already used it. So he's confined to the master bedroom which has a walk in closet and a bathroom, so he still has plenty of room, but we feel the stairs are NOT doing him good right now. The bleeding seems to have stopped in two of the paws and is only on one of the back ones now, but it's a MESS, it's real infected. Wish us luck,

[zodiacqueen]

LMAO.....sorry I had to laugh trying to picture your poor kitty w/ socks on his feet.  It must've drove him completely nuts.  He probably looked very cute, though!!  =)  It was a good idea, but no self-respecting kitty would ever keep them on for more than 2 minutes.

I gotta say, I am completely stumped about your kitty's paws.  If you find out how in the "H" he managed to mess his paws up, please let me know.

Hopefully, giving him a break from his usual litter will help him a lot!!  Please keep me posted!

[rick830]

Thanks so much for responding. My vet is also stumped on this one. Today seems to be a little better, the vet did say to change the litter to paper and two to three times a day to clean the wounds with zetadine which will not sting him and he actually seems to like it (we dip his feet into a tupperware container with the solution and cold water and it is probably soothing). We do have another male cat in the house but they have been together since they were 6 months old, so we do not feel that this is a problem. He does lick the paws which is natural and we are also concerned about him biting the claws, but have not seen him doing this. The collar is a great idea if this thing seems to get worse. A friend suggested that we put baby socks on him with medical tape to keep them on, and we tried this yesterday but he was so pi**ed off we felt it was a bit traumatic. Today he is just laying on the bed and the bleeding seems to have stopped, and on one of the paws I can see a scab forming, I feel the zetadine is working. Through all of this, he has kept up his appetite, and is drinking plenty of water, so I feel MAYBE we have turned a corner with this thing, but I sure would LOVE to know what caused it. The other cat is fine, no problems.

[zodiacqueen]

Hi, I've gotta be honest with ya.....I have had cats my whole life-30+ yrs, and have never seen anything like this before!  BUT, I've got an idea, that will hopefully help!  How about keeping him in and watching him like a hawk to see if he's chewing his claws!  If he is, then you can get an Elizabethan collar that will prevent him from doing this until his claws heal.

If he IS chewing his claws, I'm wondering why in the world he would do this!!  I'm thinking that he might be stressing over something!  Are there any other cats in your house, could there be any other kitties in the neighborhood?  Another kitty in the neighborhood could bring on territorial behavior in him, especially if it's another male kitty.  OR, he could be stressed out about another change in the house.  Cats don't like any kind of change in their lives at all.

Please, let us know some of these details and we may be able to offer some more ideas.

Best wishes to ya!!

Z