"My cat has a swollen paw, what's wrong?" It is a fairly common query and, therefore, we will talk about the main causes. It may happen that, on occasions, our little felines suffer from a swelling of one of their legs due to an inflammatory, infectious, tumoural, allergic or traumatic process. However, it mainly occurs as a result of various diseases or infectious agents that can cause our cats to be uncomfortable, limp, lick the affected paw and show changes in their behavior due to said discomfort.
If this is your case and you want to know why your cat has a swollen paw, keep reading this article on our site to discover the main causes and their treatments.
Feline plasmacytic pododermatitis
A disease that can affect the plantar and palmar pads is plasma cell pododermatitis, a pathology whose etiology is not well determined, but which is thought to have an immune-mediated origin due to the existence of hypergammaglobulinemia, an affection of the lymphocytes and deposit of immune complexes (antigen-antibody) with response to treatment with glucocorticoids. However, there must be more factors involved in its origin, since it also responds to surgical treatment without the use of immunosuppressants such as glucocorticoids.
Cats with feline pododermatitis exhibit softening and swelling of the plantar and/or palmar pads with pain. The red paw can also be seen in affected cats as it may present bleeding and ulceration, as well as edema, discomfort, licking of the affected area and lameness.
Treatment
If left untreated, this condition can lead to secondary infections and can cause such pain in advanced cats that the entire paw can become swollen and very tender to the touch. This disease is often associated with renal amyloidosis or plasma cell stomatitis.
Treatment should include antibiotics such as doxycycline, glucocorticoids such as prednisolone and, in more advanced cases, surgical removal of ulcerations.
Arthritis
Arthritis is the infection or inflammation of a joint due to infectious or non-infectious causes. When several joints are affected, it is called "polyarthritis", which is not the same as osteoarthritis and consists of a chronic and permanent degenerative disease of the joints.
The causes of arthritis in cats are varied, so it can be the result of bite wounds in fights or accidents, as well as autoimmune or rheumatoid causes, viral infections (leukemia and feline immunodeficiency), osteoarthritis, bacterial infections, falls, crushes or strains.
Cats with arthritis may exhibit the following clinical signs:
- Inflammation of the joint causing a bulge or swelling of the affected leg.
- Reduction or loss of mobility of the affected area.
- Decrease in physical activity and movement.
- Joint pain.
- Joint crepitus.
- Depression.
- Muscular atrophy.
- More time for rest.
- Increased temperature in the area of the affected joint.
- Lameness.
- Redness of the affected paw.
Treatment
Feline arthritis treatment should include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce joint inflammation and pain, improving the symptomatology of the affected cat. Supplements that help the joint, such as glucosamine and chondroitin, can also be used. In the most severe cases of arthritis, surgery may be considered as a last option.
Bone tumors
Swollen paws in cats can sometimes respond to a bone tumor of one or more bones of the extremities. The four main bone tumors are osteosarcoma, fibrosarcoma,chondrosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma , the first being the most common.
These tumors can be primary if they arise directly from the bone or secondary produced by metastases from other tumors such as multiple myeloma of the bone marrow or transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Fortunately, bone tumors in cats are less aggressive than in dogs and are usually not primary tumors.
Treatment
Cats with bone tumors of the limbs can become so weak that they can fracture the bone, causing a lot of pain and lameness, so it is normal for the cat to not support the leg that has swelling. Primary osteosarcomas can produce metastases in the lungs and lymph nodes, although not always, so treatment will depend on whether they are located only in the bone, requiring their amputation; in other cases, use chemotherapy and radiotherapy
Trauma
The Falls from great height, the Accidents, the runovers, the crushings and the cat fightscan produce deep and superficial wounds on the legs, causing them to increase in size and swell due to the inflammatory process produced. In addition, with this type of trauma, the legs can also be fractured or sprained, which will further increase the inflammation, discomfort and pain in the cat, which will show lameness and refusal to move or be aggressive when trying to touch the affected limb.
On other occasions, especially due to injuries in fights, bacterial infections may develop that produce abscesses or accumulation of pus and are seen as a lump that needs to be drained and treated with antibiotics, and never allowed to spread because of the risk of getting into the blood and causing septicemia.
Treatment
If your cat has a swollen paw due to trauma, the treatment will be medical through the use of painkillers andanti-inflammatories , such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as well as rest and, if there is secondary infection, the use of antibiotics and wound cleaning.
Edema
Cats' paws can swell due to an accumulation of fluid in them due to peripheral edema, which consists of an accumulation of excessive tissue fluidwithin the gap between the animal's tissues or organs, called the "interstitium."This disorder may be caused, for example, by right-sided congestive heart failure, renal failure, or in cases of hypernatremia (increased sodium).
At first glance, it may seem that the cat does not support its paw but it does not complain because these animals, on many occasions, know how to hide pain very well. However, especially depending on the part of the affected leg, it can be very annoying.
Treatment
In this case, what can you give your cat if he has a swollen paw? Treatment should be based on treating the cause that produces it and, if necessary, applying diureticsto facilitate the elimination of liquid accumulation.
Allergic reaction to an insect sting
Finally, it is common for a cat to have a swollen paw from a bite. Insects such as spiders, scorpions or bees can sting cats on their legs, or any other part of their body, causing them to greatly increase in size, swelling due to an allergic reaction to their bite.
For example, When bitten by a mildly dangerous spider, there is a slight numbness and redness of the skin with swelling of the area, which can cause cats to over-groom their paw and may lead to an abscess. If the spider is dangerous, like the violinist spider, the area will harden and sink, but as the hours go by, we can see the cat's purple paw and even pale areas that evolve to black, as well as dark scabs that will develop an ulcer. In the case of the black widow, systemic signs can occur that in 85% of cases lead to the death of the affected cat. Treatment includes the specific antidote in the case of black widow bites and support to control the symptoms of other types of spider bites.
In the case of bee stings, the swollen leg will be irritated, sore and swollen and may also cause a reaction general allergic with changes in heart and breathing rhythm, including blockage of the airways with fainting and bluish tongue. Treatment should include antihistamine therapy in addition to removing the stinger.
In the case of paw swelling from scorpion sting or scorpion, cats will have very noticeable pain with restlessness and constant licking of the affected paw, in addition to other signs that can be very serious such as paralysis of the diaphragm, difficulties in swallowing or cardiovascular, pulmonary and neurological collapse, among others. The treatment will include antidotes if the scorpion was poisonous, fluid therapy, analgesics and antihistamines.
