Conference misery::feline_v1

3368.0. "Corns on cats?" by STAR::PMURPHY (The Paws That Refresh!) Fri Feb 23 1990 13:52

    Has anyone else had their cat develop "corns" on their paws?  Well, one
    of mine (who else but poor D.P. Gremlin who's had his share of problems
    and he's such a special guy too).
    
    A couple of weeks ago I noticed he would sit and hold up one of his
    front paws rather than put his weight on it.  When he'd walk, he'd
    slightly limp and he then began to be less active than usual - no
    romping with Thai or getting on top of my VCR to look out the window in
    back of it.  Very unlike D.P.  I checked the paw and found a small,
    white, hard formation on the pad.  I thought it was a malformed claw as
    he has the 4 double paws with a couple of odd and not fully developed
    nails that I trim also; these are not in any way causing him discomfort
    when walking. 
    
    When he still seemed to have the problem the next morning, I called the
    vet's office to see about bringing him in to check.  They had to put
    him under anesthesia because just to touch the formation caused him to
    cry out and try to bite them (nor like D.P.).  They determined it was a
    corn and even found a couple of others on his other foot which weren't
    bothering him then.  While under anesthesia, the vet burned off the
    corns, and trimmed (very close) the two odd nails.  
    
    He also checked D.P.'s teeth and found he had a bad case of
    gingivitis so he scraped the teeth down.  (D.P. doesn't eat dry food
    anymore - not even Science Diet dry - just the canned Science Diet
    Dry.)
    
    For the gingivitis, I've been cleaning his teeth & gums twice a day 
    (until this past Tuesday) using a piece of gauze soaked in Listerine,
    as prescribed by the vet. During that time, he was not on an antibiotic.
    
    Monday, Feb. 20th, I had to take D.P. back for a recheck on his teeth
    and feet.  He continually would lick at the areas on his pads where the
    corns had been burned off and where the deformed nails (2) had been
    trimmed down.  The vet decided to bandage both front paws after
    applying medication to the burned areas to prevent D.P. from licking
    and try to heal them.  He said, "Sometimes the treatment is worse than
    the problem!"  (He meant the burning off of the corns.)  I also
    suggested that maybe D.P. should be on an antibiotic for the gingivitis
    since I knew of other folk's cats were for that problem (read it in
    this file actually).  He gave me some Tribissan (sp) to give him one
    tablet a day until gone (he's still on them), and suggested not to
    clean his teeth while on the medicine to see if that, in fact, does
    help clear up the inflammation in the gum area.
    
    It was pathetic to see D.P. trying to walk when I let him out of his
    carrier with those bandages.  My other 4 had to line up in the kitchen
    area and just stare in bewilderment at the strange way D.P. was
    behaving.  When he finally made it into a litterbox, it was helpful
    little Thai who went in afterwards and covered up things.
    
    After watching this poor creature trying to walk and even more
    uncomfortable with those bandaged front paws for a few days, I couldn't
    stand it any longer.  I removed them the other day.  It seemed like his
    big double paws were crammed; like wearing shoes too small.  Except for
    the stains on the burned areas from the medication applied, his feet
    looked okay on the bottom.  I'll tell you, this changed his attitude
    from a very sad and uncomfortable cat to a much relieved, happy purring
    and thankful cat!  I'm not sure if the medication and temporary
    wrapping of the feet did help but I sure wished they weren't wrapped so
    snuggly.
    
    His teeth and gums seem to be better from gingivitis too.  Guess my
    brushing his teeth with the malt flavored pet toothpaste isn't as
    beneficial to him as to the others.  Must have to do with him eating
    only soft food.  When medication is done, I'll start cleaning his teeth
    & gums again with the Listerine since that seemed to help and he's so
    good about it.
    
    Pat, D.P., Thai, Holly, Buffy, Midnight (& Cookie)
    

    Cats getting corns?  Hmmmmmm.  No, I have never heard of it, but
    one thing about this notes file, it has a varied menu of illnesses.
    (Which, by the way, is very good info to have to fall back on!)
    
    
    Poor D.P., glad he feels better....
    
    Lynne & the gang
    
    

    Talking about bandages - this brings back a bad experience I had with
    Zildjian (who else).
    
    As a kitten (indoor) she somehow had broken her leg (comparable to the
    area on our arm between the wrist and the elbow).  I got home from work
    on night (I worked 2nd shift) to find her favoring her paw.  Took her
    to the vet the next day and he explained that she had broken her leg. 
    He put her under and wrapped the leg up in a tight bandage.  She had to
    hobble on the leg all week - I felt so bad.  About 2 hrs after removing
    the bandage (it was not a cast) her paw blew up like a baloon!  It was
    about 5 times the size of her regular paw and in between the pads it
    was ozzing what looked like water!  I was beside myself!  I phoned the
    vet and got his answering service.  He returned my call and said he
    should have explained to me that that might happen.  I was very upset
    at that.  
    
    And to top it off - Zildjian was never the same cat after that.  She
    hisses at Michael and I for no reason and you can never tell when she
    will turn on us.  I still feel that the vet hurt her while she was
    awake and she never will forget it.  I sometimes wonder if I should
    have let the leg heal by itself since 1) he never put a cast on it and
    2) he took off the bandage in 1 week.
    
    I never went back to that vet ever!
    
    Anna/Zildjian/Spunks
    

    could you describe these "corns"? My Argus, who has huge double paws
    (actually triple) has these little yellowish growths on the front sides
    of his toes. They don't seem to bother him so the vet suggested
    doing nothing about them.
    
    Deb

    Well, the one I saw that bothered D.P. was about the size of the head
    on a commonpin and was whitish in color and hard.  At first I thought
    it might be just something stuck on his foot but when I tried to gently
    remove it by starting in a corner of it, D.P. would have none of it; he
    actually "slapped" my hand with his other paw (he was lying down at the
    time).
    
    At one time I noticed that my older cat, Buffy, had some kind of
    similar growths on the bottom of his front toes (he does not have
    double paws) and when I mentioned them to the vet during a spring shot
    visit, he said if they didn't bother him to leave them alone.  If they
    ever started to give him trouble, they should be removed.  They don't
    bother him so far.  I check them each week when I groom all the cats.
    
    Deb, are the ones on Argus like a corn or more like malformed claws
    like a birth defect.  D.P. had a couple that the vet trimmed down.  He
    actually trimmed too close I think, as the nerves are alive in them and
    that's why when I trimmed I only took tips of those so they wouldn't
    override eachother.  They are on the side of his front foot.  They are
    sort of yellowish in color.  When I first found D.P. as a kitten, I had
    asked the vet then if the malformed ones should be removed when he went
    in to be neutered but he said, "Unless they bother him, I wouldn't!"
    
    These are the opinions of two different vets.
    
    Pat
    
    

    >Deb, are the ones on Argus like a corn or more like malformed claws
    >like a birth defect.  


    They are soft, more like a callous than a corn, but they are definitely
    not malformed claws (Argus had those between his "thumb" and "hand" and
    those were removed. These "growths" appeared a little while after.

    Deb

    This reminds me of when I was in college, and a girl in our dorm
    broke her foot.  The doctor put bandages on it that were too tight,
    they cut off the circulation, and so the foot got gangrenous and
    had to be amputated.  When in doubt, ask yourself if you are sure your
    vet/doctor really is doing the right thing....