Brown/Gray Callus looking thing on my cat's paw

vammie · Nov 15, 2013

Hello,

I just happened to notice what looks like a callus on the pad of my cat's paw. I was wondering if anyone here could give me an idea as to what it might be. It is dry looking, somewhat cracked, and hard. Part of it seems to not be attached completely to the skin. By this I mean toward the part that is nearer to the toes, there is room to slip my nail under the area and am able to pull it away from the pad. The skin under it looks normal. The color shifts from the basic color of his pad/whitish to gray/brown as it goes toward the toes. The detached part appears to be cracked open (see pictures 3 & 5). There seems to be a bit of dryness around other parts of the pad as well, including one of the toes. His other paws look fine and healthy (in comparison to the one in question). It doesn't really bother him if I mess with it unless I somewhat aggressively pull on it (not hard, just to test his reaction). I have read about horned paw, but I can never find a decent picture of what they look like and this doesn't seem to match the description. Outside of that, I am unfamiliar with issues that can occur with a cat's paw. The vet's office is currently closed and I will be unable to get him in until late next week. I would appreciate any insight as to what this could be in the meantime! Thanks in advance.

Sorry if the pictures are a bit blurry. My cat isn't fond of sitting still.

IMG_0655.JPG

vammie
Nov 15, 2013

IMG_0659.JPG

vammie
Nov 15, 2013

IMG_0661.JPG

vammie
Nov 15, 2013

IMG_0667.JPG

vammie
Nov 15, 2013

IMG_0680.JPG

vammie
Nov 15, 2013

peaches08 · Nov 15, 2013

It looks like a horn which themselves are painless. However they can grow to a size that can press on areas and cause pain. Maybe your vet can show you how to keep it trimmed properly?

vammie · Nov 15, 2013

You are probably right. If it is what you say, I definitely don't feel comfortable with trimming it without knowing what I am doing! I imagine he has had this for some time and that I am just getting around to noticing it, so he should be fine until I can get him into the vet's office to see what needs to be done. Thank you for your response!

zephyr · May 14, 2016

Hi there, I know this is a 2 and a half year old post, but how is your cat doing? Did you ever find out more information about your cat's paw? My cat has the exact same thing but I haven't found any information nor come across any one else besides you who has seen this. I'm a bit concerned about my cat. I'd really appreciate if you could share anything you know. Thanks so much

molly92 · May 14, 2016

zephyr · May 14, 2016

Thanks so much for sharing!! Your cat's picture is really interesting! It's the first I've come across showing horned paws where the horn isn't coming out of the toe pads. I think I've read every horned paw article out there and none mentioned it's occurrence on other pads like on your cat nor mine and Vammie's.

Does your cat only have 1 horn and is it shiny? I noticed that sometimes, my cat's callus can have a slightly shiny appearance (like calluses on humans), whereas the normal pad tissue is pretty much matte.

molly92 · May 14, 2016

She has one on both of her front paws. (I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any on her back paws, but I'm not a hundred percent certain because she does not like having them handled and her fur is so long it makes it hard to see.) They're not quite as shiny as her actual nails, and they're more yellowy in color where her nails are clear/white, but they are pretty smooth on the outside. It is an interesting phenomenon!

zephyr · May 16, 2016

Interesting that she has them on both paws. I got a pic of my cats paw when he was asleep. But u can't seem to upload it

Princeandpupper · Oct 2, 2017

Hiya! Its been about a year since this was last replied to, but I was just messing with my cat Albert's paws, and discovered a callus-like growth on his back main pad. He's three and large, being around 18lbs and not overweight for his body type. I found that these "horned paws" are usually related to cats with extra toes. Although Albert doesn't have any extra toes, most of the other cats in his litter does. The other pictures of "horns" that I have found on the internet didnt quite match Albert's, until I saw this post. Your felines paw horn matches Alberts pretty well, being a dry, hard growth that is pulling away from the paw pad slightly, with the skin underneath normal except just around where the growth is pulling away, which is dry and colored slightly like the growth. It doesnt seem to bother him at all when i messed with it, however he is a very very tolerant cat. From what I found on the internet, the best thing to do is trim it so it doesnt continue to grow or catch on things, and I believe that with a few days at it, I will be able to gently work it off using my nail, as it is large and round and I wouldnt be able to trim it. How did the vet trip go? Thank you!

Princeandpupper · Oct 3, 2017

Princeandpupper said:
Hiya! Its been about a year since this was last replied to, but I was just messing with my cat Albert's paws, and discovered a callus-like growth on his back main pad. He's three and large, being around 18lbs and not overweight for his body type. I found that these "horned paws" are usually related to cats with extra toes. Although Albert doesn't have any extra toes, most of the other cats in his litter does. The other pictures of "horns" that I have found on the internet didnt quite match Albert's, until I saw this post. Your felines paw horn matches Alberts pretty well, being a dry, hard growth that is pulling away from the paw pad slightly, with the skin underneath normal except just around where the growth is pulling away, which is dry and colored slightly like the growth. It doesnt seem to bother him at all when i messed with it, however he is a very very tolerant cat. From what I found on the internet, the best thing to do is trim it so it doesnt continue to grow or catch on things, and I believe that with a few days at it, I will be able to gently work it off using my nail, as it is large and round and I wouldnt be able to trim it. How did the vet trip go? Thank you!

Ham21 · Sep 13, 2018

zephyr said:
Thanks so much for sharing!! Your cat's picture is really interesting! It's the first I've come across showing horned paws where the horn isn't coming out of the toe pads. I think I've read every horned paw article out there and none mentioned it's occurrence on other pads like on your cat nor mine and Vammie's.

Does your cat only have 1 horn and is it shiny? I noticed that sometimes, my cat's callus can have a slightly shiny appearance (like calluses on humans), whereas the normal pad tissue is pretty much matte.

So did u find out how to treat it or what the vet said?

TiffB · Dec 6, 2019

Hi! I’m so glad I found this thread because I have an 8 month old kitty who was just diagnosed with horned toe this morning. Before our vet appt I searched the web high and low looking for something similar to what my kitty has and this thread was the closest. My kitties growth is coming out of his pad and is fairly large. The vet recommended having it removed and then lab tests to see if it’s cancer or related to FIP, even though his test for FIP was negative as a kitten. I’ll attach some pics of this growth.

white shadow · Dec 6, 2019

.
Hi TiffB and welcome to the forum !

I don't understand how there could possibly be any connection to FIP............FIV or FeLV, perhaps

Cutaneous horns may be spontaneous, and this is often the case on the footpads. Horns are also associated with papillomavirus infection, FeLV, and squamous cell carcinoma. Diagnosis of the condition is usually based on the appearance of the lesions. Affected cats should be tested for FeLV because this is an easy rule-out diagnosis. Single horns associated with scaly skin lesions should be biopsied to rule out SCC.

LINK: http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/whats-wrong-with-foot-proceedings-0

Let us know how this resolves.

Meantime, we'd love to see some pics..........of everything above the paw-line!

A great place for all that would be here
.

TiffB · Dec 6, 2019

Hi! Thank you so much for the welcome, response and information

This is all new and scary. My Pita will be having this removed/shaved down and biopsied in the coming weeks. My vet wasn’t exactly sure what this was but said most likely a form of horn toe. I will definitely let you know how this plays out. Pita on the left, Marmalade on the right

white shadow · Dec 6, 2019

.
I have no breath.......
.

Brown/Gray Callus looking thing on my cat's paw

vammie

TCS Member

Thread starter

IMG_0655.JPG

IMG_0659.JPG

IMG_0661.JPG

IMG_0667.JPG

IMG_0680.JPG

peaches08

TCS Member

vammie

TCS Member

Thread starter

zephyr

TCS Member

molly92

TCS Member

zephyr

TCS Member

molly92

TCS Member

zephyr

TCS Member

Princeandpupper

A home is a castle with a cat as the king

Princeandpupper

A home is a castle with a cat as the king

Ham21

TCS Member

TiffB

TCS Member

white shadow

TCS Member

TiffB

TCS Member

white shadow

TCS Member

Latest Posts

Connect with us