Cat acting a lot more grump than he used to, in combination with a toe/toenail problem.

My cat (male) has a history of infected toenails. I assume he's ripping them on the chain link fence in the background, plus maybe getting into fights; but I have been told many things by a couple different vets, including it could be an auto-immune disease, feline leukemia, a tumor in the lungs and more. Recently, as in the past 6 month, he's been acting increasingly grumpy. I thought at first it was because we got a new cat, an older one who doesn't get along with other cats, and she was occupying his space. But he's just gotten grumpier and now has two infected toes, one on each back foot. Could all this be a sign of something worse happening? I'm really worried that he's sick. He grumbles when I touch his feet, but also when I touch other parts of him, which is not like him at all. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Well, I would be grumpier too if I was uncomfortable all the time.   And it seems like he is in pain too.

Yes, I think your cat will be getting sick if you don't do anything about his risky outdoor activities - cat fights, climbing up the wrong type of "wall", which do not really help in getting rid of his history of "infected toenails". You can minimize all these by either keeping him indoors or make an outdoor enclosure. 

By the way, I have nothing against cats enjoying the outdoors. Mine are allowed to go outside.   But if any one of them gets injured or shows signs of discomfort, it's the safety of the indoors until whatever is wrong gets solved. 

How is your cat doing?  If he has infected toes, and is also sensitive when you are touching other parts of his body I would be worried there is something going on and would take him to the vet as soon as you can.  It could be wider infection, injuries, or some illness but without a vet taking a good look you will not know and by then he could be very sick indeed.  CAts do not generally show pain and for him to react when you touch him suggests he in experiencing a high level of pain at the moment.

It sounds to me that he is not neutered, is this correct?

Cats will avoid fights and confrontations as much as possible when they are fixed. They will also stop the need to run the streets so much, sticking around once their hormones adjust to a fixed state.

Also meant to add, if his infected toes were caused by an autoimmune issue then he would likely show this with stomatitis as well. (teeth)

MServant said:

 
  CAts do not generally show pain and for him to react when you touch him suggests he in experiencing a high level of pain at the moment.

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That was my thought as well.  I am going to move this post to the Health Forum to see if we can get more opinions for you. 

What sort of tests have your vets done?  Blood work, x-rays?

My cat DeeJay was starting to get extremely grumpy with everyone.  We did bloodwork and xrays and found out she suffered from Chronic Pancreatitis and Megacolon.  She is on treatments for both and is getting back to the sweet girl she once was.  What is he being treated with for the infected toes?

catwoman707 said:

Cats will avoid fights and confrontations as much as possible when they are fixed.

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While this may be generally true, it may not apply to the territorial instincts. Perhaps my cats are an exception, but they are not afraid to confront any intruders or strange cats in the proximity of home.