Larry the cat has saw paws

random gemini

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I haven't seen this on cats before, but I have seen it on my dogs. It's usually worse if they're older. It's usually exposure to snow and cold weather that causes it in my dogs, but it can also happen in the summer time, if the weather is really dry. I'm not sure what would cause it in an indoor cat. 

For my dogs, I apply a thick layer of bag balm right before bed at night and put a sock over their foot. I'd worry about a cat licking it off though. Hopefully someone with more experience with this with cats will chime in and answer! 
 
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larrythecat

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A liitle bit more information about Larry is: He is about 12 months old, we live in New Zealand so it is summer time from November to April eg hot weather right now... and he often has weeping eyes
 

random gemini

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Allergies maybe? I'm going to google around a bit and see what i can find for you on cracked paw pads in cats. The weeping eyes makes me think environmental allergies though... I'll post again when I have more info for you! 

Edited to Add: From what I can find, this is likely related to environmental allergies. It might be a good idea to take your cat to the vet and have them allergy tested. There are medications they can give that can combat allergies. Make sure you are given an antihistamine, not a steroid. Steroids should not be used to treat allergies as they only alleviate the symptoms and they can cause long term damage to your pet's internal organs. A lot of vets prescribe steroids, rather than antihistamines and this is very old school thinking on veterinary care. Hopefully someone with more knowledge on cat allergies can help you with which antihistamines are safe. 

Coconut oil is safe to put on their feet, because it won't harm your cat if he licks it off. You want cold pressed, unrefined coconut oil. You should be able to find it at a health food store, or a shop that sells vitamins and supplements. I'm not sure what brands are available where you live, but cold pressed, unrefined coconut oil is what you want. That has all of the healing nutrients and emollients in tact. The refined stuff strips some of that out. 
 
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fleabags mom

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He's a beauty, that's for sure. Handsome cat!

I think you can use olive oil or pure vitamin e oil too. All ok for kitty to lick off if he does.  I wonder if a bit of fish oil in his diet may help a bit too? Ultimately I would take him along to the vet to see if he/she has more knowledge! Probably seen it before and will be able to help Larry out.  Good luck :-)
 

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It could be something like allergies, it could be diet related it could be something like an immune problem like pemphigus.  Has he been to the vet?
 
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larrythecat

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Larry has an appointment at the vet for thursday. Thanks for the help everyone!
 
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