Dark stuff on paw around toes and pad?!

Hey there, my cat Max has this strange stuff on his paw and it's getting worse. He bites and licks it all the time and it's getting worse. We took him to the vet a couple months ago and they shaved his foot, applied some disinfectant stuff (it got really infected) and gave him probiotics but never mentioned what was wrong with him and how to prevent it. So here I am wondering if anyone else has had problems like these. I tried rinsing his foot and soaking it in chlorohexidine solution and it got some black stuff out of his paw but it didn't get any better. I tried putting it in water and seperating it to see if it was blood/scab or poo but it didn't smell or break down to a different color, was just black.

I've also noticed a lump just below the shoulder blades on my other kitty, she's been trying to lick it but it's in a tough spot to reach. Not sure if it's related?
It's located between my finger tips, kinda feels like a scab. It's kind of hard and itchy for her.
They are both in door cats.

Hope someone can help, thanks!

Did you ever ask your vet what was wrong that they were treating? Do you know what kind of infection it was (bacterial, fungal, etc)? That would make a difference in the way it's treated. And if it's coming back, he may need to go back to the vet to get treated again. I'm curious why they would give a cat probiotics for an infection, do you mean antibiotics? If it was antibiotics, that implies they think it was bacterial, but still good to ask.

Those pictures remind me of another thread a while back, and the poster's cat had a yeast infection. I think it was a reaction to his food?

There was, indeed, a thread not too long about a similar situation.  Here it is: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/292730/black-gunk-on-skin-between-paw-pads-vet-thinks-its-nothing      It's very interesting reading.

As to the lump on your other cat, I don't see how these two issues could possibly be related.  How old is the cat with the lump?  Did she used to get vaccinations between her shoulder blades?  This practice supposedly stopped several years ago, but Vets used to give shots there, and this could be related to that, IF she is an older cat.  Or it could be something else.  Could be an abscess, could be a bug bite, could be a cat bite from your other cat .  Is it firm, or does it move around under the skin?  When you press on it, does it hurt her?  If it's a bite or abscess, you should be able to see it if you move the fur around.  If it's causing her discomfort, as you indicate, I would take her in to be seen by a Vet. 

Donutte said:

Did you ever ask your vet what was wrong that they were treating? Do you know what kind of infection it was (bacterial, fungal, etc)? That would make a difference in the way it's treated. And if it's coming back, he may need to go back to the vet to get treated again. I'm curious why they would give a cat probiotics for an infection, do you mean antibiotics? If it was antibiotics, that implies they think it was bacterial, but still good to ask.

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My mistake, i meant antibiotics. We asked what was wrong and they didn't know exatcly. Suggested something got stuck in there and startes to irritate it but never said for sure what was wrong. They shaved the hair, inspected and took off all the infectious area and applied some topical cream and gave me a perscription to put in his mouth after he eats once a day for the pain.

mrsgreenjeens
As for the lump on my white kitty when i try to inspect it under her fur it looks like a scab and she tries to lick at it because it's itchy. I thought maybe it's because my orange cat was playing rough and bit her on her back. She hasn't had any shots lately. Only thing i can think of is kitty rough housing.

MaxFischer said:

@mrsgreenjeens
As for the lump on my white kitty when i try to inspect it under her fur it looks like a scab and she tries to lick at it because it's itchy. I thought maybe it's because my orange cat was playing rough and bit her on her back. She hasn't had any shots lately. Only thing i can think of is kitty rough housing.

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Still say it could be pretty much anything.  She could even have gotten herself in a tight spot and scratched herself trying to squeeze her way out.  Could definitely be  scratch or bite from the other cat too.

I can't really SEE anything in the picture.  Thought it was a very large bump between your fingers...guess maybe you were kind of pinching up the area to show the affected spot?

mrsgreenjeens said:

Still say it could be pretty much anything.  She could even have gotten herself in a tight spot and scratched herself trying to squeeze her way out.  Could definitely be  scratch or bite from the other cat too.
I can't really SEE anything in the picture.  Thought it was a very large bump between your fingers...guess maybe you were kind of pinching up the area to show the affected spot?

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I was indeed pinching it to show the affected area and size. I tried looking through the hair but it was tough to make out what it was, looked like a scab. Probably not related to my other cats issue but just curious it popped up around the same time. Could be coincidence.

Hello! Did you ever get an answer as to what was wrong with your cat's paw? My cat has something similar going on and normally I would just take him to the vet, but I am reluctant to leave quarantine so I have been doing a lot of searching to find out what might be wrong. Your picture is the first thing I've seen that looks close! I've put him in an e-collar so that he can't keep licking and biting at it. It looks like its getting better but there are a lot of little brown dots still in between his toes. They don't look like bugs, definitely not fleas, and I'm just not sure where to go from here. Thanks!

Hello and welcome to TCS! Unfortunately that post is four years old so there's a good chance you won't hear back. Since you have pics of your cat's paw why not send them to your vet. Explain that you are reluctant to come into the office at this difficult time and I'm sure they will understand. At least this way you will know whether you need to bring him in and/or they can advise you appropriately.
Best of luck!

neely said:

Hello and welcome to TCS! Unfortunately that post is four years old so there's a good chance you won't hear back. Since you have pics of your cat's paw why not send them to your vet. Explain that you are reluctant to come into the office at this difficult time and I'm sure they will understand. At least this way you will know whether you need to bring him in and/or they can advise you appropriately.
Best of luck!

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Thanks so much! You're right, I figured it was worth a shot. I'll call my vet and ask them if I can send them pictures.

lindseymiller said:

Hello! Did you ever get an answer as to what was wrong with your cat's paw? My cat has something similar going on and normally I would just take him to the vet, but I am reluctant to leave quarantine so I have been doing a lot of searching to find out what might be wrong. Your picture is the first thing I've seen that looks close! I've put him in an e-collar so that he can't keep licking and biting at it. It looks like its getting better but there are a lot of little brown dots still in between his toes. They don't look like bugs, definitely not fleas, and I'm just not sure where to go from here. Thanks!

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My cat was diagnosed with a fungal infection on her feet from the vet. She's a 6 year old Cornish Rex rehomed to me. When I got her home, I had to get all her shots, which she'd never had and on the second visit to the vet, I asked what the broken icky stuff was on her feet and around her nail bed. She looked at it under the microscope and we were proud owners of fungal feet. At first, we tried steroids and that helped the licking, but not a long term solution. I'm supposed to clean her paws with Douxo PyoPads (3% Chlorhexidine) and I have done it a grand total of 3 times since she shrieks like she's being killed. Maybe a kitten would react better? I've also changed her food twice now. I'm trying duck and pea (no grain and no chicken binders). That's because I tried chicken first and she was still over grooming and picking at her feet. So I'm going to try this new food because it is probably allergy related

broken should be brown ... bad typist.

Anyway the long and short of it is that your kitten may either have a nervous condition (like mine) and/or may have a food allergy (like mine). Try the Chlorhexidine shampoo if your kitten will allow it and then the Chlorhexidine pads. I also give my cat probiotics and enzymes because she was a puker. For her anxiety, I have a pheromone collar and give her CBD oil. I also give her an immune booster in her food because yeast normally only grows out of control if there is an underlying issue. We are still working through the process of getting rid of the icky feet (and she also has brown icky stuff in her ears), hoping it will resolve itself soon. My vet says it could take months.

PS ... the probiotics worked wonders on her puking and should also help with the yeast. <sigh>

Just wanted to add my story in this thread as my 10-year-old orange male tabby has had the same issues with his paws over the past year. Looks exactly like the photos posted here, almost like dark dusty specks in between his toes and around the main paw pad. He seems somewhat bothered by it when it flares up, thumping his feet or affected foot and licking them excessively. I took him to the vet, they did cytology test on the spot and it showed no infectious illness or mites so they gave me some Chlorhexidine pads to use on the paws until healed. He (who would?) does not like having his feet cleaned with the pads, but I somehow manage with some squirming. The infection cleared in a few weeks so the treatment seems to have worked, however it has come up again pretty much exactly a year later. I noticed he was doing the thumping and excessive licking again, so I checked and sure enough the black dust was back on one of his paws. So I went and got a refill for the Chlorhexidine pads and have just started treating again. Will update if there is anything else that arises from this. Assuming it is a fungal infection or "dermatitis" as the vet terms it. He is also quite sensitive food-wise and stomach is getting more and more sensitive over the years.

Welcome to The Cat Site and thank you for posting your update. I hope that your orange baby will recover again.

fionasmom said:

Welcome to The Cat Site and thank you for posting your update. I hope that your orange baby will recover again.

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Thank you! I will post any relevant updates here that come up for others.