Paw Pad - Weird Question

May seem like an odd question, but maybe not... *shrug*... dunno

Cosmo has very dry paw pads. The skin is all dried out and whitish crackly looking. I don't remember Comere's paw pads looking like this until he was much older, but it also wasn't as noticeable since his were a light pink. Cosmo's are a dark greyish color with a hint of pink/mauve.

He's a shelter rescue, so could it be from being in the shelter? Or is this completely normal? He's only an indoor kitty, but he's also only been with us in his new home since March 19th.

Is there anything I can put on them or should I just leave them alone? Kitty parrafin wax treatment? -- It doesn't bother me how they look unless I know it's bothering him. I know dry skin makes me itchy!

This is pretty normal. I suppose you could use something like udder cream on them, but be sure to rub it in well so it's not slippery for him.

What you need is called Bag Balm and not a lot of it, just a tiny bit goes a long way. Oddly enough I have seen this condition more in shelter cats, than cats that have been outside. I'm not sure why, though some of the shelters I have seen they crowd their cats into small cages where the litterpan is almost on top of them, so maybe they spend to much time in the litter?

Thanks Vegan and Hissy...

Hissy, it's interesting what you say about spending too much time in the litter. When I found the ad for Cosmo at Petfinder, the picture was of him still in the shelter, sitting in the litterpan, lying in it like a bed!

Do I buy Bag Balm online somewhere, or would Petco have it?

If there is a feed store near you, you can get it there. You can also find it in drugstores, usually up at the counter in a really small pursesize container- it's in a green tin

Thanks Hissy... I found it at CVS site -- they have both Bag Balm and Udderly Smooth udder cream. I'll try to Bag Balm first.

You said use just a tiny bit... is it okay if Cosmo licks it? I assume it is if you recommended it, but just thought I'd be sure...

Yes bag balm works great for this problem. We use it at my shelter and it really helps. A a kennel I used to work at, we had a dog that had really badly dried paw pads and it was so bad that when he went out to potty, he had to be carried to the grass because it was too painful to walk on hard surfaces. It was horrible, the poor dog. But anyways, get some bag balm

Wow, sounds good. Once Nano gets more comfortable with me holding her paws, I will apply some of this Bag Balm stuff!

my dog has dry pads too, so now I'm going to go looking for this Bag Balm miracle! lol

Can someone just confirm that it's safe if he licks his paws afterwards? I'm sure it is if you're all telling me to use it, but I just want to be sure

I volunteered at a vets office and he swore by Bag Balm not only for Humans, but for animals( cats, dogs, cows, horses, pigs, goats). He put it on small wounds, scrapes, and rough spots. It has lanolin which is a GREAT softener and 8-Hydroxyquinoline Sulfate which acts like an antibacterial ect. If anyone got scratched or a light bite that just broke the skin that was what was in the first aid cabinet instead of neosporine.

BTW you can also get BagBalm in some Walmarts in the pet section somewhere close to the dog baths and flea treatments.

I used Bag Balm on a cats paws that were severly roughed up.. i think he was thrown out of a car.. but it healed the cuts and the redness was gone by the next day. Within a week his paws were so much better that the scabs pealed away and he had nice soft paws like our other inside kitties with in 2 weeks.

For cats a dab will do all 4 paws, since a teeny amount works great. It's a solid sort of like Vasiline in the container then when you put it on and rub it in it turns into a liquid and can be spread very thin and still have great results.

i never heard of bag balm, but my cat marsh does have rough, dry paws, i'm definitely going to buy and try it