Ermm.. Moisterizer??

leto86

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,241
Purraise
2
Location
St Thomas, Ontario
One of my boys, Orion, has cracked paws.. it doesn't seems to cause any pain or anything as of yet.. but I was wondering if theres any sort of moisterizer to make his pads smooth and soft again. Or if theres any human moisterizer that can be put on his pads without it hurting him if he licks it off.

Thanks for any information! Its greatly appreciated.
 

ollyextra05

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 14, 2005
Messages
2,520
Purraise
3
Location
The Windy City
Oliver gets dry skin in the winter, so we got some moisturizing cat wipes which do the trick.
I would say just head over to petsmart or whatever pet store you have near you and poke around in the grooming section for some sort of moisturizing treatment.

also, make sure that there aren't any other underlying med problems which could be manifesting as cracked paws (I can't think of any at the moment, but I'm not a vet).
Give the vet a call and see what they think--chances are they'll say, oh yeah, no big deal and might even have a product to reccommend. Maybe you'll need to change his diet? One of the things that helps Oliver's dry skin is increasing Omega 3 fatty acids in his diet by giving him a supplement that has flaxseed in it--and he gets a tiny piece of salmon sashimi every once in awhile!

Well, good luck!
 

jen

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
8,501
Purraise
3,009
Location
Hudson, OH
Bag Balm

thats all i have to say. get some, it works.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

leto86

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,241
Purraise
2
Location
St Thomas, Ontario
he's had it for quite some time now.. I will check out the petstores here and see if I can find any of those =) Thanks
 

cloud_shade

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
2,807
Purraise
17
Location
Oregon
When I asked my vet about Spot's paws, she also recommended Bag Balm (which is often found at the drug stores as well, so shop around for a good price). I never got around to getting any, so I can't vouch for it personally. How old is Orion? I'm wondering if the cracked pads often come with age.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

leto86

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,241
Purraise
2
Location
St Thomas, Ontario
Originally Posted by cloud_shade

When I asked my vet about Spot's paws, she also recommended Bag Balm (which is often found at the drug stores as well, so shop around for a good price). I never got around to getting any, so I can't vouch for it personally. How old is Orion? I'm wondering if the cracked pads often come with age.
He is a year and a half.. will be 2 in august. He's the only cat that has it, the other three cats feet are fine.
 

beetachou

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
4
Purraise
0
Location
Mount Prospect, IL
Bag Balm is great. After reading about it here, I picked some up at CVS and have been using it on Cosmo and Bella's dry paws everyday and I've already noticed a difference in the softneww of their paws.

It also, interestingly, does wonders for razor burn.
 

ollyextra05

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 14, 2005
Messages
2,520
Purraise
3
Location
The Windy City
Bag balm is a great product! I've been using it on myself for years but forgot it was safe for animals! It's great for dry/cracked heels, and for dry cuticles!
 

sharontealady

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Jul 20, 2006
Messages
1
Purraise
0
Originally Posted by Leto86

One of my boys, Orion, has cracked paws.. it doesn't seems to cause any pain or anything as of yet.. but I was wondering if theres any sort of moisterizer to make his pads smooth and soft again. Or if theres any human moisterizer that can be put on his pads without it hurting him if he licks it off.

Thanks for any information! Its greatly appreciated.
Hi!

I have been using this: http://www.olivemagic.com on my own cracked paws ;-). I wonder if it would work on cats, too???
It's the only thing that prevents my heels from cracking. I don't know what the consequences would be if Orion licked it off and ingested it but it contains only olive oil and beeswax.

Sharon
[email protected]
 

buzbyjlc10

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Messages
1,981
Purraise
5
Location
State College, PA and Haddon Township, NJ
We're bag balm users here too!

I'd get him checked by the vet first to make sure it's nothing severe, if not, you can just lather some bag balm on his paws... I found mine in CVS, but sometimes you have to ask behind the counter for it - I also just saw it in Wegmans in the pet isle yesterday... its a big green can, I think I paid about $5 for mine. Ollie walks around shaking his feet after I put it on and I try to distract him for awhile afterwards, but he does end up licking some of it off (prolly helps with hairballs, haha)... it's great to use on your dry skin too!
 

cearbhaill

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 5, 2006
Messages
824
Purraise
6
Location
Podunk USA
The natural medicine folks believe that the condition of the (external) skin mirrors the condition of the (internal) organs, and as skin is a system that discharges toxins it makes some sense. To treat an internal imbalance with an external application might remedy the symptom but would do nothing to eliminate the cause.

So in that vein one remedy would be to increase essential fatty acids like Omega 3's by supplementing with a non rancid fish oil. This increases cell strength in all systems and organs and stimulates the immune system, and the benefits to skin and coat would of course reflect that improvement.

Just a thought. [/smallvoice]
 

wookie130

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 5, 2006
Messages
2,313
Purraise
106
Location
an ice cube in Iowa...
Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

The natural medicine folks believe that the condition of the (external) skin mirrors the condition of the (internal) organs, and as skin is a system that discharges toxins it makes some sense. To treat an internal imbalance with an external application might remedy the symptom but would do nothing to eliminate the cause.

So in that vein one remedy would be to increase essential fatty acids like Omega 3's by supplementing with a non rancid fish oil. This increases cell strength in all systems and organs and stimulates the immune system, and the benefits to skin and coat would of course reflect that improvement.

Just a thought. [/smallvoice]
Ditto this post. Although Bag Balm is great, and Wild Salmon Oil supplements over his food could be helpful. Also, massaging olive oil into his paws could help too.
 

zissou'smom

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
6,482
Purraise
8
Dry skin is also a sign of mild dehydration. When I don't drink enough water I get cracky, dry skin too. Recently I started carrying a water bottle and now my feet have healed with really no mosturizer or anything.

So, in addition to everything else suggested, cause of course you'd want him to have non-hurty feet as quickly as possible, try to encourage more water drinking.

Maybe get a fountain, or let him drink from the tap? If you're not feeding any wet food, that's a good way to keep a cat hydrated too. Cats are notoriously non water drinkers, so it's easy for them to be just very mildly dehyrated pretty chronically.
 

buzbyjlc10

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Messages
1,981
Purraise
5
Location
State College, PA and Haddon Township, NJ
Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Cats are notoriously non water drinkers, so it's easy for them to be just very mildly dehyrated pretty chronically.
HAHA not Oliver! He is THE biggest water thief! He can have had his 3 bowls just freshly filled, but if someone sits down with a bottle or glass of water (the same water that's in his bowls, haha) that's what he wants and he will take it whether you want or not! And if it's a bottle of water, he expects the cap to be filled for him to drink out of!
 

natalie_ca

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
21,136
Purraise
223
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
When I cut my oldest cats nails I give her a the full spa treatment because she just loves to get her paws massaged. I put a little bit of vaseline petroleum jelly on my finger and massage it into the pads of her paws. She absolutely loves it and if she licks her paws it's not toxic. Just don't put on too much otherwise it will be greasy.

I also use Vaseline Petroleum Jelly as a hair ball remedy for my youngest cat because she doesn't like the malt flavoured stuff.
 
Top