Cat Pulling out Hair

Hello everyone...first timer here...

I have a question about my 2 year old cat, Peaches. Recently, we had noticed a problem with her left front paw. It seemed as though one of her toes was swollen, so we took her to the vet. The doctor examined her and couldn't find anything wrong with her paw and told us to watch it. A week later, I noticed that she is pulling out the hair on that paw (which made that toe look swollen) and she is continuing to pull at it.

We adopted Peaches last January and she was already declawed. When we took her to the vet a week ago, I was worried that there might be a complication from the declawing. The vet didn't believe that to be a problem. She isn't limping on it and she is still using that paw as if there wasn't anything wrong with it. I've looked up some possible issues concerning this behavior. She is an indoor cat, so I don't think there is a flea problem (believe me, I would be the victim of fleas too). Nothing has changed in her environment except the flavor of her wet food (which she now loves).

Our Vet basically wants us to keep an eye on it and bring her in a week if she hasn't stopped. She mentioned applying some bitter apple spray to get her to stop. Has anyone experienced this with their cat? Any suggestions on the type of spray to get?

Thanks so much for your help!!

The only two things that come to mind are...maybe she's itching her paw due to allergies from a carpet cleaner you may have used, OR, it's possible if she was declawed, they could have done it incorrectly and left a piece of bone in there and it's growing back, from the inside out. If that's the case, it would be irritating her on the inside, causing her to bite at it and pull her fur out. Until it grows through the skin, you may not see any symptoms at first. Just a thought...

She also could have a small splinter type thing in her paw that is irratating it. I would have it rechecked again by your vet.

Thanks for the suggestions! I don't think it is from her declawing procedure. We've had her almost a year and she was declawed before we got her. Also, the vet checked her paw for any complications relating to that last week and she didn't feel anything.
Good thinking about the carpet cleaner...but we've used the same stuff since we got her. Do you think it could be just now bothering her?
I've also looked for a splinter and I couldn't find one. I do plan on taking her back to the vet, but they recommended that I give it some time. I just wish I knew what it was...