Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 12/30/2011

Question
Hi. My cat has a swollen paw this is the second day he has had it. Let me mention he is an outside cat, but I've been keeping him in since yesterday because of this. He limps 90 percent of the time and can put weight on it, but doesn't want to. I've checked for thorns splinters or bee stings, found none. I've checked for bleeding and a broken nail, none. I wrapped a warm towel around his paw for about 4 minutes, that's the longest he let me do that...but He will let me touch it and inspect it no problem. I pushed on certain area's of his paw to find out where it hurts. He slowly moved his paw in one area in particular. He is no meowing like he's in any pain, but is limping. Should I just wait for the swelling to go down? and how long does that take usually?

Answer
In my experience, swollen paws in cats are almost always abscesses from fight wounds. The cat's nail or tooth makes a small puncture which you would never see and that seeds the underlying tissue with bacteria.  The body reacts by bringing in pus to kill the bacteria and to try and heal the would.  All of that fluid confined to a toe or a foot will make it swell up.  Sometimes these will open on their own after several days, but until it does, the cat will have pain and maybe even a fever.