Absecess on Right Paw

[Stephanie Howard]

My Diabetic Cat JJ has a sore on his right paw. I noticed it about 6 months ago. I took him to the vet when I first noticed it and was told to put proxide and wrap it and not let him lick it or pick at it. The sore eventually dried up and went away . He did have a small scab that turned into a scar. Over time he has messed with it and it has now returned. Has anyone seen something like this. I mentioned it to my Vet again and they said to keep him away from it and let it dry up. I do have it wrapped right now and make him wear his cone but I'm afraid with him being diabetic that this will never heal. Any advice? Picture below. Thank you

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I would repost/have post moved to the General Health forum.
It the area raised? Can a vet take a needle aspirate and look at it under a microscope?
Maybe cancer?

 

[Stephanie Howard]

yes the bump is raised. the sore has healed up and now has a scab on it. We got him a comfy cone over the weekend and he has stopped messing it. My concern now is that it has healed the area under the scab looks dark purple to me. He had a hard day yesterday with not eating and throwing up. He will be at the VET tomorrow

 

[Stephanie Howard]

I have posted a few different times about insulin and a sore on my kitty paw. He has this sore on his right paw that has been there off and on for about 6-7 months now. I am not sure how he got the sore but over time it goes away and then comes back. Because he is diabetic I have wrapped it and got him a cone to stay away from licking it because licking it just makes it bleed more. The Vet recommended keeping it cleaned and wrapped and let it dry once blood is gone. The sore has now healed and there is a scab now right above his nail. I do have a picture of what it looked like first but now that it has "healed" the bump now looks black underneath or dark purple. the bump is now smaller in size and causes him no pain but the color concerns me. I will update a current picture once I'm home but can anyone verify this is an abseces

 

[StephG]

I would see if your vet would look at the picture of the dark color once you get it.
I've only had to deal with an abccess on my civvie's tail so I don't know if that's an abccess.
Does an abccess tend to come back in the same spot over and over?
I mentioned before that I thought it looked like a histiocytoma but not positive since I've only seen them on my dog. For some reason I never got any updates on that thread so I'll look for it to see what was said.
ETA: saw your response. Hopefully you'll get more eyes and opinions on it here!

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Is there any way you can zoom in on the sore itself for a pic? It's difficult to see enough detail in that photo to even guess what it might be. The fact that it keeps re-occurring makes me wonder if your kitty is experiencing what human diabetics do in the way of poor circulation and subsequent poor healing (just speculation on my part). I know the licking could be a factor but 6-7 months is a long time for an ongoing sore. Did the sore initially occur before his diabetes diagnosis or after? Were antibiotics ever prescribed for the sore....ie when it first occurred or since?

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

This may just be a human thing but I've had abscesses before and they typically don't come back in the same exact spot repeatedly. Has the sore been biopsied? It kind of reminds me of a fatty cyst (Lipomas) one of my first dogs got.

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

Note: Merged posts from thread on Think Tank.

 

[Stephanie Howard]

hello I have an appointment today to get JJ hand checked out. this is what it looked like this morning. I am very nervous for the outcome. Wish us luck <3

 

[Stephanie Howard]

Is there any way you can zoom in on the sore itself for a pic? It's difficult to see enough detail in that photo to even guess what it might be. The fact that it keeps re-occurring makes me wonder if your kitty is experiencing what human diabetics do in the way of poor circulation and subsequent poor healing (just speculation on my part). I know the licking could be a factor but 6-7 months is a long time for an ongoing sore. Did the sore initially occur before his diabetes diagnosis or after? Were antibiotics ever prescribed for the sore....ie when it first occurred or since?

the sore originally started about a year ago. We think he was fighting or playing with my other kitty and maybe got scratched in this area. We were unaware that he was diabetic at the time and found out about 4 weeks later. The sore does heal but he tends to lick it a lot and pick at it and it just keeps coming back. the picture above is the most it has healed. The hair has started growing back and we have had the cone of shame on for about a month. He hates it but I really wasn't sure what to do. Today is his appointment so I'm hoping they can help us out.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

It looks a lot less "angry" now than in previous pics which is a good sign. I imagine diabetic cats, like diabetic humans, don't heal well and maybe his licking was keeping it from healing properly.

Sending good wishes for a simple explanation and an easy fix! Maybe they can offer you an option other than a cone of shame to keep him from messing with it.

 

[Stephanie Howard]

It looks a lot less "angry" now than in previous pics which is a good sign. I imagine diabetic cats, like diabetic humans, don't heal well and maybe his licking was keeping it from healing properly.

Sending good wishes for a simple explanation and an easy fix! Maybe they can offer you an option other than a cone of shame to keep him from messing with it. View attachment 30142

yeah that's what I was hoping too. He was messing with it a lot and now over time I think he has really gotten over it. I'm thinking it not as itchy as it once was . It causes him no pain to the touch it just the color of it worries me. Hopefully the vet can give us an idea on what to do.

Hopefully some antibiotics will fix it up

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Please keep us posted!

 

[Stephanie Howard]

the vet didn't seem to positive about what it could be. She explained that she believes its built up tissue under the skin that has now gotten an infection. She gave us some antibiotics to help infection but she thinks the only way to remove the tissue is to have surgery. she wasn't to excited about the surgery because she explained we would need to put him under for it and because there isn't enough skin on there paws that it will take a long time for it to heal and that the cone would have to stay on after surgery. She kept saying it looks very abnormal and she has no other explanation to what it could be. She also advised no surgery could be done unless his sugar levels have been "normal" for the last couple weeks. I just feel so bad for my old man. I fell like I have done so much already to his little body where I don't know how much more he can take. I'm almost to the point where I just want him to live his life, and eat what he wants and just let him run free with no cone and just let him enjoy the rest of his happy life with me...

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

On the positive side, it sounds like the vet doesn't think it's anything too terribly serious. I would argue that waiting for his BG to stabilize is a somewhat backwards suggestion since if there is an infection in the area, it could be causing elevated BG. Many unregulated diabetic cats have dental work done only to have their BG numbers improve. The amount of skin on the paw is obviously a whole different issue. If the vet thought there was an infection what about lancing the area to drain it along with antibiotics. Did she check his WBC to see if it was elevated as that could indicate an infection too. I know the cone is not a pleasant aspect of treatment but if treating this would ultimately help his BG, then it might be worth it.

If the area is not bothering JJ and you can keep him from licking and biting the area, perhaps the antibiotics will clear it up so keep the faith until you see how things go. Don't start thinking it's time to give up....the area definitely looks much better than it did which is a good sign.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

there are also a lot of newer types of "cones" out there that are a lot less cumbersome and uncomfortable.....the old "lamp shade" isn't the only choice

 

[Stephanie Howard]

there are also a lot of newer types of "cones" out there that are a lot less cumbersome and uncomfortable.....the old "lamp shade" isn't the only choice

We just found a better option for the cone. A little more comfortable. I'm currently looking for maybe an outfit or something maybe he can just wear that would cover the sore.

thank you for your help