My cat has a painful, swollen paw wound. Should I take him to the vet?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Simba. Wow that paw is quite swollen and I'm concerned about infection. This can no longer be treated at home and is now a medical emergency. He has to see a vet now. Please take him into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website. Best of luck.

Please have your kitten seen by a vet right away. That wound looks extremely painful and will require pain medication and antibiotics. The kitten will need to have the wound cleaned out by the vet and will likely need sutures/bandaging of the area. Pain medication meant for people can be toxic to kittens and should not be used without checking with your vet. If you cannot keep the kitten and don’t know anyone who will take on his care and vet expenses, please contact local animal shelters and rescue groups so that he can get vet care asap. Thanks for trying to help these cats!

Since he goes outside, he could also have an abscess/infection in his paw or he may have an injury. He should definitely be examined by a vet to determine the exact cause. He may need an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory to treat. Your vet can also take an x-ray, if needed, to help diagnose. There isn't much you can do at home until we know the exact cause of the swelling. Hope he feels better soon.

Based on your description and the appearance of the paw, my suspicion is that Finley was either bitten / scratched by another animal or he suffered some sort of puncture wound from something else. If there is a yellowish exudate emanating from the effected area, there is likely a significant infection occurring that will require a systemic antibiotic to fix. I would also be concerned about a fever. You should go ahead and obtain a temperature at your house rectally. See if it is above 102.5-103.0. If so, the infection is definitely real and Finley could probably benefit from some fluids as well and an NSAID to decrease the temperature. In order to prevent any further damage to the area, the use of a collar to stop Finley from licking his paw would be great. You can make one of these at home if you don't want to buy one commercially. Anyway, I think a vet visit would be the safest bet in this case. If you decide to wait, I really think you may ultimately end up having to go anyway but with matters only worse. Hope this is helpful.

Most likely Festus is painful and he requires anti-inflammatory/pain relief meds and antibiotics if the swelling is caused by any cause that can bring infection in (bite wound for example). The swelling could be caused by a fracture as well, so radiographs may be needed after physical examination. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

There is a good chance she could have an abscess. It needs to be opened and drained and then put on antibiotics for the infection. They can also give her some pain medications to help. If it is not an abscess then they may recommend doing an X-ray and make sure she didn’t break something. So I would have her looked at by tour vet. Hope she feels better soon

It looks like your cat’s toenail has been sheared off, probably from an injury, fight or being hit by a car. My best recommendation is to take your car to the vet where they will be able to fully clean the area around the nail, trim the nails if necessary, and give your cat an antibiotic and pain medication if needed. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.