Why are my cat's paws dark and scabby? Is it fungus or contagious?

Since it never improved, that is a good reason to have Jasper re-examine day the vet. While a fungal infection is certainly possible, other possibilities include bacterial infection, pasrasites, or auto-immune disease. I would continue to not come into contact with the affected skin until there is a diagnosis.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to an infection of the nail beds. However, this can be seen with a number of conditions even cancer being one of the possibilities. I recommend that you have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check more specifically what may be wrong so that therapy can be recommended accordingly. Best of luck!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would suspect that this could be from another cat, some other animal or a puncture wound from a sharp object. It sounds as though the lesion is infected with your description. I would recommend soaking the foot in a mixture of betadine and water until you have a light brown solution. Soak the foot with this solution twice daily for 10 minutes at a time. If the foot does not improve, I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at this so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Brown crusting on the paws could be foreign material on the paws such as dirt or feces. It could also be a yeast or fungal infection. I would take Toffee to her veterinarian to have the paws looked and the brown cursing tested to rule out a bacterial or fungal infection. Both are very treatable and not too much to worry about. Hope this helps!

It could be a bacterial or fungal infection around the nail, nail bed or paw pad. A close physical exam would be needed for a definitive diagnosis. See your veterinarian in the morning. If Cosmo is licking or chewing, place an e-collar (cone) on him until he sees the doctor.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. This can also be a traumatic injury in which case it should improve. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

This can be a sign of a fungal infection of the nail base. If the nails do not appear normal it could also be a sign of certain autoimmune nail diseases. I would recommend seeing a veterinarian - ringworm is one type of fungus that could cause an infection and the treatment is very different from a yeast fungal infection so your veterinarian may want to run some tests. If there are changes to the nail or paw pads your veterinarian may want to take a sample for biopsy to rule out immune diseases like pemphigus.